Which age group is happiest in the UK?

Our survey found that people in the UK seem to get happier as they get older.

The most happy group were those after retirement age, with around 70% saying they were happy. And only around 1 in 6 saying they were unhappy.

The least happy age group were those between 18-24, with 1 in 3 saying they were unhappy… which is interesting because...

When we asked the question “at what age were you the most happy?” the average age came in around 19-20…

So it's possible that whilst finances, college/exam stresses all make a 19-24 year old less happy but looking back, they actually turn out to be the happiest days of your life.

Where is your happy place?

Happiness means different things to different people. Some find happiness in groups or with loved ones, others prefer their own personal space. We asked people where their happy place was:

A third of people said that home was their happy place.

1 in 10 said the countryside

1 in 10 said with a loved one

What smell makes you happy?

A lot of our happiness is linked with memories and it is believed that our sense of smell is closely associated with our memory. We asked people what smell makes them feel happy:

The top food smells were bread, bacon, chocolate, toast and beer

The top natural smells were freshly cut grass, flowers and the seaside

Top manmade smells were fresh laundry, perfume and petrol.

A North-South divide?

Interestingly the smell most likely to make Northerners happy is coffee, where across London and the Midlands they yearn for the smell of cut grass. The South loves the smell of freshly baked bread.

What colour makes you happy?

Here at Ricola we were ecstatic to find out that the colour of happiness in the UK is yellow! Blue, green and pink were close behind.

Finding a moment of calm

In today’s world it can be hard to find a quiet minute for a bit of headspace.

In our study we found that only one third of Brits make a conscious effort to find a moment of calm everyday, with only one third managing it sometimes. The rest don’t even try to find it.

If you find yourself unable to take that moment of calm, the NHS suggests these five steps to improve your health & wellbeing.