At what age are we happiest? These researchers reveal it

We all seek to achieve it. Yet it resonates in everyone quite differently. Since happiness is a deeply personal emotion, which responds to our own needs, aspirations and personality.

There is therefore not one meaning, but several. So, is there an age or even an age group in which we would flourish more spontaneously, or more sustainably. German and Swiss researchers carried out a vast survey of half a million people in an attempt to shed light, if not an answer, to this complex question.

Happiness is not a long, quiet river

To understand how happiness evolves over the course of life, researchers therefore carried out a large-scale survey. Through the participants, they sought to assess the evolution of well-being throughout life and to determine the age at which we would be happiest. They examined three essential components of subjective well-being: life satisfaction, positive emotional states, and negative emotional states. According to team member Susanne Bücker, the study aimed to understand how these aspects of happiness change over the years.

The results, published in September 2023 in the journal Psychological Bulletin, revealed a fascinating trend. According to the study, the perception of happiness decreases between the ages of 9 and 16, then experiences a slight increase after the age of 70, before decreasing again around the age of 96.

Why would these age groups be more impacted?

The decrease in satisfaction observed during adolescence can be explained by the bodily and social changes linked to puberty. Adolescents face new pressures and challenges as they begin to form personal identities and establish more complex relationships.

In contrast, the increase in satisfaction after age 70 could be because older people face fewer social pressures and fewer social contacts, partly due to the death of their partner. Obviously, we could not summarize or quantify happiness simply because of these plausible explanations. The study details many more aspects and avenues of exploration.

Happiness varies from one individual to another

Just as happiness is a deeply subjective experience. This notion thus varies from one person to another, depending on our life experiences, our values, our expectations and our individual aspirations. This is why it is so difficult to measure, in a purely objective and factual way.

What brings happiness to one person may not have the same effect on another. So, no matter your age, remember that happiness is above all a personal pursuit, and that each stage of life brings its own challenges and rewards.