The most unhappy time of your life is your forties, according to a phenomenon known as the “u-shaped” curve which states that happiness bottoms out around your forties then trends back up as you grow older.
According to a study published in the Social Indicators Research journal, we're the happiest between the ages of 30-34, and midlife (our 40s and 50s) is not perceived as the least happy period in life.
In one large study from the Brookings Institute, for example, scientists found happiness was high for 18- to 21-year-olds and then dropped steadily until about age 40. But past middle age, the pattern began to reverse—gradually climbing back up to its highest point at age 98!
Referred to as the Happiness U-Curve, the data show that on average, life satisfaction drops during midlife and begins its recovery around age 50, reaching its peak at the end of life.
Research shows that many people report being happier in their 50s and 60s. Here's why. At this point, many studies have examined how your overall sense of happiness (or what psychologists sometimes call “well-being,” because that sounds more scientific) changes over the course of your life.
The average age of onset for major depressive disorder is between 35 and 40 years of age. Onset in early adulthood may be linked with more depressive episodes, a longer duration of illness, and therefore a more difficult clinical course.
Studies in economics often find that happiness decreases from the teenage years to middle age, only to increase afterwards (and then to fall again in very high age).
A Dartmouth economist has pegged what he claims is the most miserable age: 47.2 years old. A new study by David Blanchflower, collecting data about well-being and age from 132 countries, suggests that for people in developed nations, the “happiness curve” reaches its perigee at precisely 47.2 years.
The dip in life satisfaction occurs around the age of 45 until 54, and is seen across many wealthy English-speaking countries, including the United States, Canada, the UK and Australia. There were similar findings in these countries for the emotional aspects of happiness.
A survey of 23,000 people in Germany found that 23-year-olds were particularly satisfied with their lives, "all things considered". Strength peaks at age 25.
Looking first at self-reports of ongoing stress, we found that people experience a sharp increase in stress levels in their late twenties and early thirties. Stress levels increase more moderately during the thirties and forties, remain steady for about 20 years, and then drop sharply as retirement comes around.
Surprising findings: The 2 ages when people are happiest
But, a few years ago researchers identified the two ages in an adult's life when you are likely to be at your happiest. Experts from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences found that happiness peaks at the ages of 23 and 69.
National Well-Being.
Across Europe and the United States, unhappiness reached its peak in the late forties, specifically at the age of 49 years. In general, unhappiness followed a hill-shaped curve across the lifespan. Thus, young children start out with rather low unhappiness which increases until the age of 49 years.
Meaning of the Term Childhood as the Happiest Period of Life.
Recent brain research indicates that birth to age three are the most important years in a child's development.
That's what researchers found - and as a historian argues, our cynical age could learn so much from its optimism.
The middle of life may be a time of unhappiness and stress.
At least, that's the implication of a new survey of 2,000 people from U.K. theater chain Cineworld, which found that life is “least fun” at age 45. Additionally, more than half of people say that finding fun in everyday life gets harder the older you get.
After looking at data from roughly 500,000 individuals in 132 countries, he found that happiness for people in advanced countries bottoms out at age 47.2. In developing countries, it reaches its lowest point at age 48.2.
At 23, life satisfaction is at its highest.
All things considered, 23 is the magic number for feeling particularly satisfied with your life. The conclusion is based on a survey of 23,000 people in Germany. Your muscles are their strongest at age 25.
Dr. Havemann says pre-existing depression and anxiety, as well as bereavement – which naturally occurs more often with advancing age – also contribute. Increasing insomnia is also a factor. Brain-body changes can cause depression that occurs for the first time later in life.
There are many reasons to feel joy in our older years. But with all the changes happening as we age, it's okay — and normal — to feel sad sometimes too. “As we grow older, many of us struggle with isolation and loneliness,” explains Frank Sileo, PhD.
Most people experience life as more pressured and challenged in their 30s and 40s. If you come from a relational trauma background, these decades can feel even harder. Relational trauma backgrounds can create "cracks" in the "foundations" of our lives.
Apparently, men do not get meaner, irritable and more sarcastic as they get older. In fact, among the men participating in The Study of Adult Development - the longest longitudinal study of adult life ever conducted - men seem to get happier as they get older.