The Best Things About Getting Older

Learn why your bright future starts now

Remember when a birthday was cause for a big, streamer-strewn blowout? Turns out it still is. There's mounting evidence that midlife—and the decades beyond—are just as satisfying as the first half of life, if not more so. Here, five reasons to enjoy the present and look forward to what's ahead.

1. With midlife comes peace.

The midlife crisis is a common theme in movies, but it is rarely a woman's reality. In fact, only 10% to 20% of Americans report having a crisis at midlife. Research from the ongoing Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study shows that most middle-aged people are very satisfied with how their lives are going, and many envision even better days to come.

And here's more good news: "Happiness actually increases as you inch closer to later life," says MIDUS researcher Margie Lachman, PhD, director of the Lifespan Initiative on Healthy Aging and Lifespan Lab at Brandeis University. "Midlife is seen as the halfway point, so there's still a lot of time to make progress toward your goals."

2. Life has meaning, finally.

When you were younger, you probably spent a lot of time uneasy about your place in the world. What should you do? Who would you be? Reaching midlife often puts these questions to rest, according to new data collected by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Experts found that people ages 40 to 60 are more apt than younger ones to say they'd found meaning and were no longer searching for it. That's not to say you'll never have moments of doubt, but trust that with all your accrued experience, you're on your way.

3. Stress isn't so stressful anymore.

Even though the number of stressors at midlife is at an all-time high, you get much better at coping, according to findings from the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE).

The result? You feel less stressed. "Certain people, no matter their age, are like Velcro: Something stresses them out and it sticks to them all day," says researcher David Almeida, PhD, professor of human development and family studies at Penn State University. "Others are like Teflon—stress just slides off them." Once you hit midlife, the study found, you're more apt to be Teflon-like, even if you used to be closer to Velcro.

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4. Your future health really is yours to shape.

While genetics plays a role in whether you'll be sharp at 90, what you do now may determine just how golden your later years turn out to be.

Research published in the Journals of Gerontology found that middle-aged people who regularly exercise, keep their body mass index in a healthy range and maintain a social circle are most apt to have aged "successfully" four years down the line. What's more, these factors—which are entirely within your control—influence the external measures your doctor uses to assess your health, as well as how you feel about aging.

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5. You're a font of knowledge.

Researchers at the University of Tubingen in Germany created computer models to simulate younger and older brains and came to this conclusion: Older brains are just as good as younger ones. They are also more jam-packed with knowledge, simply because they have absorbed so much information over the years. While it takes extra time to sort through that information—sort of like the way your computer moves more slowly when you're working on a large file—you are as sharp as you were when you were younger.

So when random facts or people's names are caught on the tip of your tongue, don't assume that you're starting to lose it. These little lapse bubbles are likely a sign that you know more (and are vastly more popular) than ever. "If you look after yourself, getting older simply means getting smarter," says lead author Michael Ramscar, PhD. Your kids may take a few more years to recognize that, but you can celebrate now.

Photos from Getty Images.

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