The brain is a vital organ in the human body. As a human being advances in age, the changes the brain is subjected to a wonder that scientists seek to unravel. There is a common notion that as person ages so does the brain age too, but it’s a wonder that the aging process of the brain has its advantages too. The cognitive functionality of human brain is, however, highest at the middle age. While certain aspects of cognitive functionality decline, some are strengthened to the better. Studies on the middle-aged brain are aimed at discovering the decline as well as advantages of the middle-aged brain. This essay seeks to explore the cognitive functioning of the middle-aged brain concerning the decline of the brain at middle age.
According to Strauch, growing old does not mean a decline in cognitive ability, on the contrary, it means an improvement in the cognitive skills. At middle age, people tend to experience improved verbal abilities (Bainbridge, 2012). They can communicate better and express themselves in a better way. Their skills in mathematics also increase. Moreover, their abstract reasoning skills improve hence they become better positioned to achieving their objectives than their younger counterparts. This is because of their experience. Mather, (2000) seems to agree with Strauch; she says that middle age people tend to be emotionally stable and are said to be good at handling difficult situations. Besides, these two scholars hold a common notion that middle aged individuals are good at making sound financial decisions. However, middle age also comes with decrease in certain cognitive aspects. Memory decline and decline in processing speed are major disadvantages in middle age. The brain at middle age has a lot of things to process and keep, thus resulting in poor memory and decreased speed.
It’s true that at middle age people may tend to lose some of the skills like speed, memory and reasoning but other aspects related to intelligence due to experience improve. At middle age, human beings become more competent and gain more control over their lives. Their ability to make vital decisions becomes better due to their learned experiences in the previous years. Researchers have also found out that middle-aged people are more bendable due to their ability to choose right from wrong (Mather, 2000). Their past experiences have enabled them to suppress the negative things in life and focus more on the positive. In the middle age, the brain might lose cells but an important part; the white matter also referred to as a brain reserve continues to grow as it reserves all the learned experiences. Therefore, a middle-aged person lives in a sense of well-being. For the sense wellbeing to function, it might mean that a the brain overlooks all the negatives and only focus on positivity
Middle life should not be seen as a crisis, but rather a stage of stability and happiness. Although it has its disadvantages, life in a middle decade should be treated as an investment and lived happily. Because of their emotional stability and financial maturity, people in middle life should be given technical task in their works. Furthermore, their skills in decision making should be considered for a leadership position (Bainbridge, 2012). The notion that middle life means a decline in cognitive skills should be done away with because it's misleading. Life actually gets better in this age bracket.
References
Bainbridge, D. (2012). Middle age: A natural history. London: Portobello Books.
Mather, T. E. M. (2000). Schema reliance in source monitoring: The impact of aging and emotional focus.
