Posted on 04/18/2008 10:11:25 AM PDT by Dysart
CHICAGO (AP) — Newsflash for rock stars and teenagers: It turns out everything doesn't go downhill as we age — the golden years really are golden.
That's according to eye-opening research that found the happiest Americans are the oldest, and older adults are more socially active than the stereotype of the lonely senior suggests.
The two go hand-in-hand — being social can help keep away the blues.
"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."
A certain amount of distress in old age is inevitable, including aches, pains and deaths of loved ones and friends. But older people generally have learned to be more content with what they have than younger adults, Yang said.
This is partly because older people have learned to lower their expectations and accept their achievements, said Duke University aging expert Linda George. An older person may realize "it's fine that I was a schoolteacher and not a Nobel prize winner."
George, who was not involved in the new study, believes the research is important because the general public continues to think that "late life is far from the best stage of life and they don't look forward to it."
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 aged 18 to 88 took part.
There were ups and downs in overall happiness levels during the study, generally corresponding with good and bad economic times. But at every stage, older Americans 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 increased 5 percent with every 10 years of age.
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. And throughout the study years, most Americans reported being very happy or pretty happy; less than 20 percent said they were not too happy.
A separate University of Chicago study found that about 75 percent of people aged 57 to 85 engage in one or more social activities at least every week. Those include socializing with neighbors, attending religious services, volunteering or going to group meetings.
Those in their 80s were twice as likely as those in their 50s to do at least one of these activities.
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.
The research rings true for 81-year-old George O'Hare, a retired Sears manager in Willowbrook, Ill. He's active with church, AARP and does motivational speaking, too. His wife is still living, and he's close to his three sons and four grandchildren.
"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.
Ilse Siegler, an 84-year-old retired nurse manager in Chicago, has a slightly different perspective. Her husband died 35 years ago; she still misses him everyday.
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 Siegler said these aren't the happiest years of her life, she's 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 in-home interviews with 3,005 people in 2005-06. While it didn't include nursing home residents, only about 4 percent of Americans aged 75 to 84 are in nursing homes, Cornwell said.
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.
So far, baby boomers aren't lowering their aspirations at the same rate earlier generations did. "They still seem to believe that they should have it all," George said. "They're still thinking about having a retirement that's going to let them do everything they haven't done yet."
Previous research also has shown that mid-life tends to be the most stressful time, said Cornell University sociologist Elaine Wethington. "Everyone's asking you to do things and you have a lot to do. You're less happy because you feel hassled."
The new studies show "if you can make it through that," there's light at the end of the tunnel, Wethington said.
Of course it is. You can start crapping in your pants again.
I’d be happy as a tick on a hound, if my whole body wasn’t worn out, LOL
I’ll bet if you asked them about the idiotic Medicare drug plan, they’d change their tune.
You mean I was expected to stop?
Or perhaps they learn to be grateful for, and content with, what is
And that our desires are the greatest cause of our suffering
“Of course it is. You can start crapping in your pants again.”
And, 30 seconds later you don’t even remember you did it.
In a few days, I’ll turn 66. Is that Golden Years yet.?
I’m taking the next week off from my part time job that many would love to have, to go back packing on Cumberland Islan National seashore. It’s all flat land, no up hill
I’m pretty happy about it
One of the reasons us older folks are happier is that we have reached the point where we really don’t give a damn about what any one else thinks we should be doing. We’ve realized that we only have a bit more time on earth and we fully intend to spend it the way we want and not the way some one else thinks we should. Although we’re glad we had the opportunity to raise our kids and make them happy, we’ve done that. The time we spent making the kids happy is time we can now spend making ourselves happy.
Success
It seems that life goes by resembling somewhat of a bell curve of what is considered successful...
At age 4...success is...not peeing in your pants.
At age 10...success is...making your own meals.
At age 12...success is...having friends.
At age 16...success is...having a drivers license.
At age 20...success is...having sex.
At age 35...success is...having money.
At age 50...success is...having money.
At age 60...success is...having sex.
At age 70...success is...having a drivers license.
At age 75...success is...having friends.
At age 80...success is...making your own meals.
At age 85...success is...not peeing in your pants.
Nah. Not anymore—theses are the Oughts. 66 is the new 62.
LOL!!! So true!
That’s it! We are happy with what we have, since we have met our goals; we can draw the line at taking on any more technology than we want to use; and we have seen and heard so many End Of The World As We Know It stories — and survived them all — that we no longer get our panties in a wad when the next Marching Mommie comes screaming down the turnpike with yet another reason to duck and cover.
In 1976 everyone was shrieking that we could not survive as a nation with 45 cents a gallon gasoline. We could, and we did. So today when people are shrieking here in Kanukistan that we can’t survive with gasoline at $1.20/liter ($4.86/gallon), we shrug and go back to cultivating our garden. (And here in Toronto where our transit system is going to walk off the job on Monday, we shrug and make a list of what we will do with our time off — that we are now successful enough to take.)
Ling Ling’s father?
I would think that one thing that makes older people happier is that they become more religious.
I can remember well the time my Dad said: “I’m buying bicycles for the whole family. I’ll be damned if I’ll pay 25 cents a gallon for gasoline.”
You know, the more I think about it, the reason we’re happier is that we just don’t feel the need to give a damn just what anyone other than family thinks about anything. We don’t think we have to do anything just to impress anyone and we’re happier for it.
I wear blue jeans to work every day just because I can and because I want to. I could care less what any one thinks about it. Of course, it helps to have video of ‘where the bodies were buried’.
A couple years ago I used a urinal in a public restroom, washed my hands and was about to leave when I noticed in the mirror that my pants zipper was still down.
As I pulled it up, I turned to this 80-ish gentleman who was at the sink next to me and said, “Oops. I nearly forgot to zip up after finishing.”
He said, “Wait until you’re my age. The problem isn’t remembering to zip up after you finish. It’s remembering to zip down before you start.”
One of the reasons us older folks are happier is that we have reached the point where we really don’t give a damn about what any one else thinks we should be doing.
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I’ve noticed this is my parents and I think it is so cool.
That’s a prety good sequence and some how reminds me of the Riddle of the Sphinx.
What travels on Four legs when young, Two legs when mature and Three legs when old?
If you know the answer you may pass
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