This is the age people find the most meaning in their lives, study shows rachelgbender
A new study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, looked at more than 1,000 adults ages 21 to more than 100 years old, who live in San Diego, Calif. They were given what’s called the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, which assesses both the presence of meaning and the search for meaning.
"Many think about the meaning and purpose in life from a philosophical perspective, but meaning in life is associated with better health, wellness and perhaps longevity," senior author of the study, Dilip V. Jeste, MD, senior associate dean for the Center of Healthy Aging and distinguished professor of psychiatry and neurosciences at UC San Diego School of Medicine, told ScienceDaily."Those with meaning in life are happier and healthier than those without it.
Steger adds: “Things that help us achieve coherence, evaluate our lives as significant, and help us strive towards purpose make life feel meaningful to us.” However, Steger notes that, as this latest study found, the meaning in life seems to peak at age 60. “I published a similar study in 2009 and found that meaning in life cratered a bit for people in their mid-30s-40s, but continued to rise right through the oldest group of 65+ people we sampled,” Steger says. “It goes to show that there is certainly no reason to give up on having a meaningful life, and in fact it’s not uncommon for our later chapters to be among our most meaningful.
But he also found two other types of people in his research, who search for meaning with very different results: “One type actually does deeply embrace life as a continual process of ever-deepening meaning, in which searching for meaning is itself a path to meaning,” Steger says, noting this viewpoint is more common in East Asian cultures and those influenced by Taoism and Buddhism.
How to create more meaning in lifeThe good news is that there are ways to cultivate more meaning in your life without actively chasing after it. Steger says there are “little boosts” people can do. “Taking time to explore for yourself what does, or at least what used to, make life feel meaningful is a great place to start,” he says.
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