Once upon a time, people often experienced a dip in happiness during midlife, called the “unhappiness hump.” According to recent studies, this phenomenon seems to have vanished. Now, younger individuals report more mental distress, while older adults are feeling increasingly stable.
Research led by David Blanchflower from Dartmouth College, published in the journal PLOS One, indicates a significant shift. Traditionally, happiness followed a U-shaped curve: it decreases in youth, hits rock bottom in midlife, and then improves as we age. But data now suggest that today’s youth are struggling more than generations before.
From 1993 to 2024, over 10 million adults in the U.S. were surveyed by the CDC. Additionally, the U.K.’s Household Longitudinal Study has tracked 40,000 households since 2009. Both reveal the midlife peak in unhappiness is no longer a reality. Instead, mental health issues appear to decline gradually with age. This shift isn’t about older adults seeing improvements; it’s more about younger people facing tougher challenges.
Analyzing data from nearly 2 million people across 44 countries, researchers of the Global Minds study found that this trend holds globally from 2020 to 2025. Various factors might be contributing to this change, including economic challenges from the Great Recession, inadequate mental health services, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact of social media. It’s a complex issue that deserves further exploration.
The findings are striking. As the authors state, “Today, mental ill-being is highest among the young and declines with age.” In the past, the opposite was true. This historic reversal highlights a pressing mental health crisis among the younger generation that needs urgent attention.
In a world increasingly focused on mental well-being, these trends can’t be ignored. Access to mental health resources and understanding the unique pressures facing youth today are crucial steps toward fostering a healthier future. To dive deeper into this area, more research will be imperative.
For further reading, check out the original study: “The declining mental health of the young and the global disappearance of the unhappiness hump shape in age” by David G. Blanchflower et al. in PLOS ONE. You can find it here.
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