Happiest Americans are Oldest Americans

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She went to Senior Citizens every week, visited her children in Alabama and Florida, visited ill friends and aquaintances. It was always go, go, go...

"The good news is that with age comes happiness," said study author Yang Yang, a University of Chicago sociologist. "Life gets better in one's perception as one ages.

We all know the pitfalls and challenges of becoming aged, the inactivity, health issues and loneliness, but Yang says senior citizens are more content because they have learned to be grateful for what they have.

Duke University aging expert Linda George says that "older people have learned to lower their expectations and accept what they have accomplished in their lives". George also stated that people don't look to late life as a time to be happy but look at it as a time to struggle.

Yang's findings are based on periodic face-to-face interviews with a nationally representative sample of Americans from 1972 to 2004. About 28,000 people ages 18 to 88 took part.

There were "highs and lows" during the study related to good and bad economic times but in most cases the oldest people were the happiest.

While younger blacks and poor people tended to be less happy than whites and wealthier people, those differences faded as people aged.

"In general the odds of being happy increase with every 5 years of aging."

"Overall, about 33 percent of Americans reported being very happy at age 88, versus about 24 percent of those age 18 to their early 20s." During the study period less than 20% of Americans reported not being happy while there were different levels of happiness.

A separate University of Chicago study found that most citizens between the ages of 57-85 participated in at least one social activity during a week whether it was going to church, visiting family or just talking to neighbors and people in their 80's were twice as likely to participate in these activities as people in their 50's.

Both studies appear in April's American Sociological Review.

"People's social circles do tend to shrink a little as they age – that is mainly where that stereotype comes from, but that image of the isolated elderly really falls apart when we broaden our definition of what social connection is," said study co-author Benjamin Cornwell, also a University of Chicago researcher

George O'Hare, 81 years old and a retired Sears manager is active with church, AARP and is sometimes a motivational speaker.

"I'm very happy because I've made friends that are still living," O'Hare said. "I like to go out and speak in schools about motivation."

"Happiness is getting out and being with people, and that's why I recommend it," he said.

He is also very proactive and close to his children and grandchildren.

Ilse Siegler an 85 year old retired nurse who lost her husband 35 years ago has a different perspective.

She has vision problems and has slowed down with age. Yet she still swims, runs a social group in her condo building, volunteers in a retirement home and is active with her temple. These all help "make life more enjoyable," she said

While these are not the happiest years of her life she is content.

"Contentment as far as I'm concerned comes with old age ... because you accept things the way they are," she said. "You know that nothing is perfect."

Cornwell's nationally representative study was based on interviews at people's homes in 2005 and 2006. It did not include nursing home residents. Cornwell said that only 4% of Americans aged 75-84 are residents of nursing homes.

It's all good news for the aging population. However, Yang's study also found that baby boomers were the least happy. They could end up living the unfortunate old-age stereotype if they can't let go of their achievement-driven mind-set, said George, the Duke aging expert.

"Baby boomers have not lowered their aspirations". A lot of us believe we should "have it all".
Everybody seems to want a retirement that will be like a vacation and let them experience everything they did not get to earlier in life.

Personal notes...

Having just turned 45 I seem to be somewhat more contented, though I am always on the lookout for ways to make money in the future and now. I have a decent career job, a small house, a wife and 3 cats.

I am fine with a small house at least I don't have a $5500 house payment and getting foreclosed on right now.

In my late 30's and early 40's I used to be preoccupied with getting older but I just brush it off now. What can you do? It is better than the alternative as a friend and former coworker used to say, My hairline is starting to do some serious receding right now. Actually it is starting to look like a full surrender. I could buy some $50.00 Rogaine or just look like some of my uncles and other older men in my family.

Some of the biggest things I've noticed about getting older are...

1. Things are a lot clearer and decisions are easier to make.
2. The funny tricks your body plays on you.
3. You learn to appreciate the little things in life.
4. Obsessed with sports most of my life I have learned that my team can't win it all every year so enjoy each and every game like it is that championship game and savor every moment of the excitement and competition.

One small thing I had to do was quit watching local news it was making me bitter and jaded with all the crime reporting. It is like they always look for the bad instead of the good so I just said to myself..."Enough."

"This stuff is making you a "bitter" old man."