December 2023. Why was I there in Hanoi? Quite simply, I wanted to feel happy in a different environment, away from the heat and humidity of Singapore, have time to reflect and write, and savour the culinary delights of Vietnam.
Flying into Hanoi from Singapore, I immediately noticed the difference in economic development. Yes, Singapore is wealthy, but Vietnam is not quite there yet. The GDP per capita of Singapore (2022) was US $82,808; that of Vietnam was US $4170. Are Singaporeans that many times happier than the Vietnamese?
In the 70s, Richard Easterlin, an economist, noticed that countries do not get happier as they get richer beyond a certain point. In doing so, he founded a new branch of economics focused on human well-being. Twenty years later, British labour economists David Blanchflower and Andrew Oswald noted that life satisfaction declines during the first couple of decades of adulthood, bottoms out in the 40s or early 50s, and increases with age, reaching higher levels than young adulthood. The pattern became known as the “Happiness U-curve”, – and they observed the same phenomenon in over 145 countries. Older people tend to report greater happiness and life satisfaction than younger ones.
The “Happiness U-curve” tells us that getting older is getting happier! Getting older affords benefits – we become more agreeable and more conscientious. Older people are better at controlling their emotions – we calm them down as we age. In other words, we are likely to get along better with others, pay better attention to our health or place ourselves in fewer risky situations.
Yes, with age comes happiness! And surprisingly, most of us remain happy despite frailty and illnesses. When I am with my friends, we frequently joke about how our bodies fall apart like old jalopies! Research findings from Stanford University may provide some clues and insights into why we tend to feel better as we age.
In 1990, Laura Carstensen (director of the Stanford Centre on Longevity) noted that our social motives fall into two general categories–those related to acquiring knowledge and those related to our emotions. When we are young, we feel time is open-ended and prioritise knowledge-related goals (such as study, investments, or career advancement). In later life, when we view time as more limited than endless, our goals shift to selective activities and more emotionally meaningful relationships. Not only do our motivations shift, but we also change.
As we age, we tend to think more positively. We experience fewer negative emotions and look at the past more positively. An elderly couple, for example, will be more likely to appreciate what is good in their relationship and overlook what is troubling. The outcome is we favour savouring the positive while dwelling less on the negative. Age changes our values and outlook, which explains the surprising upturn in late-life satisfaction.
Research also shows that our negative memories can “mellow” and “distort” in a positive direction. Hence, we have fewer regrets – healthy ageing helps people accept things they cannot control. Thus, we can put bad things in context and cherish good things and moments. When we regret, we live in the past; when we worry, we live in the future. Older adults prefer living in the present, taking each day as it comes.
Yes, we can all savour the joy of ageing and mellowing. Let us break the ageist chains that hold us back and throw off the ropes that tie us down.”
I love getting older. My understanding deepens. I can see what connects. I can weave stories of experience and apply them. I can integrate the lessons. Things simply become more and more fascinating. Beauty reveals itself in thousands of forms.
Victoria Erickson
Vince
Dr Vincent Chong is a retired Professor of Radiology at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.
