Old age is typically faulted for causing us to misplace car keys, forget a name, or lose our train of thought.
However, according to new research, the common signs of aging may reveal themselves long before our twilight years, reported UK Dailymail.
Scientists suggest that our mental capacities reach their peak at 22 years of age and start the declining process at the age of 27.
Two thousand men and women aged 18 to 60 agreed to participate in the study for a seven year period under observation of researchers. The participants, who were healthy and well-educated for the most part, had to recall words and story detail, spot patterns in letters and symbols, as well as decipher visual puzzles.
Tests comparable to these are commonly used to diagnose mental discrepancies and deterioration, like that of dementia.
Research at the University of Virginia indicated that in 9 out of 12 assessments, superior performance was marked at an average age of 22, as recorded in the academic journal Neurobiology of Aging.
At age 27, signs of performance began to significantly decrease in comparison to peak scores at age 22, as revealed in three tests that gauge reasoning, speed of thought and spatial visualization. The average age of 37 indicated decline in memory. In other tests, lower results were evident by the age of 42.
Professor Timothy Salthouse commented that the findings propose that earlier treatments designed to prevent or reverse age-related conditions may be needed, prior to retirement.
“Results converge on a conclusion that some aspects of age-related cognitive decline begin in healthy, educated adults when they are in their 20s and 30s,” he wrote.
The report offered some positive news in light of this research. It conveys that abilities contingent on accumulated knowledge, such as presentation of vocabulary or common information, continue to grow until at least 60 years of age.
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