Getting older makes us happier, because we give up on our dreams They said that being overweight or obese did not have a significant impact on levels of mental well-being. Those with a body mass index (BMI) of more than 30, putting them in the obese category, showed similar mental quality of life levels to those considered to be a healthy weight. Dr Saverio Stranges, who led the study at Warwick medical school along with Dr Kandala Ngianga-Bakwin, said: "It's obvious that people's physical quality of life deteriorates as they age, but what is interesting is that their mental well-being doesn't also deteriorate - in fact it increases. We suggest that this could be due to better coping abilities, an interpretation supported by previous research showing older people tend to have internal mechanisms to deal better with hardship or negative circumstances than those who are younger. He added: "It could also be due to a lowering of expectations from life, with older people less likely to put pressure on themselves in the personal and professional spheres." The study also found that those who slept between six and eight hours per day tended to have better physical and mental health scores than those who slept on average fewer than six or more than eight hours.