Ageing involves loss, and it also involves growth. Research indicates that some things, including emotional life, wisdom-related thinking, physical strength and caring for others, can hold steady or improve as we get older.
Do our emotions improve with age?
In a Stanford-led study of adults in the San Francisco Bay Area, 184 people aged 18 to 94 reported their emotions at random times across a week. They repeated the week five and ten years later (Carstensen et al., 2011).
Older age was linked with more positive emotion overall, more emotional stability and more mixed feelings, such as feeling happy and sad at once. The pattern held after accounting for personality, verbal fluency and physical health.
One explanation is that people invest more in what matters most to them as time feels more limited (Carstensen et al., 2011). This is a theory, not a certainty.
A community study of 1,546 adults aged 21 to 100 in San Diego County, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, found a similar direction. Physical and cognitive functioning were lower in older age groups, while mental health was better by about one standard deviation across the adult lifespan (Thomas et al., 2016). The study was cross-sectional, so it compares different people at one point in time.
Older adults also tend to pay more attention to positive than negative information. A meta-analysis of 100 studies found this 'positivity effect' was reliable (Reed et al., 2014).
Australian data point the same way. Analyses of three national panels, including Australia's HILDA survey, found a strong increase in happiness around age 60, followed by a decline after 75 (Frijters & Beatton, 2012). This is older work.
The picture is not simply upward, though. A US study led by a University of California, Irvine psychologist followed adults aged 22 to 95 for up to 20 years (Charles et al., 2023).
At each point in time, older adults reported less distress and negative emotion and more positive emotion than younger adults. Over time, wellbeing improved from the twenties into the forties, stayed largely stable in midlife, and was stable or slightly lower beyond the fifties.
A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies agrees. Life satisfaction rose slightly until about age 70 and then fell, and negative emotion dropped until about age 60 and then rose (Buecker et al., 2023).
So emotional strengths look real, and they are not guaranteed. Health changes and losses can shape wellbeing in later life, and of course people differ.
What gets stronger in our thinking?
Thinking does not age as a single block. An analysis of data from 48,537 online participants, plus standard IQ and memory test norms, found that some abilities peak around high school graduation, some plateau in early adulthood and others do not peak until the 40s or later (Hartshorne & Germine, 2015).
Wise reasoning may also improve. In two studies using a representative community sample, older people used more reasoning that considers multiple perspectives, allows for compromise and recognises the limits of knowledge when thinking through social conflicts (Grossmann et al., 2010).
Learning new things still seems to help. In studies by researchers at the University of California, Riverside, older adults took part in a three-month program learning several new skills at once, such as photography, Spanish and drawing (Sheffler et al., 2023).
Their growth mindset increased, and those who began with a stronger growth mindset showed larger cognitive gains at the end. As with many intervention studies, more research is needed.
UCLA researchers add that self-compassion, meaning kindness toward yourself in hard times, is a possible target for supporting wellbeing in later life, although they add that more research is needed (Nguyen et al., 2023).
Can our bodies still get stronger?
Strength tends to decline with age, but the ability to build it does not disappear. A meta-analysis of 14 randomised trials in adults aged 65 and over, with 1,130 participants and an average age of 70, found that progressive resistance training increased leg strength and hip bone density compared with not training (O'Bryan et al., 2022).
Leg-press strength rose by about 25 percentage points more than in groups that did not train. Most studies enrolled people who were not regular exercisers and had little or no strength-training experience, which suggests it is not too late to start.
The authors are from Victoria University and the University of Melbourne. They note that bone changes were less certain than strength changes, and that 92% of participants were women.
If you have a health condition, a conversation with your GP or physiotherapist first is a good idea.
Do our habits and character change?
Many people become more proactive about their health in midlife. In an Australian survey of more than 900 women aged 40 to 65, women aged 60 to 65 were more likely than younger women to be in the high group for proactive health and wellbeing behaviours (Kopanidis & Reid, 2024).
Proactiveness was also linked with a more balanced diet, lower smoking, less frequent anxiety and fewer limits on physical functioning.
Older adults also tend to be somewhat more giving. A meta-analysis of 46 studies found older adults were more prosocial than younger adults, with a small to moderate difference (Li et al., 2024). However, the difference was clearest for sharing and was not clear for helping or comforting. It also appeared only when older adults had higher socioeconomic status than younger adults.
A second meta-analysis of 120 samples, with more than 100,000 people, found small age effects too. Middle-aged adults were also more prosocial than younger adults, while middle-aged and older adults did not differ (Pollerhoff et al., 2024).
Personality research points to emotional steadiness. A 2022 meta-analysis of longitudinal studies found that emotional stability increased consistently across the lifespan (Bleidorn et al., 2022).
Can people feel well when physical health declines?
Poor physical health is one of the hardest parts of ageing, and it is linked with lower wellbeing. In a survey of 500 Polish adults aged 60 to 86, that link was weaker among people who scored higher on wisdom, measured as a mix of understanding, reflection and compassion (Zadworna & Ardelt, 2025).
These people also tended to hold more positive attitudes toward their own ageing. Those attitudes partly explained their better mental health (Zadworna & Ardelt, 2025).
Mind and body travel together. In a study of about 9,700 older adults in China, lower life satisfaction was linked with more frailty-related health deficits. The authors note the link could run in both directions (Liu et al., 2025).
Why do relationships and community matter?
In a study of 336 older adults in China, more social support was linked with higher social wellbeing. Part of that link ran through cognitive reappraisal, which means seeing a situation in a different light (Du et al., 2023).
A 2026 scoping review of 52 studies found that neighbourhoods with more social cohesion and more green space were generally linked with greater flourishing in later life (Zhang et al., 2026). Most studies were cross-sectional and about 30 were from China, so how well this applies to Australian communities is unclear.
A recent review of a book about American Franciscan sisters describes ageing well as interdependence, shared meaning and acceptance of decline, rather than independence alone (Keenoy et al., 2025).
What does this mean in practice?
None of these studies promises that a change in mindset will change a health outcome. They suggest that attitudes, relationships, meaning, learning, strength and self-kindness deserve attention alongside physical health.
Zadworna and Ardelt (2025) propose attitudes toward ageing and wisdom as targets for healthy ageing programs. These are areas people can explore with a psychologist, and outcomes differ from person to person.
What the research tells us
Older adults tend to report more positive and less negative emotion than younger adults. Over time, wellbeing improves into the forties and is mostly stable or slightly lower beyond the fifties (Buecker et al., 2023; Charles et al., 2023).
Some mental abilities do not peak until the 40s or later, and older adults used more perspective-taking reasoning about social conflicts (Grossmann et al., 2010; Hartshorne & Germine, 2015).
Resistance training increased leg strength in adults aged 65 and over, with most studies enrolling people who were not regular exercisers (O'Bryan et al., 2022).
Older adults tend to be somewhat more prosocial, and emotional stability tends to rise across adulthood (Bleidorn et al., 2022; Li et al., 2024; Pollerhoff et al., 2024).
Among Australian women aged 40 to 65, positive perceptions of ageing and a clearer purpose were linked with more proactive health behaviours (Kopanidis & Reid, 2024).
The link between poor physical health and lower wellbeing was weaker among older adults who scored higher on wisdom (Zadworna & Ardelt, 2025).
Social support and socially cohesive neighbourhoods are linked with higher wellbeing in later life (Du et al., 2023; Zhang et al., 2026).
Much of the evidence is cross-sectional and from outside Australia, so cause and generalisability remain open questions.
Frequently asked questions
Is ageing only about decline?
No. Ageing includes real losses and it also includes growth. Studies link more positive views of ageing with better wellbeing and functioning, though most are observational (Thiamwong, 2025; Zadworna & Ardelt, 2025).
Do people really get happier as they get older?
On average, older adults report more positive and less negative emotion than younger adults. Longitudinal studies show wellbeing improving into the forties and then mostly holding steady, with a slight easing in later life for many people (Buecker et al., 2023; Charles et al., 2023).
Is it too late to build strength?
Trials in adults aged 65 and over found that resistance training improved leg strength, and most studies enrolled people who were not regular exercisers (O'Bryan et al., 2022). Check with your GP or physiotherapist first if you have a health condition.
Can changing how I think about ageing change my health?
This is not proven. Most studies show associations, and the direction can run both ways (Liu et al., 2025). Growth mindset programs are being tested, with early findings (Sheffler et al., 2023; Thiamwong, 2025).
Is it too early or too late to start thinking about this?
Never too early, never too late. The studies above include adults from their twenties to their nineties (Charles et al., 2023; Kopanidis & Reid, 2024; Zadworna & Ardelt, 2025).
Getting support
If you are experiencing depression, anxiety, an adjustment difficulty, trauma or another mental health concern in relation to ageing or your current chapter in life, you can ask your GP whether a Mental Health Treatment Plan is suitable for you. Your GP will explore whether you’re likely to benefit from structured psychological support and whether you have a diagnosed mental health concern.
Medicare rebates may apply with a plan. No referral is needed to book. GPs can find our details on our Referral Assistance page.
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References and reading
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