Study Finds Age for Peak Happiness

Last Updated on February 15, 2022

I’m glad I read this article before my 45th birthday. Otherwise, I might have been tempted to spend today stressing out about the ever-increasing proximity to the Big 5-0!

It’s not that 50 is so old, of course. But the closer one gets to it, it can just feel old. I imagine, just like age 40, once you hit that milestone, you realize it isn’t old at all.

When I turned 40, on Nov. 23, 2009, I had been inundated with reminders that it was the age at which life begins. Apparently, happiness takes another decade. At least, that’s what a new study seems to show.

The Daily Mail reported that a giant telephone poll of 340,000 people showed that after 50, people start progressively getting happier. I wonder if those people said that before or after their midlife crises kicked in and their shiny red Corvettes were already in their driveway.

I am in no danger — absolutely none — of purchasing a Corvette, in five years, 10 years or 15 years, just in case you’re wondering.

But for those of us who are near age 50, don’t worry, the news gets even better from there: the study suggests that by age 85, people have reached peak happiness, and are more satisfied with themselves than they were at age 18. The 85th year, the poll found, is the happiest year. Coincidentally, the top age of the respondents in the poll was 85; one has to wonder if the poll would have found 90 to be our “happiest” age if they had 90-year-olds on the phone.

In any case, the finding seems to be that once we hit the half-century mark, the older we get, the happier we get. So there you have it: a reason not to worry about getting older!

You’re welcome!