If you’re middle-aged and miserable, don’t despair: Give it a decade or two and you’ll be feeling like a carefree young person again.

如果你現(xiàn)在身處中年，迷惘痛苦，千萬(wàn)不要絕望：再等一二十年，你就又會(huì)像年輕人一樣無(wú)憂無(wú)慮了。

Researchers have revealed that life satisfaction peaks at 23 and 69. People in their early twenties overestimate their future life satisfaction by an average of around 10 per cent, before the disappointments of life kick in.

研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，人在23歲和69歲時(shí)的生活滿意數(shù)值達(dá)到最高點(diǎn)。在令人失望的生活到來(lái)之前，平均大約有10%的人會(huì)在二十出頭時(shí)對(duì)未來(lái)生活的滿意程度過(guò)于樂觀。

They face decades of declining expectation before hitting their lowest point in their mid-fifties, when regrets over unrealised dreams are at their greatest. Satisfaction levels finally start to rise again after 55 and peak once more at 69, according to a study by the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics.

倫敦政經(jīng)學(xué)院經(jīng)濟(jì)表現(xiàn)研究中心的調(diào)查表明，此后幾十年中，人們對(duì)生活的期望會(huì)越來(lái)越低，直至五十五歲左右時(shí)滿意度降到最低點(diǎn)。這時(shí)，他們會(huì)后悔沒有在自己狀態(tài)最好的時(shí)候?qū)崿F(xiàn)曾經(jīng)的夢(mèng)想。但過(guò)了55歲，滿意度曲線又會(huì)重新上升，在69歲時(shí)重回巔峰狀態(tài)。

Those aged 68 underestimate their future happiness by 4.5 per cent, meaning they no longer face disappointment, the researchers found. The findings suggest that actresses Emma Watson and Kristen Stewart, both 23, should relish this year.

研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，只有4.5%的人到68歲時(shí)會(huì)低估他們的幸福程度，這意味著他們不再感到失望。根據(jù)這個(gè)研究，兩位23歲的女演員艾瑪·沃森和克里斯汀·斯圖爾特都應(yīng)該好好享受這一年。

If the research is borne out they will be optimistic but are likely to face disappointment in the next four decades. Previous studies have found that human contentment follows a U-shaped pattern, with those in their early twenties and the retired ranking highest.

如果該研究正確，那接下來(lái)40年里即使她們保持樂觀心態(tài)，也更有可能遇到令人沮喪的事情。之前有研究顯示，人們的幸福程度呈U形曲線狀，剛剛二十幾歲的年輕人和退休老人的幸福程度最高。

The pattern has been observed in more than 50 nations and across class and financial divides. And a study by the National Academy of Sciences in the US found evidence that even great apes can suffer a mid-life crisis.

這一曲線在50多個(gè)國(guó)家都適用，而且不分階級(jí)、不分經(jīng)濟(jì)情況。美國(guó)國(guó)家科學(xué)院甚至發(fā)現(xiàn)就連高等類人猿也會(huì)受到“中年危機(jī)”的影響。

The CEP paper, to be published this week, is the first to examine how our expectations compare to reality at different life stages. Researcher Hannes Schwandt, 30, analysed happiness levels for 23,161 Germans aged 17 to 85.

經(jīng)濟(jì)表現(xiàn)研究中心的論文將于本周發(fā)表，這是第一份以人類現(xiàn)實(shí)年齡和理想生活預(yù)期作對(duì)比的研究報(bào)告。為此，30歲的研究者漢內(nèi)斯·施瓦德調(diào)查了23161名17至85歲的德國(guó)人的幸福程度。

Dr Schwandt, who is based at Princeton University in the US but is a visiting researcher at the London centre, said: ‘One theory is that the U-shape is driven by unmet aspirations which are painfully felt in midlife but beneficially abandoned later in life.

施瓦德博士本在美國(guó)普林斯頓大學(xué)工作，現(xiàn)在在倫敦客座研究員。他說(shuō)：“有一種理論稱，無(wú)法滿足的欲望催生了U形曲線，這種痛苦在中年時(shí)期尤為強(qiáng)烈，但隨著人慢慢變老，放棄一些追求，便又重新快樂起來(lái)了�！�

‘People in their fifties could learn from the elderly, who generally feel less regret. They should try not to be frustrated by their unmet expectations because they are probably not feeling much worse than their peers.’

“五十多歲的人應(yīng)該向比他們更老的人學(xué)習(xí)，大部分老人都不會(huì)后悔太多事情。不要因?yàn)闆]有達(dá)到預(yù)期而沮喪不安，因?yàn)樗麄兊耐�齡人大概也處于相同狀態(tài)。”