People say that getting old sucks. In my humble opinion, it's still better than the alternative. Yet each decade comes with its own perks and woes. Interestingly, according to research, the 5th decade of a person's life is the least joyful. You see, a person's happiness correlates to their age: we get a U-shaped curve if we were to look at a person's entire life.
We're happiest when we're little, and we're the least happy in our 40s. Then, after our 5th decade, the happiness starts to rise again. In 2020, Economist David G. Blanchflower concluded that the U-shaped happiness-age curve applies to many places, not just Europe and America. So, it seems to be a universal experience, not just for developed countries.
But what's it like to be in your 40s? Is it really that bad? One netizen wondered exactly this because they asked: "Hey y'all in your 40's: what are the physical changes you start to see in your body once you leave your 30's? What should we expect to experience physiologically as we get into our 4th decade?" As a person entering her 4th decade soon, I'm starting to wonder: should I be afraid?
