The longer you live, the happier you're likely to be, a growing body of research shows.

    Researchers who spoke at the recently concluded annual convention of the American Psychological Association in Toronto said that mental health generally improves with age. Given that the world population of people over 65 is expected to nearly triple by 2050, according to U.S. officials, this should come as good news.

    Reporting on several studies of aging and mental health, Susan Turk Charles, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, said the findings indicate that happiness and emotional well-being improve with time.

    Older adults exert greater emotional control, said Charles. Studies show they learn to avoid or limit stressful situations and are less likely than younger adults to let negative comments or criticism bother them.

    Charles added that "we know that older people are increasingly aware that the time they have left in life is growing shorter. They want to make the best of it so they avoid engaging in situations that will make them unhappy. They have also had more time to learn and understand the intentions of others, which helps them to avoid these stressful situations."

    Another study conducted over a 23-year period examined three groups of people at three different life stages and concluded that emotional happiness grew with age, she said.

    These findings may not apply to older adults who feel trapped in distressing situations and those with forms of dementia, Charles said. "We know that older adults who are dealing with chronic stressors, such as caregiving, report high rates of physical symptoms and emotional distress," she added.

    In separate reports, Charles and Laura Carstensen, a psychology professor at Stanford University, also noted that social relationships -- or lack of them -- influence how older people respond to stress. Carstensen cited a Swedish study that concluded that people with strong social connections were less likely to suffer cognitive impairment than others. It seems social relationships influence the way that the brain processes information, she said. "These changes have a profound impact on health outcomes," Carstensen said.

    一個成長機構的研究表明：你活的越長，你可能就越快樂。

    在近期結束的多倫多美國心理協會的年會上發言的研究人員說，心理健康一般隨著年齡提高。根據美國官方表示，超過65歲的世界人口預計在2050年增長近兩倍，這應該是一個好消息。

    對于一些老齡化和心理健康的報道，加利福尼亞大學的教授Susan Turk Charles說，發現表明幸福和情感健康隨著時間而增長。

    Charles說，老年人會發揮更大的情感控制。研究顯示他們學會避免或者限制受壓情況以及不像年輕人那樣讓消極評論或批評困擾他們。

    Charles補充說"我們知道老年人越來越意識到他們生命中剩下的時間不多了。他們想充分利用它，那樣他們就避免把自己放置于讓自己不開心的情形中。他們還有更多的時間去學習和理解他人的意圖，這樣就有助于他們避免這些受壓情況。"

    她說，另一個超過23年的研究檢測了三個不同生命階段的三類人，并總結出情感幸福隨著年齡增加。

    Charles說，這些發現也許不適用于覺得陷于沮喪情形中的和那些有各種各樣癡呆的老年人。她補充說："我們知道，老年人正在處理慢性壓力，諸如護理，報道生理特征和情緒困擾的高發生率。"

    在個別報道中，Charles Laura 和斯坦福大學的心理學教授Carstensen也指出，社會關系或者缺少他們，影響老年人是如何回應壓力的。Carstensen引用了一個瑞典人的研究，它總結出有很強的社會關系的人比其他人更少遭受認知傷害。她說，看來社會關系影響大腦處理信息。Carstensen說："這些變化對健康結果產生深遠的影響"