What brain fog? Mental power won’t start fading till you’re 60

WHEN pitting a 20-year-old against a 60-year-old, you might think there’s no contest when it comes to whose brain works quicker.

However, our mental speed actually stays high well into middle age and beyond, a study has found.

Until now, it has been assumed that the speed at which our brain processes things peaks at the end of our teenage years.

To test this theory, researchers from Heidelberg University in Germany analysed data from more than one million people who had taken part in an online experiment that measured their reaction times to a cognitive task.

Participants, aged between ten and 80, had to categorise a selection of words and images that flashed up on a screen by pushing the correct button in response.

Their findings revealed that although response times did start to slow after the age of 20, mental speed was not likely to be the reason. Instead, it was because older people were being more cautious with their decisions, the researchers suggest.

The mental process of choosing the correct answer did not start to slow down until the age of 60, after which it progressively declined.

Results, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, also revealed 18-year-olds were the most likely to trade off accuracy for speed. Meanwhile 14 to 16year-olds were quickest at pressing the button once they decided what the answer was.

Author Mischa von Krause said: ‘Over the span of a typical working life from 20 to 65, the speed at which people respond to external stimuli decreases.

‘Our research shows this is not due to a reduction in mental speed. Until older adulthood, the speed of information processing barely changes.’