Is middle-age depressing?

According to British and American researchers, middle age is an unhappy time for many people, with a new study finding that depression is most common among men and women in their forties. The researchers looked at data from about 2 million people in 80 countries and found that happiness follows aU-shaped curve. Life starts out happy before getting more difficult in middle age, and then happiness returns in later years. Depression peaks when people are in their forties. However if someone makes it to 70, they're on average as happy and mentally healthy as a 20-year old. The researchers aid one reason for the middle age blues may be that people realize they won't achieve many of the aspirations they once had.