By Julie E 
Photo Credit ( Pixels )
According to a survey by the nonprofit friendship group Oddfellows, people are happiest when they are 70 years of age and older. This contradicts the widely held belief that life begins at 40.
According to their senior study, only one-sixth of respondents in their 60s said they were “extremely happy,” compared to one-third of respondents in their 70s.
A large portion of that contentment seems to be centered around retiring. The majority of individuals in their seventies stated that their favorite part of their golden years was hanging out with friends. They said that they relished the independence that came with being retired, pointing out that they could go shopping whenever they wanted and were no longer required to put off doing housework until the weekend.
Happiness isn’t the only thing, though, that septuagenarians can surpass, or at least equal, in their 40s—those enjoying that youthful, experienced era of life.
adults in their 70s who have been exercising consistently for decades are roughly as strong and have the heart and lung capacity of healthy adults in their 40s, according to another study that was published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.
Researchers compared individuals in their 70s who worked out with an average of five days (seven hours) a week for cardiovascular exercise to individuals in their 40s who had comparable fitness routines. They measured each participant’s maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) to evaluate heart function. They also took muscle biopsies to look for aerobic enzymes and capillary health, which assist blood flow. A lower VO2 max raises the possibility of developing certain chronic illnesses as well as dying young.
Despite the fact that VO2 max normally decreases by around 10% every ten years after 30, researchers discovered that the participants who were 70 years old and active had comparable cardiovascular health to those who were 40 to 45 years old.
In another study, a group of septuagenarians who trained competitively were evaluated. It was shown that some of them even outperformed their younger peers in cardiovascular testing, but they were equal in capillary and muscle health tests.
You don’t have to run a triathlon to be able to achieve the same benefits.
Walking for 30 to 45 minutes a day would “have significant and substantial benefits,” according to Dr. Scott Trappe, lead author of the study and director of Ball State University’s Human Performance Laboratory, who spoke with Science News.
Maybe we should work a little walk into that blissfully free retirement schedule we all adore.