When you ask people when they were the happiest, chances are they get nostalgic and reflect back to their childhood. After all, that's when we were living free of all responsibilities - I mean really, bills? What the hell are those? Not to mention, other people were tending to our needs while our only "job" was to play, learn, then nap (all on repeat). But shockingly, data has proven popular opinion to be inaccurate¹, showing that our happiness tends to grow as we get older! So at what age are we the happiest? Happify came up with an unexpected answer.

当你问及他人什么时候是你最幸福的时候时，他们很有可能怀旧、回忆起童年时代。毕竟，那个时候的我们不用负任何责任--说真的，账单？这是什么鬼？更别提还有人负责照顾我们，我们的唯一'职责'就是玩、学习和睡觉（循环往复）。但令人震惊的是，数据表明流行的观点并不准确，我们的幸福感往往会随着年龄的增长而增长！所以，哪个年纪的我们最幸福呢？Happify提出了一个令人意想不到的答案。

According to Happify, an app that focuses on people enhancing their happiness through exercise and games, at age 18 people are actually quite happy. However, that dips in the middle years with 53 being the lowest point of happiness. Then once again, happiness increases as you approach 60 (huge gap, right?). But wait, that's not it! From then on, happiness continues to rise until 85 (the oldest age studied).

Happify表示，一款专注于通过锻炼和游戏提高人们幸福感的应用表明，18岁的时候人们最为幸福。然而，人到中年幸福感会有所下降，53岁时幸福感最低。之后，当你快60岁的时候，幸福感又会上升（差距很大，对不？）但等一等，还没完呢！60岁之后，幸福感会继续上升直至85岁（本研究所涉及的最大年龄）。

But we're thinking it's good news that happiness rises as you age because it was also found that those who stay positive live 7.5 years longer. (Looks like the "grumpy old person" stereotype² just isn't true!)

但我们认为幸福感随着年龄的增长而增加是件好事，因为研究还发现：积极向上的人群寿命延长了七年半。（似乎"脾气暴躁的老年人"这一刻板影响并不正确！）

There are a few reasons given to why people get happier as they get older. One is simply that, happy people live longer and two, it has been found that as people age they enjoy "ordinary" experiences more. Essentially³, people over 55 become more satisfied with their life through family, health, and home. Lastly, according to You Can Retire Sooner Than You Think, happy retirees pick up interests like volunteering, traveling, or teaching - activities that they once didn't have the time or energy to pursue.

为什么人们越老越幸福呢？其中一个原因很简单：幸福的人活的更久。第二个原因是，研究发现随着人们年纪的增长，他们会更享受"平凡的"经历。基本上，55岁以上的人群会更加满意他们的生活、家庭和健康。最后，You Can Retire Sooner Than You Think一书认为：快乐的退休人员会选择做志愿、旅游或教课重拾兴趣--这些是他们先前没有时间或经历追求的活动。

I guess the end goal for all of us in our middle age is to be able to retire and truly enjoy the small beauties (important aspects) of life. If this is true, we no longer have to cling to nostalgia⁴, because the best years are still ahead.

我猜所有中年人的最终目标就是能够退休、并真正享受生活中的美好事物（重要方面）。如果真是这样，我们将无需继续怀旧，因为最好的年华还在前头。