People aged 65 to 79 'happiest of all', study suggests

From The BBC

2 February 2016

Sixty-five to 79 is the happiest age group for adults, according to Office for National Statistics research. The survey of more than 300,000 adults across the UK found life satisfaction, happiness and feeling life was worthwhile all peaked in that age bracket, but declined in the over-80s. Those aged 45 to 59 reported the lowest levels of life satisfaction, with men on average less satisfied than women. That age group also reported the highest levels of anxiety. Researchers said one possible reason for the lower happiness and well-being scores among this age group might be the burden of having to care for children and elderly parents at the same time. The struggle to balance work and family commitments might also be a factor, they said. Meanwhile, those who were younger or retired had more free time to spend on activities which promoted their well-being, the researchers suggested. Happiness and well-being dropped off again in those over 80, however, with researchers suggesting this could be down to personal circumstances such as poor health, living alone and feelings of loneliness.

The survey asked people to rate out of 10 how happy and how anxious they had felt the day before, how satisfied they were with their life generally, and how much they felt what they did in life was worthwhile. The published results have been broken down by age, ethnicity, religion, marital status, employment status, religion, and where in the country people live.

They suggest:

  Married people reported the highest levels of happiness, averaging 7.67 out of
  10, higher than co-habiting, single, widowed or divorced people
  People with jobs were happier than unemployed people, with part-time workers
  the happiest. Of those who were not working, retirees had the highest levels
  of happiness, followed by students
  Of those who followed a religion, Hindus were marginally the happiest on
  average, followed by Christians and Sikhs, while those who followed no
  religion the least happy
  Women on average reported higher levels of anxiety than men, but were more
  likely report better well being and feel their life was worthwhile
  People of Arab ethnicity were found to be the most anxious ethnic group, with
  people of Chinese ethnicity the least anxious
  Northern Ireland held on to the crown for happiest of the UK's nations, with
  people there also most satisfied and most likely to say their life was
  worthwhile - but also the most anxious; the least happy people were in
  England, with the North East the unhappiest region

People who said their health was very good reported an average life satisfaction rating of 8.01 out of 10, compared with people who said they were in very bad health, whose average rating was just 4.91. The over-90 age group reported by far the lowest levels of feeling their life was worthwhile, even though their reported levels of happiness and life satisfaction were comparable to those in their 20s and 30s. Understanding how people of different ages rated their personal well-being could help policy makers target issues to improve lives, the study added.

[Putting to one side the whole idea of measuring happiness for a moment this is still an interesting survey, even if some of the results are rather obvious if you think about them. What the survey essential says that people who are in a relationship and have the time to follow their own interests whilst in good health are happy. Go figure! I too expect that my happiness level will raise at 60 when I plan to retire. Hopefully I’ll be able to spend a decade or more doing what I want to do each day rather than what other people want me to do. That’ll be such a nice change. Funnily, when I mentioned at work about retiring in 4 years’ time on of my colleagues asked “Won’t you be bored?” I laughed and said that I didn’t come to work for something to do with my day! Counting the days….. ]