People Hit Their Cognitive Peak at 60, Research Suggests

Society often treats youth as the height of human ability, but new research suggests our all-around mental and emotional peak arrives decades later. A study led by Gilles Gignac of the University of Western Australia and Marcin Zajenkowski of the University of Warsaw found that people tend to reach their overall functional best between their late 50s and early 60s — far later than commonly assumed.

The study, published in Intelligence, combined data from nine core psychological areas expanded into 16 measurable traits, including intelligence, personality, emotional intelligence, and decision-making. While quick thinking and memory decline with age, qualities such as judgment, emotional balance, and life experience continue to improve through midlife. “When multiple psychological dimension