Life Matters - Separate stories podcast You reach your mental peak at around 60 years of age. Here's why
Oct 19, 2025
Associate Professor Gilles Gignac, a psychologist at the University of Western Australia, reveals that mental agility peaks between 55 and 60, highlighting how life experience enhances decision-making. He discusses the surprising resilience older adults show against sunk cost bias, making them adept at cutting losses. Dr. Stephanie Ward, a geriatrician known for her commentary on aging, emphasizes that happiness tends to peak later in life and shares insights on leveraging cognitive strengths. Together, they challenge ageism and celebrate the invaluable contributions of older generations.
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Mental Peak Around Late 50s
- Combining many psychological traits shows overall mental performance peaks around 55–60 years old.
- Gilles Gignac found 16 dimensions together explain why complex decision-makers often peak in their 50s.
Better At Cutting Losses
- Older adults resist sunk-cost bias better and cut losses sooner than younger people.
- Gignac suggests repeated life experience consolidates this ability to switch to better opportunities.
Listeners Report Later-Life Gains
- Jim, 82, says every decade of his life has been better than the last and continues to improve.
- Samantha, 67, celebrates freedom from caring what others think and finds it liberating.