Youth is wasted on the young, so the saying goes. Many older people have health issues, worry about retirement savings, and their mobility slows. So why are so many seniors so happy?

As reported recently on HispanicBusiness.com, studies have shown that people’s happiness tends to increase until the age of 30, when it peaks and then begins to decline, and then rises after the age of 50. The news source said that the age demographic with the highest levels of happiness are those over the age of 80.

“There is a shift in priorities and goals and what’s important as we age,” Cory Balkan, a psychology expert from the Washington State University Vancouver, told the media outlet. “Personal relationships and friendships are very important to them. They live in the present moment.”

A recent study from Northeastern University in Boston found that seniors tend to focus less on negativity, and more on the bright side of things. The lead researcher, Derek Isaacowitz, told the news source that his study asked younger people and older people to look at both positive and negative imagery, and seniors tended to spend less time looking at the negative imagery, possibly because their life experiences have taught them to do just that.

This research will allow assisted living, Alzheimer’s Care and retirement living communities across North America to be more confident that their residents are some of the happiest people around.

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