The assumption that ageing is inevitably a process of cognitive and physical decline is one Daniel Levitin, professor of neuroscience at McGill University, sought to challenge in his book The Changing Mind. Here are three things that we tend to get better at with age, as per the book:
In your forties, you are tend to get better in chess, ultramarathons (longer than standard marathons), and reading a stranger's mood as both emotional and physical abilities peak from age 40-49.
In your fifties, you are tend to get better at riding and training a horse, maintaining a healthy self-esteem, and solving arithmetic problems.
If you are aiming for a Nobel prize, this is the right age to receive one as most Nobel recipients are often in their 50s and 60s. Beyond 60, people are tend to get better in resolving conflicts, gaining sexual satisfaction and wisdom, and being nice to each other.
In 70s, women are tend to become more confident with their bodies. In a 2014 poll of 80,000 Americans, satisfaction with body image peaked for women at 74. For men, it came even later, at about 80.
People in their 80s are the happiest. When people were asked to pinpoint the happiest time of their lives, the most common response is not childhood or teens but time around their 80s.