{"id":24970,"date":"2016-08-29T05:45:31","date_gmt":"2016-08-29T09:45:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=24970"},"modified":"2016-08-28T20:54:32","modified_gmt":"2016-08-29T00:54:32","slug":"the-older-you-get-the-happier-you-are","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/08\/the-older-you-get-the-happier-you-are\/","title":{"rendered":"The older you get, the happier you are?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

A study has found a linear<\/em>\u00a0relationship between old age and happiness. That is, the older you get, the happier you are.<\/p>\n

Despite the deterioration of the body and the whole array of health and mental problems as people age, happiness increases. \u00a0The linear relationship means that people in their 90s are happier than they were in their 80s, and in their 70s than in their 60s, etc. \u00a0The biggest miseries are in\u00a0young adulthood, the supposed prime of life.<\/p>\n

I can relate to\u00a0this. \u00a0Consider the stress involved in trying to find someone to marry, in trying to find a job, in raising children, in trying to find success in one\u2019s career. \u00a0Older people are on the other side of all that.<\/p>\n

But the continual growth in happiness in the post-retirement decades, that\u2019s a mystery, and no doubt a gift.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

From Deborah Netburn,\u00a0The aging paradox: The older we get, the happier we are \u2013 LA Times<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Believe it or not, there are upsides to getting older.<\/p>\n

Yes, your physical\u00a0health is likely to decline as you age. And unfortunately, your cognitive\u00a0abilities like\u00a0learning new skills and remembering things is likely to suffer too.<\/p>\n

But despite such downsides,\u00a0research suggests that your overall mental health, including your mood, your sense of well-being\u00a0and your ability to handle stress, just keeps improving right up until the very end of life.<\/p>\n

Consider it something to look forward to.<\/p>\n

In a recent survey of more than 1,500 San Diego residents\u00a0aged 21\u00a0to 99, researchers report\u00a0that people in their 20s were the most stressed out and depressed, while those in\u00a0their 90s were the most content.<\/p>\n

There were no dips in well-being\u00a0in midlife, and no tapering off of well-being at the end of life.<\/p>\n

Instead scientists\u00a0found a clear, linear relationship between age and mental health:\u00a0The older people were, the happier they felt.<\/p>\n

[Keep reading. . .]<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019m sure there are exceptions to this upward climb towards ever-increasing bliss, and surely older people abandoned by their families and wracked with pain are hardly \u201chappy.\u201d \u00a0 The study seemed to look at people\u2019s sense of well-being and then compared the different ages, rather than tracking how individuals did as they grew older. \u00a0Still, the findings seem significant.<\/p>\n

So are you happier now (however old \u201cnow\u2019 is for you) than when you were younger? If so, why is that?<\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A study has found a linear\u00a0relationship between old age and happiness. That is, the older you get, the happier you are. Despite the deterioration of the body and the whole array of health and mental problems as people age, happiness increases. \u00a0The linear relationship means that people in their 90s are happier than they were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,33,37],"tags":[3085,4763,4762],"class_list":["post-24970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-medicine","category-nature","category-psychology","tag-happiness","tag-life-cycle","tag-old-age"],"yoast_head":"\nThe older you get, the happier you are?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A study has found a linear\u00a0relationship between old age and happiness. That is, the older you get, the happier you are. 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