Why Happiness Begins All over Again at 50

For those aged in their 30s and 40s feeling down in the dump, don’t worry - happiness is just around the corner.
Economists have found that despite a mid-life dip, people start to feel more content with their life after the age of 50.
The ‘U-shaped’ happiness curve shows that being satisfied with life starts to fall while in the early 20s and does not improve until after 50, where it goes on to rise higher than before.
But despite those who are aged 65 or over generally believing it is nicer to be 25, they are happier than when they were at that age.
The study has taken happiness survey answers from Britain, Switzerland and Germany and applied the findings to people’s life cycle.
Scientists have no explanation for the sudden rise after 50, but believe you are happier when you get older as you assume more wisdom and adapt to life aspirations.
However, the middle-aged dip in happiness was also compared to that of losing a close relative or suddenly becoming unemployed.


The report by Bert Van Landeghem, which is being presented at the Royal Economic Society’s annual conference, concluded: ‘A U-shaped happiness curve does not necessarily imply that a 65 year old prefers his own life to the life of a 25-year-old.
‘Both the 25 year old and 65 year old might agree that it is nicer to be 25 than to be 65. But the 65 year old might nevertheless be more satisfied, as he has learned to be satisfied with what he has.’
It is the latest in a long-line of hotly-debated scientific studies that measure people’s happiness.
Psychologists concluded that having money makes you happier, but only if you have a lot more than your friends and neighbours.
Separate research found that owning the house of your dreams, the car you always longed for and having millions in the bank doesn’t stop that desire to keep up with the Joneses.
And if the Joneses have more than you do, you’ll be miserable. It seems envy at being lower in the social pecking order tarnishes the satisfaction of being well off.
Psychologists looked at the happiness levels of 10,000 people who took part in the British Household Panel Survey last year and compared these with their income.
The results showed that although salary is important to a certain extent, a person’s social standing or status matters more.
Researcher Dr Chris Boyce from the University of Warwick said: ‘The standard of living has gone up for each individual over the past 40 years but it has gone up for everyone,’ said researcher Dr Chris Boyce from the University of Warwick.
‘Our cars are faster now but our neighbours have faster cars too, so we haven’t got that advantage over people close to us.
‘Without the biggest home, or the fastest car then it doesn’t give you that same excitement as it would have.
‘Earning £1million a year appears not to be enough to make you happy if you know your friends all earn £2million a year.’
Kompas