The longer you live, the happier you're likely to be, a growing body of research shows.

Researchers who spoke at the recently concluded annual convention of the American Psychological Association in Toronto said that mental health generally improves with age. Given that the world population of people over 65 is expected to nearly triple by 2050, according to U.S. officials, this should come as good news.

Reporting on several studies of aging and mental health, Susan Turk Charles, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, said the findings indicate that happiness and emotional well-being improve with time.

Older adults exert greater emotional control, said Charles. Studies show they learn to avoid or limit stressful situations and are less likely than younger adults to let negative comments or criticism bother them.

Charles added that "we know that older people are increasingly aware that the time they have left in life is growing shorter. They want to make the best of it so they avoid engaging in situations that will make them unhappy. They have also had more time to learn and understand the intentions of others, which helps them to avoid these stressful situations."

Another study conducted over a 23-year period examined three groups of people at three different life stages and concluded that emotional happiness grew with age, she said.

These findings may not apply to older adults who feel trapped in distressing situations and those with forms of dementia, Charles said. "We know that older adults who are dealing with chronic stressors, such as caregiving, report high rates of physical symptoms and emotional distress," she added.

In separate reports, Charles and Laura Carstensen, a psychology professor at Stanford University, also noted that social relationships -- or lack of them -- influence how older people respond to stress. Carstensen cited a Swedish study that concluded that people with strong social connections were less likely to suffer cognitive impairment than others. It seems social relationships influence the way that the brain processes information, she said. "These changes have a profound impact on health outcomes," Carstensen said.

一个成长机构的研究表明：你活的越长，你可能就越快乐。

在近期结束的多伦多美国心理协会的年会上发言的研究人员说，心理健康一般随着年龄提高。根据美国官方表示，超过65岁的世界人口预计在2050年增长近两倍，这应该是一个好消息。

对于一些老龄化和心理健康的报道，加利福尼亚大学的教授Susan Turk Charles说，发现表明幸福和情感健康随着时间而增长。

Charles说，老年人会发挥更大的情感控制。研究显示他们学会避免或者限制受压情况以及不像年轻人那样让消极评论或批评困扰他们。

Charles补充说"我们知道老年人越来越意识到他们生命中剩下的时间不多了。他们想充分利用它，那样他们就避免把自己放置于让自己不开心的情形中。他们还有更多的时间去学习和理解他人的意图，这样就有助于他们避免这些受压情况。"

她说，另一个超过23年的研究检测了三个不同生命阶段的三类人，并总结出情感幸福随着年龄增加。

Charles说，这些发现也许不适用于觉得陷于沮丧情形中的和那些有各种各样痴呆的老年人。她补充说："我们知道，老年人正在处理慢性压力，诸如护理，报道生理特征和情绪困扰的高发生率。"

在个别报道中，Charles Laura 和斯坦福大学的心理学教授Carstensen也指出，社会关系或者缺少他们，影响老年人是如何回应压力的。Carstensen引用了一个瑞典人的研究，它总结出有很强的社会关系的人比其他人更少遭受认知伤害。她说，看来社会关系影响大脑处理信息。Carstensen说："这些变化对健康结果产生深远的影响"