It is from the age of 30 that humans are most likely to be happy… This happiness then lasts several decades and only decreases from the age of 70.
- Between 30 and 34 years old corresponds to the period when humans are the happiest.
- The entry into adolescence, on the other hand, is the period when he feels the least well: between 10 and 14 years old.
It’s sometimes a difficult course to pass and yet… It is at 30 that we are the happiest! And more precisely between 30 and 34 years old, according to a study published in the journal Social Indicators Research. “The probability of achieving happiness changes systematically with age, believes Begoña Álvarez, the main researcher of this survey. The probability increases sharply from childhood until the age of 30-34 years, where it reaches its maximum“.
Participants rate the time in their lives when they were happiest
To reach this conclusion, the study’s lead researcher, Begoña Álvarez, interviewed people from thirteen European countries. Germans, Spaniards, Austrians and, of course, French people – of different age groups, men and women – had to estimate when in their lives they were the happiest. For this, the participants had to answer three questions: was there a specific period during which you were happiest? If so, when did this period of happiness begin? When did this period end?
Half of participants believe they were happy until they were over 50
Results: the probabilities of being happy increase from childhood to age 34. Happiness then continues for two decades, or until age 54, according to half of those surveyed. “The early thirties are the stage of life when the chances of being (happy) are the highest“, specifies Begoña Álvarez. This can be explained by the evolution of personal and family circumstances: at this age most individuals have a job, are financially independent, have a network of friends and family. However, this does not mean that the chances of being happy totally disappear afterwards.
Adolescence, one of the times when humans are the least happy
Nevertheless, according to the study, there are two phases where the human is much less happy. First of all, the entry into adolescence, between 10 and 14 years old. This is a difficult time, when most older children seek themselves out, want to assert themselves, have their first experiences, doubt themselves… A psychologically trying period. Then, the chances of being happy therefore increase until their thirties, lasting two decades for half of the participants and a little less for the others. And it’s only from the age of 70 that the phase of happiness decreases, which could correspond to the moment when most people begin to suffer from health problems and see their autonomy diminish.
Four out of five French people happy in 2019
Nevertheless, even if the conclusions of this study give an age to happiness, this does not mean that the chances of being happy disappear afterwards. Feeling fulfilled belongs to everyone… Something that the French have understood well. In 2019, 80% of them said they were happy compared to 77% in 2018 and 68% in 2017 according to a survey Ipsos.
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