Enjoyment of everyday activities increases after retirement, a study from Australia has found. The heightened level of enjoyment lasts at least a year after a retiree stops working full time, researchers report in the journal Age and Ageing. There is conflicting evidence about changes in enjoyment and happiness when people retire, coauthor Tim Olds of the University of South Australia told Reuters Health by email.
On the one hand, people may lose social connections and their sense of purpose in life when they retire, he said. On the other hand, retirement offers a chance to do the things you've always wanted to do.
"We found that you're likely to be happier when you retire," he told Reuters Health in an email.
That's not because retirees spend more time doing things they like and less time doing things they don't like, Olds noted. Rather, it could be that retirees get more pleasure from even mundane daily activities "because they have more autonomy and time-flexibility," Olds said. The 124 study participants all intended to retire within three to six months. The group was roughly half men and half women, with an average age of 62.
At the start of the study and again three, six and 12 months afterward, Olds and his colleagues asked participants to recall their activities in the last 24 hours. They grouped activities into eight categories: physical activity, social, self-care, sleep, screen time, quiet time, transport, work and chores.
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