Study: happiness levels highest between 65-79 years old

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Wednesday 03 Feb 2016 - 13:42 Makkah mean time-24-4-1437 London, (IINA) - The UK’s Office for National Statistics has released a survey showing that people between the age of 65 and 79 are the happiest compared to other age groups, BBC reported. The study of more than 300,000 adults across the UK found that life satisfaction, happiness and feeling that life was worthwhile all peaked in the age bracket of 65-79 but declined in the over-80s. The survey also revealed that adults between the ages of 45 to 59 reported the lowest levels of life satisfaction, with men on average less satisfied than women. The group also reported the highest levels of anxiety. Researchers said that one possible reason for the lower happiness and well-being scores among this age group might be the burden of having to care for children and elderly parents at the same time. The struggle to balance work and family commitments might also be a factor, they said. Meanwhile, those who were younger or retired had more free time to spend on activities which promoted their well-being, the researchers suggested. Happiness and well-being dropped off again in those over 80, however, with researchers suggesting this could be down to personal circumstances such as poor health, living alone and feelings of loneliness. The survey asked people to rate out of 10 how happy and how anxious they had felt the day before, how satisfied they were with their life generally, and how much they felt what they did in life was worthwhile. The published results have been broken down by age, ethnicity, religion, marital status, employment status, religion, and where in the country people live. They show that married people reported the highest levels of happiness, averaging 7.67 out of 10, which is greater than the results of single, widowed or divorced people. People with jobs were also happier than unemployed people, with part-time workers the happiest. Of those who were not working, retirees had the highest levels of happiness, followed by students. Women in the UK on average reported higher levels of anxiety than men, but were more likely report better well-being and felt their life was worthwhile. People of Chinese ethnicity were found to be the least anxious while the Arab ethnicity reported the highest levels of anxiety, which could be caused by unrest in their home countries or growing Islamophobia rates. The researchers also found that there is a strong link between health and well-being. People who said their health was exquisite reported an average life satisfaction rating of 8.01 out of 10, compared with people who said they were in poor health, whose average score was just 4.91. AG/IINA