Wednesday 24 February 2010

Britain is a country for old men of 74 but not before or beyond

I am going to have to wait another 12 years because, according to scientists, we are most content only when we hit 74.
Apparently, a combination of fewer responsibilities and financial worries and having more time to yourself, produces a contentment unknown earlier in life.

Researchers have found that 'happiness' starts to dip in the teenage years and continues on a downward spiral until the age of 40. It then levels off until about 46, before rising to a peak more than 30 years later.

German and American scientists analysed the results of a 'long-term British survey' in which more than 21,000 men and women were regularly asked : 'how happy they were with their lives ?'

Slump: People in their twenties and thirties are handling the stresses of buying a house and bringing up a family and happiness hovered around this mark for the next few years, before taking an upturn around the age of 46.

Through their fifties and sixties they became more upbeat, with satisfaction peaking at a rating of 5.9 around 74. After that it drops off as more people become affected by health problems.

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