I'm fascinated by this study

I love studies to do with people, and this one is particularly interesting to me.

So there was this huge study of 340,000 people, ages 18-85 in 2008
about aging that was reported in the New York Times.

This is what they concluded:

"… researchers found that stress declines from age 22 onward, 
reaching its lowest point at 85. Worry stays fairly steady until 50, 
then sharply drops off. Anger decreases steadily from 18 on, 
and sadness rises to a peak at 50, declines to 73, then rises slightly again to 85. 
Enjoyment and happiness have similar curves: 
they both decrease gradually until we hit 50, rise steadily for the next 25 years, 
and then decline very slightly at the end, 
but they never again reach the low point of our early 50s."

So why is this?
The author of this study said it could be anything from environmental changes or psychological changes
OR it could even be biologicalfor example brain chemistry or endocrine changes. 
I never even entertained the idea it could biological.


The way I see it, something magical happens about age 50.. 
We are now at the top of the hill like my sister has said. 
We can see both sides….where we have been and where we are going. 
We know what we value, what matters. It's not just beliefs anymore. It's knowledge. 
That's my take on things anyway.


I love how the author of this study sums things up:
 “It’s a very encouraging fact that we can expect to be happier in our early 80s 
than we were in our 20s,” he said. “And it’s not being driven predominantly 
by things that happen in life. It’s something very deep and quite human that seems to be driving this.”

And the ending of this article is the best:
"For people under 50 who may sometimes feel gloomy, there may be consolation here. 
The view seems a bit bleak right now, but look at the bright side: you are getting old."

To read about this study, go here.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Things definitely started looking up for me at 50. After a horrendous health crisis at 45, my health was better than ever at 50. Been good ever since. (Which definitely effects happiness.)
darlene

Susan Anderson said...

To be honest, I was pretty happy in both!

=)

Karen Mortensen said...

Good points here.

Look what happened last night

  Just a little pre-graduating gathering for our DIL Amy.... Not everyday a Mom of 7 and a Grandma of 7, graduates from college. It was not ...