Retiring makes you healthier and happier, study suggests as former office workers report doing more exercise and feeling better

• The study followed more than 20,000 people aged 50 to 80 across Europe.
• Researchers say women may feel happier than men after retirement

Some people are not happy about this prospect. But research shows that retiring can turn the years back and make us feel happier and healthier.

Researchers say former office workers in particular could significantly improve their health by taking more walks and taking exercise classes.

The study followed more than 20,000 people between the ages of 50 and 80 in 10 European countries and found that retirement appears to have a transformative impact on daily life.

People who quit their jobs were more likely to say they were in good or excellent health than people who were still employed.

In fact, after taking into account the fact that retirees tend to be older, researchers found that participants who actually quit their jobs were more likely to have physical difficulties with daily activities such as housework and gardening than workers. I found that the sex is low.

The study, published in the journal Economics and Human Biology, found that white-collar workers, such as managers and office staff, and women especially had better mental health after retirement.

Researchers say women may feel happier in retirement than men because they typically spend more of their free time with family and friends.

Early retirement does not appear to have significant health benefits.

Professor Rein van Eijwijk of Germany's Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, who led the study, said: “People who have stressful jobs and work too much may feel a real sense of relief after retiring.'' , you may feel healthier and better about yourself in general.”