At what age are we happiest? CORDIS answers

Happiness evolves as we age and experience different things. For some, happiness levels fluctuate considerably, but they generally follow some kind of patterns over the course of a lifetime.

We derive greater satisfaction and meaning from relationships and careers as we make our way to old age. With all these ups and downs, and highs and lows in life, how do we figure out when happiness peaks?

Could the happiest years still be ahead?

To come up with an answer to when we’re at our happiest, a research team in Germany and Switzerland carried out a study involving over 460 000 participants from different countries and cultures. The findings were published in the journal ‘Psychological Bulletin’.

“We focused on changes in three central components of subjective well-being,” stated first author Susanne Bücker, who is now a professor at the German Sport University Cologne, in a news release. “Life satisfaction, positive emotional states and negative emotional states.”

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And the magic number is …

Most of us will have to wait a few years. At least. The researchers found people reached their happiest when they arrived at the age of 70.

Life satisfaction decreased between the ages of nine and 16, increased a little until the age of 70, and then declined again until the age of 96. For positive emotional states, there was an overall decline throughout the lifespan from ages nine to 94. Negative emotional states rose and fell from the age of nine to 22, before declining during adulthood until age 60, then beginning to increase again. “Overall, the study indicated a positive trend over a wide period of life, if we look at life satisfaction and negative emotional states,” Prof. Bücker explained.

The study concluded that there is a need to take into account and encourage subjective well-being and its three main components throughout a lifetime. The results could inform intervention programmes, particularly those intended for maintaining or enhancing subjective well-being in older adults.

More information: CORDIS