Older, wiser – and happier

I welcome our classmates from the UST Medicine Class of 1965, many of them from abroad, who are here to celebrate our Sapphire Jubilee reunion and homecoming. This piece is for you, guys.

Reunions — whether school, family, company or otherwise — is a good time to reflect and take stock. How are things going in my life? Am I happy? Philosophers and ordinary individuals have been asking the latter questions for millennia. What constitutes happiness is still up for debate, but for everyone from Aurora to Zosimo, its pursuit stands as one of man’s highest aspirations.

Increasingly, researchers are studying well-being from scientific perspectives — sociological, biological, genetic, and psychological. Read on to learn more about the complexities underlying the age-old goal of the pursuit of happiness.

HAPPINESS AND AGING

Happiness, good health, and wealth are often partners — which is just one reason economists, physicians, and statisticians study happiness. But pursuing happiness is different from having it. Investigators from the University of Warwick in England and Dartmouth College in New Hampshire now tell us that the road is likely to get rocky in midlife — whatever your circumstances and wherever you live.

The sample of humanity in their study, published in Social Science & Medicine, is enormous — two million people from 80 nations. Where did they get the information? Unbeknownst to most of us, huge surveys of well-being exist, and are regularly updated as well as analyzed. These include the US General Social Surveys, the Eurobaro-meters, and the World Value Surveys. Participants answer such questions as: “Taken all together, how would you say things are these days?” And “Do you feel constantly under strain?” And “Do you think of yourself as worthless?” Pertinent facts, such as age, health, housing, income and education levels, marital status, and employment, are also recorded.

Amazingly enough, from Albania to Zimbabwe, the midlife crisis is a reality. Researchers charted a U-shaped curve of psychological well-being through the life course (see graph). Mental distress peaks in middle age, and happiness ebbs. After this midlife downswing, happiness gradually climbs back up, and people in their 60s and 70s, if healthy physically, tend to be as satisfied as young people are.

Though people’s fortunes and experiences vary greatly, what’s surprising is the similar pattern over the life cycle. “Some people suffer more than others, but in our data, the average effect is large,” the researchers concluded. “It happens to men and women, to single and married people, to those with and without children. Nobody knows why we see this consistency.”

The Golden Years Glow

Although researchers can’t say for sure why the contentment curve swings upward again in later life, they offer some theories:

• As people mature, they accept their weaknesses and become more realistic about their goals and interests. Maybe in midlife, we give up dreams we know we can never fulfill.

• With older age, social disparities based on race, sex, and education level out, reducing the effects of both advantages and disadvantages earlier in life.

• Maturity also brings more insight, self-esteem, and immunity to life’s stresses. Maybe we learn to adapt.

• As we grow older and start to lose friends and loved ones, we count our blessings more.

• Or maybe, it’s just that the cheerful and sturdy live long enough to answer questions when they are 70.

The Genetics Of Happiness

While growing older generally increases life satisfaction, other factors play a role. One is your genetic makeup. Numerous studies have shown that genetic effects account for as much as half the individual differences in both well-being and positive personality traits, which are closely linked. And women tend to be slightly happier than men are.

That doesn’t mean your level of satisfaction will always remain at a certain “set point,” say researchers. People respond to life events, and long-term levels of happiness may change after events such as marriage, divorce, death or disability. Personality traits also influence how well and how quickly people adapt to change.

Money Can’t Buy Happiness

Life circumstances also influence happiness, to a lesser degree than genetics does. Higher levels of education boost happiness. Happiness also increases with social connectedness. This may also explain why women are happier than men, who are more likely to be socially isolated, especially after they retire.

People in excellent health are almost twice as likely as those in merely “good” health to be happier, while those in poor health are 70 percent less likely to be happy compared with those in good health. Married people are generally happier than those who are widowed, divorced or single. But it’s not a straight-forward cause and effect — happier people are more likely to get married in the first place, and people who eventually get divorced often start out with lower levels of well-being.

And what about money? As the truism goes, it can’t buy happiness. Poverty doesn’t make for happiness, but once your basic needs are met, income levels hold little sway on life satisfaction.

Measuring Happiness In The Body

A number of studies have linked a sense of well-being with major health benefits, including greater longevity and less risk of disease. As researchers try to understand the relationship between health and happiness, they’ve discovered some physical measurements that correlate with positive states of mind — a sort of well-being index.

• Cortisol levels. Cortisol is one of the hormones released when you’re under stress, and chronic elevation of stress hormones can contribute to several health problems.

• Inflammatory marker levels. Chronic inflammation is also thought to contribute to some long-term diseases. Physical and mental stresses increase levels of two markers of inflammation, C-reactive protein and interleukin-6. A more contented state of mind is associated with reduced levels of these markers in women but not in men.

• High blood pressure. Some researchers have shown that on average, people’s blood pressure is lower in “happier” countries — than those on the top in surveys of psychological well-being. Denmark, for example, consistently scores high on the happiness index and has fewer problems with high blood pressure.

How To Stay Happy

In her popular book, The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want, Sonja Ljubomirsky, professor of psychology at UC Riverside in California, suggests the following to stay sunny:

• Count your blessings. Express gratitude for what you have privately and also by conveying appreciation to others.

• Cultivate optimism. Keep a journal in which you write your best possible future. Practice seeing the bright side of every situation.

• Avoid over-thinking and social comparison. When you start to dwell on problems or compare yourself to others, distract yourself with positive thoughts or activities.

• Practice kindness. Do good things for others.

• Do more activities that truly engage you. Increase those experiences at home or work in which you lose yourself in total absorption.

• Replay and savor life’s joys. Pay attention, delight in and review life’s momentary pleasures.

• Commit to your goals. Pick one or more significant goals and devote time and effort to pursuing them.

• Develop coping strategies. Find and practice healthy ways to manage stress, hardship or trauma.

• Forgive. Keep a journal or write a letter in which you let go of anger and resentment towards those who have hurt you.

• Practice spirituality. Get more involved in your church, temple or mosque. Read spiritual books.

• Take care of your body.  Exercise, meditate, and laugh.

Remember: Don’t worry, be happy! –Tyrone M. Reyes, M.D. (The Philippine Star)