London - Our health might deteriorate in our twilight years but that’s no bar to happiness. In fact, it is then that we seem to be at our most content.
People in their 70s and 80s are happier than those in their 60s because they feel a greater sense of achievement at reaching old age, research shows.
A study of 10 000 men and women over 50 found although quality of life decreases as people enter their 60s, the feeling of happiness actually increases.
The report revealed quality of life begins to rapidly fall for people in their 70s and 80s with the decline for an 80-year-old being 2.5 times faster than for a 60-year-old. Yet the older people are, the more happy they are likely to be.
Dr Stephen Jivraj, from the Institute of Education at the University of London said: “Our findings show old age is not a time when we will inevitably be unhappy.
“The happiness in later years could be related to how when you are 80 for example, the fact you have got to that age, you might feel a sense of achievement.
“If you have reached 80 perhaps you look back at all the things that have happened in your life and feel you’ve achieved a lot.
“This is likely to be related to the realisation of one’s own mortality brought on by the onset of frailty.”
The study was published in the Journals of Gerontology Series B. - Daily Mail