At What Age Are People Usually Happiest?

At what age were you happiest? At what point in time would you go back to without blinking an eye just to relive it? Today's article will explore a recent study that apparently can tell the age which most people would go back to.
At What Age Are People Usually Happiest?

Last update: 15 November, 2022

At what age are people usually happiest? Happiness is an ambiguous and subjective term, semantically speaking. This is because the reasons for feeling happy vary greatly from one person to another. However, perhaps you need to understand what happiness is if you really want to experience what it means to be happy and fulfilled.

Happiness is an electrifying and wonderful state that intoxicates and fills you with deep inner satisfaction. It can happen after meeting a wonderful person or buying your dream country house. Some say that there’s no happiness in life. In other words, that there are only ephemeral states of bliss. Grounding moments in which peace and serenity are already happy states.

“The happiest people were the ones who existed as little more than dimly conscious food-ingestion devices that enjoyed the occasional orgasm. Intelligence and thinking were really only needed for acquiring food.”

-Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen-

A woman enjoying the breeze.

The How of Happiness

Be that as it may, happiness is a state of human beings. People in the branches of psychology, theology, and philosophy continue to study it extensively and political scientists and economists constantly analyze it.

However, from the positive psychology standpoint, happiness is a state of well-being that encompasses living a good life and enjoying it. In other words, a meaningful life with a sense of purpose and deep satisfaction.

In her book The How of Happiness, Sonja Lyubomirsky speaks of happiness as an experience of joy, satisfaction, and positive well-being. One that comes along with the feeling that life is good, meaningful, and valuable.

Achieving happiness is, in a certain way, a state of searching for that which gives you pleasure. That which provides you with that longed-for well-being. This is why the term is quite subjective and different for every person.

At what age are people usually happiest? Happiness and positive thoughts

Maintaining or promoting positive thoughts is one way to feel happier. Happiness, a Quick Immersion is a recent publication by economist Benjamin Radcliff and politologist Amitava Krishna Dutt. They discuss whether money buys happiness, precisely.

Furthermore, there are three fundamental pillars as the basis of their theories:

  • The balance between transitory emotions, both positive (joy) and negative (anxiety).
  • Cognitive self-judgments about life in a general long-term sense.
  • The possibility of finding meaning in life.

In addition, a recent study conducted by Professor of Psychology Clare Mehta at Emmanuel College analyzed the experiences of people between the ages of 30 and 40 for more than four years.

The results indicate that the age of 36 is the happiest. Indeed, many idealized their youth listing the absence of responsibilities and tedious tasks. However, others preferred that age when events can mark you for life. For example, getting married, having children buying a house, getting divorced, taking a professional turn, and choosing not to have children, among others.

A man enjoying the sun.

Being happy on the road and in a state of struggle

From the study comes the idea of “enjoying the journey before the goal“. As the study’s author says: “I found adults were happiest when they were somewhat settled, but still struggling. Thus, 30 to 40 is a much more rewarding stage than you might think”.

Participants in those years felt more overwhelmed by the challenges they faced, but also more satisfied. What this means is that whatever gave them positive stress also brought them more joy and happiness.

Syncing work, growing up at work, caring for others, be it children, or older family members are difficult responsibilities. However, these are often also valuable sources of positive emotions.

Finally, career changes, challenges, the setting and achievement of goals in the medium, short, or long term, relationships, and general skills to face the life for which people have been fighting and working since they were 20 years old, is in itself life. These are the moments in which people attained greater confidence in themselves.


All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.


  • Happiness: A Quick Immersion (Felicidad: una inmersión rápida)

  • The How of Hapiness. A Practical Guide to Getting The Life You Want. (El cómo de la felicidad: Una guía práctica para obtener la vida que desea)


This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.