At what age are we happiest? Various works have already attempted to answer this question. But this time, a large study provides an answer. And it may surprise you.
When in life are we happiest? And more precisely at what age? This is the question answered by a meta-analysis which brought together more than 400 studies on the subject, carried out by a research team from the German Sport University Cologne, Ruhr University Bochum, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, and the universities of Bern and Basel in Switzerland.
Life satisfaction increases until age 70
This meta analysis precisely condenses the results of 443 studies, i.e. a data set covering 460,902 participants. According to their results, being happy is not a constant feeling throughout life.
This feeling fluctuates and decreases between the ages of 9 and 16 during adolescence to gradually increase until the age of 70 ans, where it peaks, before decreasing to 96 years. According to the researchers, the decline between 9 and 16 years old could be explained by the changes linked to adolescence, to bodily changes and social life, particular to this period of life full of upheavals. But overall, “the study indicated a positive trend over a broad lifespan” estimate the researchers.
Good in his body, good in his head!
Being happy decreases at a certain age
The study shows that in late adulthood, all components of subjective well-being tended to deteriorate rather than improve. “This could be linked to the fact that in very old people physical performance declines, health often deteriorates and social contacts decrease; especially because their peers die” estimate the scientists, who recall the importance and necessity of “consider and promote subjective well-being with its different components throughout life”.
