In a recent article in The Conversation, Peter Warr, Emeritus Professor, University of Sheffield has been investigating links between age and happiness.

If it’s no fun getting old, then why do surveys of national well-being show that older people are happier than younger people?

Recent research into happiness, questioning people about their lives as a whole, their jobs, family, social activities and other aspects, has started to reveal some intriguing patterns. New data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that older people tend to be happier rather than more miserable than younger people. But looking at ONS data in more depth reveals an even more interesting pattern.

Between the ages of around 20 and the decade between ages 40 to 50, people score progressively lower in measures of happiness on average. But after the middle years of their life, that trend is reversed so that average happiness becomes steadily greater, until it levels off when people are about 70.

Read the full article in The Conversation.