Oldest Americans Are Happiest

Those who are looking forward to their retirement are looking forward to the happiest time of their lives, according to a new study. The oldest Americans are the happiest, "and older adults are more socially active than the stereotype of the lonely senior suggests," according to an Associated Press article.

"The two go hand-in-hand—being social can help keep away the blues."

"A certain amount of distress in old age is inevitable, including aches, pains and deaths of loved ones and friends. But older people generally have learned to be more content with what they have than younger adults," according to the article.

The study, which included 28,000 people aged 18 to 88, found that "there were ups and downs in overall happiness levels during the study, generally corresponding with good and bad economic times. But at every stage, older Americans were the happiest," according to the article.

"In general, the odds of being happy increased 5 percent with every 10 years of age."