Sunteți pe pagina 1din 2

People get happier as they approach 70, study finds | Society | Th...

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/feb/29/people-get-happi...

People get happier as they


approach 70, study finds
Research, which has tracked 3,000 people from birth, finds rising feelings of
wellbeing at this stage in life
Press Association
Monday 29 February 2016 11.37GMT

Feelings of wellbeing increase in the seventh decade of life, the


longest-running study following the progress of people from birth has
shown.
Researchers who quizzed more than 3,000 participants found that
approaching 70 can put a spring in your step.
Aged 60 to 64, the volunteers were tested on a range of wellbeing
measures including feeling cheerful, condent, optimistic, useful and
relaxed.
When they were asked the same questions again at age 69, there was
an improvement in all 14 categories that made up the wellbeing scale.
This was despite most of the group experiencing at least one chronic
disease including arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Dr Mai Staord, from the Medical Research Council Unit for Lifelong
Health and Ageing at University College London, said: What weve
found is that, on average, levels of wellbeing increased during peoples
sixties.
We found that one in ve experienced a substantial increase in
wellbeing in later life, although we also found a smaller group who
experienced a substantial decline.

1 of 2

29/02/2016, 20:22

People get happier as they approach 70, study finds | Society | Th...

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/feb/29/people-get-happi...

The MRCs National Survey for Health and Development was launched
in March 1946, when thousands of new-born babies were recruited for
the study.
One of its aims is to look at how individuals change over time in order
to pinpoint common experiences that make us happy.
Research by the Oce for National Statistics this month found that
people are least happy in middle age. They also have the lowest levels
of life satisfaction and the highest levels of anxiety.
The same research found that people aged 65-79 tended to report the
highest average levels of personal wellbeing, although levels slip again
as respondents move further into old age.
More news

Topics
Older people Mental health Health
Save for later Article saved
Reuse this content

2 of 2

29/02/2016, 20:22

S-ar putea să vă placă și