It Probably *does* Get Worse
Robert Wilson quotes some interesting studies on happiness (“well being”) surveys.
Happiness is about 50% heritable.
The ”happier in old age” meme is likely false (due to unhappier people dying off earlier, and happy/busy middle aged ones not choosing to participate in studies), as demonstrated by a 10yr longitudinal survey.
So, though it’s intuitively obvious that you’ll cherish your final years more for their scarcity, it likely *is* downhill from your busy and productive middle age.