Could having fun in middle age help you live longer? A study from University College London, tracking 9,000 people over four years, has found that enjoying life and having a positive outlook in your 50s is linked to longevity. We asked people over 50 how they keep their happiness levels up.

Deb (55), works for the NHS; Sally (51), leisure centre cook; Julie (55), works for Sue Ryder, all from Norfolk

Deb: Doing things separately away from family is good. Having lots of grown-up girly time. Now our children are grown up, it’s easier to fit in socialising. We get together at the weekends and sleep over. Our families benefit because we’re happy – we have free time away from them and we go home relaxed. It’s good to get away from normal day-to-day routine, just being ourselves. I forget how old I am. I definitely have more fun now than I did when I was 20 or 30. My life seems fuller, a better quality of life. Sometimes it is hard to keep in touch with friends. But you have to make time, and take the time out.

Sally: I love my allotment, which I’ve had for about five years. It’s fresh air, and I love the view. It’s quiet and peaceful – it’s “my time”. Friends and family are important. We have a friend who has MS and it makes us realise what we can do and she can’t anymore.

Julie: Days meeting up with friends make me happy. We’ve had the most wonderful time, reliving our teenage years! We went to see the Bay City Rollers, our 1970s heroes – we’ve seen them three times. Such good fun. It takes us back. I have more fun now. Back then you worried about how you looked, but now you’re just relaxed.

Stephen Waller (63), airline manager, and Loraine (60), retired, both from Crawley

Stephen: I’ve just taken six months unpaid leave to go out and start trying to enjoy things. It’s like a pre-retirement, to get used to it. And to spend more time as a couple, doing things we enjoy. We took the whole family – our three children, their partners and our grandchild – on holiday to Florida. We spent a week in Disneyland and a week on the coast. And now we’re planning our next holiday in Malaysia.

Loraine: My family is key to my happiness. My granddaughter is just so gorgeous. I used to look after her for one day a week because everyone was at work. I haven’t changed that much now I’m older. I don’t go out to discos now, but I do still like to dance. I’m looking forward to Steve retiring, as I’ve been home alone for three years.

Brij Chagga (53), bid writer in the health sector, from Sheffield

I’ve got four kids, who I brought up myself, and five grandchildren. They’re my joy. For fun, I love travelling, and I’ve been to amazing places. I was really happy when I walked the Great Wall of China.

London’s tough. It’s a hard city to live in. My balance is going back to Sheffield and seeing my kids – then I’m happy. And no, I’m not worried about smoking. You’re going to die from something, right?

Jagit Singh Srai (52), programme director, north London

I stay happy playing cricket, watching cricket, or playing football. I think friendly competition gives me happiness. The same things that got me going in my youth keep me going now: achievement in sport, but also in work.

In work it’s winning research grants and consultant contracts, and publishing a good paper that’s well read gives me a kick. I think if you follow what you’re good at and what you enjoy doing, and make that your career, then you’re having fun and getting paid for it.

Paddy (50), bookseller, from Devon but lives in London

As I’ve got older, I’ve learned that mood has much more to do with the machine of your body rather than how you think. If you get the sun on your skin, talk to another human being, use your body and wear it out a bit each day, eat good food and sleep, I think it’s impossible to feel depressed. I live on a boat and so I spend a lot of my life sitting outside. And because I run a bookshop from it, I spend a lot of my time talking to other people.

Most of my socialising and having fun when I was younger was a way to meet girls. When your testosterone levels calm a little bit, it’s like like the sun falls and all the stars become visible. Softer things like live music and reading books seem to be immensely pleasing things. The most fun I have is with the guy I run the bookshop with. Having a creative thing to do with someone else is another secret of happiness, because there’s always someone to motivate you when you’re feeling flat.