Three Reasons Old People Are Happier

""I have achieved my 70 years in the usual way," he declared, according to an account in The New York Times, "by sticking strictly to a scheme of life which would kill anybody else." The maxim he offered was this: "We can't reach old age by another man's road.""

"The secret to a long and happy life is clearly not smoking, drinking, and carousing. But he's correct that there is no plug-and-play formula that works for everyone. Within obvious parameters, each of us should experiment with different ideas and specific ways of living, a proposition I have previously discussed. Some people are at their healthiest on a vegetarian diet; others will be so by eating Mediterranean."

"These details aside, however, a few general habits do matter. I won't detain you with the health-and-wellness stuff that you might hear from your doctor: Lay off the smokes and go for a walk, for God's sake. I want instead to call your attention to certain patterns of behavior that are not so obvious but that help explain why old people tend to be happier than young adults."

Mark Twain observed at age 70 that there is no universal road to old age and that individuals must find personalized ways of living. People differ in what makes them healthiest and happiest, with some thriving on vegetarian or Mediterranean diets and others preferring city or country life. Certain general habits matter, such as avoiding smoking and maintaining physical activity, but less obvious patterns of behavior also contribute to greater well-being among older adults. In the United States, older adults score higher on average in well-being than younger adults. Learning and adopting effective behavioral rules earlier accelerates enjoyment of those benefits.

Read at The Atlantic