Surprising Peaks We Hit After 40, According To Science
We might not think of ourselves as "old" — but society will often remind us that we are! How many times have we heard that Aaron Rodgers was over the hill at 39 years old? Or that women over 40 can no longer find work in Hollywood? There are countless other examples of these unwanted reminders that "it's all downhill from here." But fear not! Science tells us that there are plenty of mental and physical peaks that we'll reach in the second half of our lives.
Chess isn't a young man's game
We know what you're going to say. You're going say, "If chess isn't a young man's game, then how come the current chess champion is 30 years old and all of the top-ten players are under the age of 35?" Well, just bear with us, and we'll explain.
In 2020 researchers Anthony Strittmatter, Uwe Sunde, and Dainis Zegners published a paper called "Life cycle patterns of cognitive performance over the long run." The team studied 125 years of chess matches — that's over 1.6 million moves across 24,000 games — to find when chess players statistically reach their peak.
Peak chess age is 40
The conclusion was that players reach "a peak at an age of around 40 years" when comparing their chess moves to those of a chess engine. It was also noted, "Performance decreases above the age of 45 years, although the decline is not statistically significant."
They reasoned that "becoming an expert in chess and other cognitively demanding tasks" was not simply a case of having "higher innate cognitive abilities." Instead, they believed "training and the accumulation of experience" were equally important.
Focus in old age
"Sustained Attention Across the Life Span in a Sample of 10,000: Dissociating Ability and Strategy" may not seem like the most thrilling of titles, but this 2015 study is very illuminating. The paper was led by Drs. Francesca Fortenbaugh, Joe DeGutis, and Michael Esterman.
The researchers collected data from 10,000 people who'd had a go at a cognitive test on TestMyBrain.org. “While younger adults may excel in the speed and flexibility of information processing, adults approaching their mid-years may have the greatest capacity to remain focused,” Dr. DeGutis said in a statement.
You focus best at 43
The team concluded that 43 years old was the peak of our ability to stay focused for a decent period of time. There was some bad news, though: this peak is then followed by "a gradual decline in older adults."
But don't worry, co-author Dr. DeGutis claimed that focus is "highly trainable." He explained, "Activities such as spending more time outdoors, exercise, cognitive training, and meditation are ways in which people at any age can enhance their ability to concentrate."