Study Reveals Link to Happiness and Old Age
The young may fear old age and the changes in appearance and health that it may bring, but recent research indicates that those who reach old age actually report higher levels of happiness. Though the reasons behind this surprising revelation are not clear, researchers have traced the remarkable trends of happiness over the course of the average lifetime, and the results are encouraging for those headed toward the golden years.
A 2008 national Gallup poll conducted over the phone with more than 340,000 people aged 18-85 inquired about basic demographics like gender and age, and then delved into more personal topics like health and personal finances. Then, researchers asked participants about “global well-being,” asking them to rate their overall satisfaction with life on a 10-point scale.
The survey concluded with researchers asking responders if they experienced any of the following feelings during the course of the previous day: enjoyment, happiness, stress, worry, anger or sadness. According to researchers, the responses to this particular inquiry reveal a responder’s level of “hedonic well-being,” which defines well-being in terms of pain avoidance and attainment of pleasure.
The results of the study revealed definite trends in the levels of happiness one might expect to experience over the course of a lifetime. Generally, it was determined that happiness increases over the years and that old people report greater feelings of happiness and satisfaction with life than do younger people. Specifically, the study found that people report positive feelings about themselves at age 18, but these feelings tend to decline until age 50 when, for unknown reasons, levels of reported happiness begin to increase again as age progresses. Overall, responders seemed happier with their lives at age 85 than they did at age 18.
Stress was another aspect of life that was investigated in this study, and it was determined that feelings of stress begin to decline at age 22, hold steady around age 50, and then drop off sharply, reaching their lowest point by age 85. Anger, also, was found to dip after age 18. Reports of sadness leveled at age 50, declined at age 73 and rose again slightly at age 85.
Clearly good news for the aging, these reports provide a ray of hope for those dreading the effects of old age. For science however, this study raises new questions about why there are definite trends in moods that seem to change abruptly at age 50. Also, researchers want to further the study by evaluating the effects of disease and disability, employment and marital status on levels on happiness in old age.