Middle Age Brains

About 10 years ago a young man (we'll call him Joey) said to me "You're old dude, what's good about that ?" And at the time* I thought well, several things; I own my own house, I make good money (at least better than he did), I have gained some wisdom over the years (and although some might disagree - they did know me at his age), I am a calmer person now than I once was, and maybe best of all - I know better than to treat people with disrespect (saying dumb things like - "You're old dude, what's good about that ?").

But my only response was "lots of things" and left it at that. I felt it was a bit of a weak retort back then, but it was all I could come up with (spur of the moment and all). I didn't really have a lot of facts to back up my thoughts on the subject.

Well, now I can add to that. Recent studies have shown that although middle aged people may not be the best choice for pro sports players and they may have more trouble remembering names, or some individual facts and factoids, they are better at several types/ways of cognitive thinking. It turns out that when it comes to the brain there are several advantages middle aged people have over younger people.

Check out the article below. (and the Podcast on NPR Fresh Air - with Mary Gross - below)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbara-strauch/aging-the-secret-life-of_b_543298.html

or the Pod Cast here

http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13&prgDate=4-14-2010

So if you are approaching or in middle age (defined as 40 - 60) you have a few things to look forward to, and you can .... ahh .... whats that word I'm looking for ?? - oh yeah - postpone. You can postpone your mid life crisis till your 60+

"MYTH FIVE: Our brains operate best in our 20s.

In fact, our brains, in most important areas, reach their peak in midlife. We get better in a whole range of areas, including inductive reasoning, vocabulary, judgment, even the ability to get the "gist'' of an argument and find solutions. There is evidence that we can also become more creative as we age."

Yo Joey - "HA HA !" (ok, mature brain doesn't mean you always act like a grown up)

* at the time - I was still in my early 30's and not even at middle age yet