Get this, according to a study completed by University of Virginia Professor, Timothy Salthouse, our reasoning, thinking speed and spatial visualization all begin taking a turn for the worse as early as when we’re in our late twenties. In other words, old is the new young.
The study, conducted over a 7-year period and published in Rochester New York’s Neurobiology of Aging journal, involved 2,000 healthy people ranging in age between 18 and 60. Participants in the mental agility tests were asked to solve puzzles, recall certain words and story details, as well as identify patterns in letters and various symbols. The same tests, incidentally, are already conducted by doctors in order to identify signs of dementia.
Go Figure… While You Still Can
In nine out of twelve tests the average age at which the highest results were achieved was 22. In tests focused on brain speed, reasoning and visual puzzle-solving ability, 27 was the age at which any decline was first noticeable.
The results from the study also indicate that skills based on accumulated knowledge, such as vocabulary and general information, continue to increase until age 60.
What to do? What to do?
So what action can you take now to prevent senility from setting in before you’re 30 and over the hill? Well, there are increasingly more studies also claiming that you can not only slow down the onset of cognitive decline, but quite possibly even reverse the ageing process. (Naturally Mind360’s brain training games come to mind.)
What’s clear is that whatever course of action you choose in order to combat cognitve decline and ensure you remain ‘young at mind’ longer, it’s important that you begin asap. In other words, get a head start. Literally.
Steve Daitch is the Social Media Manager at Mind360.com - a leading scientific brain training games developer for boosting your memory, attention, executive functions, reasoning, and other key cognitive skills. As a Mind360 visitor you simply select your own Personal Training Program, which comes complete with a personal coach and constant feedback to ensure your swift and visible progress.