Middle-aged People Are Often Happiest

“Middle Ages” is the stage between 40 and 60 years. Until recently, people used to say that this stage was marked by a crisis that all middle-aged people went through. However, several studies show that this is not as true as many believe. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Everything seems to indicate that middle-aged people tend to be the happiest of all.

Life expectancy is much higher than it used to be. Believe it or not, there were times when it was very unlikely to reach 50 years. Today, on the other hand, most people exceed this age. All this has given way to the new definition of the term ” youth “. From now on, people get married and have children when they are older.

A reliable study on middle-aged people

Researchers Nancy Galambos, Harvey Krahn and Matt Johnson from the University of Alberta in Canada conducted a study on happiness at different ages.

To conduct this study, they formed two separate groups. People between the ages of 18 and 43 formed the first group, while the second was formed by people between the ages of 23 and 37. The study considered important milestones such as change in marital status, health aspects, work-related aspects, etc.

This study concluded with five interesting things:

• Most of the subjects showed that they were happier now at the age of 40 than when they were 18 years old.

• People who are married and have jobs tend to be happier. In addition, these people also tend to be healthier.
• No evidence shows that midlife crises actually exist.
• In general, people feel happier after the age of 40.
• After reaching the age of 30, human well-being improves.

The myth of the midlife crisis

About three decades ago, the term “midlife crisis” began to gain popularity. At one point, people did nothing but talk about it and fear it. The idea that came with this concept was that reaching the age of 40 led to a lot of pain and suffering. Those who reached this age usually felt sad and immersed in a nostalgic pool  because their lives have gone too fast. Consequently, middle-aged people (40-year-olds) began to do immature and childish things to “get young again.”

This term comes from a study conducted by Andrew Oswald, a professor of economics at the University of Warwick . According to him, happiness has a “U” shape. Happiness reaches its peak when one is about 20 years old and then again at the age of 70 years. People tend to feel the least happy when they are 40 years old.

However, many other studies (including the one from the University of Alberta ) show that this is not true. These studies found that when people reach middle age, their overall well-being environment grows and becomes more stable. This means that in reality, middle-aged people begin to live their lives to the fullest at this precise stage.

Are middle-aged people actually happier?

Both the longer life expectancy and the way the term “youth” has changed has changed the way 40-year-olds live. From now on, it is rare to see middle-aged people go through a crisis caused precisely by their age. It’s actually quite the opposite now. This is the stage where people start living their lives like never before.

When we are teenagers, our lack of experience and poor emotional regulation can cause us to experience very tough times. It is normal to make mistakes during this stage. However, it is important to note that young people in general should have enough strength and motivation to overcome the problems they experience.

Now one thing is certain: youth does not mean stability, clarity and peace. This explains why this is the perfect stage to make mistakes and learn from them.

Over time, our ability to analyze and think through things will improve. This makes us less prone to act irritably, irrationally and impulsively. We end up learning to control our emotions and express them in a confident way.

All this balance and control makes middle-aged people feel happier than before. However, we must be aware that there are always exceptions. Some middle-aged people may not feel like this. But in general, this combination of experience and vitality results in greater well-being.