I thought I had hit the age of peak happiness. How wrong I was

As a study shows 47.2 is the height of misery, what is the economic theory and psychology of wellbeing - and does it offer a brighter tomorrow

So," I say to my wife, "I've been asked to write about happiness peaking when we hit 47.2 years of age." She stares at me like she's waiting for a punchline, then shakes her head. "Because I'm about to hit 47.2," I say, in case she had forgotten that we recently celebrated my 47th birthday. "A team of economists have worked it out."

There is an uncomfortable pause. My wife shakes her head again and says gently: "No, 47.2 is when you hit peak misery. It's been all over the papers. Have you not been reading them? I was going to send you the links but I didn't want you to have some sort of meltdown."

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