The older we get, the happier we are

Took some pictures of Pirkkala's quite new outdoor gym while walking with Sami. No complains with the weather this time.

I read from the news that the University of Warwick study suggests that our happiness levels form a U-curve, reaching their low point at around 45 but then increasing as we age. That's excellent news - people shouldn't worry getting older!

Researchers analysed lifestyle and health patterns in more than 10,000 people in the U.S. and the UK. They evaluated quality of life using eight different factors including perception of general health, pain, social functioning and mental health.

Happiness may increase with age because we develop better coping abilities to deal with hardship than younger people. People's physical quality of life deteriorates as they age, but their mental well-being doesn't also deteriorate - in fact it increases, says the study.

Older people may have better coping abilities, they tend to have internal mechanisms to deal better with hardship or negative circumstances than those who are younger. It could also be due to a lowering of expectations from life, with older people less likely to put pressure on themselves in the personal and professional spheres.

The study also found that those who slept between six and eight hours per day tended to have both better physical and mental health scores than those who slept on average less than six hours or more than eight hours.



+4 C, semi-cloudy