Ch 13 - Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle Adulthood

What are the most common sexual problems among men?

- A large-scale study of U.S. adults 40 to 80 years of age found that early ejaculation (26 percent) and erectile difficulties (22 percent) were the most common sexual problems of older men. - In this study, the most common sexual problems of women were lack of sexual interest (33 percent) and lubrication difficulties (21 percent). ** A person's health in middle age is a key factor in sexual activity in middle age. - A study of adults 55 years and older revealed that their level of sexual activity was associated with their physical and mental health

Vision and Hearing Changes During Middle Age

- Accommodation of the eye—the ability to focus and maintain an image on the retina—declines sharply between 40 and 59 years of age. - In particular, middle-aged individuals begin to have difficulty viewing close objects, which means that many individuals have to wear glasses with bifocal lenses—lenses with two sections that enable the wearer to see items at different distances. - Also, there is some evidence that the retina becomes less sensitive to low levels of illumination. - Laser surgery and implantation of intraocular lenses have become routine procedures for correcting vision in middle-aged adults. - Hearing also can start to decline by the age of 40. - Sensitivity to high pitches usually declines first. The ability to hear low-pitched sounds does not seem to decline much in middle adulthood, though. - Men usually lose their sensitivity to high-pitched sounds sooner than women do. - However, this gender difference might be due to men's greater exposure to noise in occupations such as mining, automobile work, and so on. - Also, recent advances in the effectiveness of hearing aids are dramatically improving the hearing of many aging adults. - However, even with the advent of technologically sophisticated hearing devices, many people don't always wear them, or wear them inappropriately.

How do adults in midlife prepare for retirement?

- Adults in midlife need to begin preparing psychologically for retirement. - Developing constructive and fulfilling leisure-time activities in middle adulthood is an important part of this preparation - If an adult chooses activities that can be continued into retirement, the transition from work to retirement can be less stressful.

Research Attention Towards Middle Adulthood

- Compared to late adulthood, far less research attention has been given to middle adulthood. - In a U.S. Census Bureau (2012) assessment, more than 102,713,000 people in the U.S. were 40 to 64 years of age, which accounts for 33.2 percent of the U.S. population. - Given the large percentage of people in middle adulthood and the key roles that individuals in midlife play in families, the workplace, and the community, researchers need to give greater attention to this age period.

Do middle-aged workers perform their work as competently as younger adults?

- Age-related declines occur in some occupations, such as air traffic controllers and professional athletes, but for most jobs, no differences have been found in the work performance of young adults and middle-aged adults. - However, leading Finnish researcher Clas-Hakan Nygard concludes from his longitudinal research that the ability to work effectively peaks during middle age because of increased motivation, work experience, employer loyalty, and better strategic thinking. - Nygard also has found that the quality of work done by middle-aged employees is linked to how much their work is appreciated and how well they get along with their immediate supervisors. - And Nygard and his colleagues discovered that work ability in middle age was linked to mortality and disability 28 years later ** For many people, midlife is a time of evaluation, assessment, and reflection in terms of the work they are doing and want to do in the future. - Among the work issues that some people face in midlife are recognizing limitations in career progress, deciding whether to change jobs or careers, deciding whether to rebalance family and work, and planning for retirement

Outcomes of Leisure Activities

- Also, different types of leisure activities may be linked to different outcomes. - A recent study found that engaging in higher complexity of work before retirement was associated with less cognitive decline during retirement. - However, when those who had worked in occupations with fewer cognitive challenges prior to retirement engaged in physical (sports, walking) and cognitive (reading books, doing puzzles, and playing chess) leisure activities during retirement, they showed less cognitive decline. - Also, a Danish longitudinal study of 20- to 93-year-olds found that those who engaged in a light level of leisure-time physical activity lived 2.8 years longer, those who engaged in a moderate level of leisure-time physical activity lived 4.5 years longer, and those who engaged in high level of leisure-time physical activity lived 5.5 years longer. - Further, a study revealed that middle-aged adults who engaged in active leisure-time pursuits had higher levels of cognitive performance in late adulthood. - And in another study, individuals who engaged in a greater amount of sedentary screen-based leisure time activity (TV, video games, computer use) had shorter telomere length (telomeres cover the end of chromosomes, and as people age their telomeres become shorter and this shorter telomere length is linked to earlier mortality)

Negativity Towards Middle Adulthood

- Also, too often middle-age has been described more negatively than it should be. - Indeed, in a recent study, undergraduate college students were shown a computer-generated graphic of a person identified as a younger adult, middle-aged adult, or older adult. - When asked which person they would choose for a work-related task, they selected the middle-aged adult most often.

Physical Changes During Middle Age

- Although everyone experiences some physical changes due to aging in the middle adulthood years, the speed of the aging process varies considerably from one individual to another. - Genetic makeup and lifestyle factors play important roles in whether chronic disease will appear and when. - Middle age is a window through which we can glimpse later life while there is still time to engage in prevention and to influence some of the course of aging

Sexual Activity During Middle Age

- Although the ability of men and women to function sexually shows little biological decline in middle adulthood, sexual activity usually occurs less frequently than in early adulthood. - Career interests, family matters, diminish-ing energy levels, and routine may contribute to this decline

Defining Middle Adulthood

- Although the age boundaries are not set in stone, we will consider middle adulthood to be the developmental period that begins at approximately 40 years of age and extends to about 60 to 65 years of age. - For many people, middle adulthood is a time of declining physical skills and expanding responsibility; a period in which people become more conscious of the young-old polarity and the shrinking amount of time left in life; a point when individuals seek to transmit something meaningful to the next generation; and a time when people reach and maintain satisfaction in their careers. - In sum, middle adulthood involves "balancing work and relationship responsibilities in the midst of the physical and psychological changes associated with aging" - In midlife, as in other age periods, individuals make choices, selecting what to do, deciding how to invest time and resources, and evaluating what aspects of their lives they need to change. - In midlife, "a serious accident, loss, or illness" may be a "wake-up call" that produces "a major restructuring of time and a reassessment" of life's priorities

Leisure During Middle Age

- As adults, not only must we learn how to work well, but we also need to learn how to relax and enjoy leisure. - Leisure refers to the pleasant times after work when individuals are free to pursue activities and interests of their own choosing—hobbies, sports, or reading, for example. In one analysis of research on what U.S. adults regret the most, not engaging in more leisure-time pursuits was one of the top six regrets. - A Finnish study found that engaging in little leisure-time activity in middle age was linked to risk of cognitive impairment in late adulthood (23 years later). - Another study revealed that middle-aged individuals who engaged in high levels of leisure-time physical activity were less likely to have Alzheimer disease 28 years later

Speed of Information Processing During Middle Age

- As we just discussed, in Schaie's Seattle Longitudinal Study, perceptual speed begins declining in early adulthood and continues to decline in middle adult-hood. - A common way to assess the speed of information processing is through a reaction-time task, in which individuals simply press a button as soon as they see a light appear. - Middle-aged adults are slower to push the button when the light appears than young adults are. - However, keep in mind that the decline is not dramatic—less than 1 second in most investigations. - Also, in a longitudinal study, a smaller decline in processing speed in middle and late adulthood was one of the key predictors of living longer

Expertise And Middle Age

- Because it takes so long to attain, expertise often shows up more in middle adulthood than in early adulthood. - Recall that expertise involves having extensive, highly organized knowledge and understanding of a particular domain. - Developing expertise and becoming an "expert" in a field usually is the result of many years of experience, learning, and effort. - Adults in middle age who have become experts in their fields are likely to do the following: rely on their accumulated experience to solve problems; process information automatically and analyze it more efficiently when solving a problem; devise better strategies and shortcuts to solving problems; and be more creative and flexible in solving problems.

Do men go through anything like the menopause that women experience? In other words, is there a male menopause?

- During middle adulthood, most men do not lose their capacity to father children, although there usually is a modest decline in their sexual hormone level and activity. - They experience hormonal changes in their fifties and sixties, but nothing like the dramatic drop in estrogen that women experience. - Testosterone production begins to decline about 1 percent per year during middle adulthood, and sperm count usually shows a slow decline, but men do not lose their fertility in middle age. - The term male hypogonadism is used to describe a condition in which the body does not produce enough testosterone

Erectile dysfunction (ED)

- Erectile dysfunction (ED), difficulty in attaining or maintaining an erection, is present in approximately 50 percent of men 40 to 70 years of age. - A low level of testosterone and cardiovascular problems can contribute to erectile dysfunction. - The main treatment for erectile dysfunction has not focused on TRT but on the drug Viagra and on similar drugs such as Levitra and Cialis. - Viagra works by allowing increased blood flow into the penis, which produces an erection. - Its success rate is in the 60 to 85 percent range

Ways to Stave Off Cardiovascular Deficiencies

- Exercise, weight control, and a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can often help to stave off many cardiovascular problems in middle age. - In a recent study, a high level of physical activity was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease in the three weight categories studied (normal, overweight, and obese). - Another study found that having an unhealthy diet was a strong predictor of cardiovascular disease. - Further, the health benefits of cholesterol-lowering and hypertension-lowering drugs are a major factor in improving the health of many middle-aged adults and increasing their life expectancy - As reflected in the research we have just described, the American Heart Association has proposed "Life's Simple 7": a list of strategies for improving cardiovascular health. - The seven strategies are (1) manage blood pressure; (2) control cholesterol; (3) reduce blood sugar; (4) get active; (5) eat better; (6) lose weight; and (7) quit smoking. In a recent study, optimal performance on - Life's Simple 7 at middle age was linked to better cardiovascular health recovery following a heart attack in later in life

Which gender shows a stronger interest towards religion?

- Females have consistently shown a stronger interest in religion than males have. - Compared with men, they participate more in both organized and personal forms of religion, are more likely to believe in a higher power or presence, and are more likely to feel that religion is an important dimension of their lives. - In the longitudinal study just described, the spirituality of women increased more than that of men during the second half of life

Healthy Adults and Middle Age

- For many increasingly healthy adults, middle age is lasting longer. - Indeed, a growing number of experts on middle adulthood describe the age period of 55 to 65 as late midlife. - Compared with earlier midlife, late midlife is more likely to be characterized by the death of a parent, the last child leaving the parental home, becoming a grandparent, preparing for retirement, and in most cases actual retirement. - Many people in this age range experience their first confrontation with health problems. - Overall, then, although gains and losses may balance each other in early midlife, losses may begin to outweigh gains for many individuals in late midlife. - Margie Lachman and her colleagues (2015) describe middle age as a pivotal period because it is a time of balancing growth and decline, linking earlier and later periods of development, and connecting younger and older generations.

Effects of Globalization on The Workforce

- Globalization has replaced what was once a primarily non-Latino White male work-force in the United States with employees of different ethnic and national backgrounds who have emigrated from different parts of the world. - To improve profits, many companies are restructuring, downsizing, and outsourcing jobs. - One of the outcomes of this change has been for companies to offer incentives to middle-aged employees who choose to retire early—in their fifties, or in some cases even forties, rather than their sixties. ** The decline in defined-benefit pensions and increased uncertainty about the fate of health insurance are eroding the sense of personal control among middleaged workers. As a consequence, many are delaying their retirement from work.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)

- Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) augments the declining levels of reproductive hormone production by the ovaries. - HRT can consist of various forms of estrogen, usually in combination with a progestin. - In a recent position statement by leading experts of the North American Menopause Society (2017), the following conclusions were reached about HRT: • Hormone replacement therapy is most favorable in reducing negative menopausal symptoms and reducing bone loss or fracture for women 60 years and younger who are within 10 years of menopausal onset. • Hormone replacement therapy is less favorable for women who are more than 10 or more years from menopausal onset or are 60 years and older, because of greater risk for cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer disease. - Further, research indicates that hormone replacement therapy is linked to a slightly higher risk of breast cancer and the longer HRT is taken, the greater the risk of breast cancer. - The National Institutes of Health recommends that women who have not had a hysterectomy and who are currently taking hormones consult with their doctor to determine whether they should continue the treatment. - If they are taking HRT for short-term relief of menopausal symptoms, the benefits may outweigh the risks. - Many middle-aged women are seeking alternatives to HRT such as regular exercise, dietary supplements, herbal remedies, relaxation therapy, acupuncture, and nonsteroidal medications

Statistics of Middle Age People in The Workforce

- In 2015 in the United States, 79.4 percent of 45- to 54-year-olds were in the work-force (a decrease of 3.4 percent since 2000) and 64.1 percent of 55- to 64-year-olds were in the workforce (an increase of 8 percent since 2000). - Later in the text we will describe various aspects of workforce participation among individuals age 65 and over in the United States, which has increased by a remarkable 50 percent since 2000

Memory and Middle Age

- In Schaie's Seattle Longitudinal Study, verbal memory peaked in the fifties. - However, in some other studies, verbal memory has shown a decline in middle age, especially when assessed in cross-sectional studies. - For example, when asked to remember lists of words, numbers, or meaningful prose, younger adults outperformed middle-aged adults. - Although there still is some controversy about whether memory declines during middle adulthood, most experts conclude that it does decline, at least in late middle age. - Aging and cognition expert Denise Park argues that starting in late middle age, more time is needed to learn new information. - The slowdown in learning new information has been linked to changes in working memory, the mental "workbench" where individuals manipulate and assemble information when making decisions, solving problems, and comprehending written and spoken language - In this view, in late middle age, working memory capacity—the amount of information that can be immediately retrieved and used—becomes more limited. - Memory decline is more likely to occur among individuals who don't use effective memory strategies, such as organization and imagery. - By organizing lists of phone numbers into different categories or imagining the phone numbers as representing different objects around the house, many people can improve their memory in middle adulthood.

Age Distribution Now Compared to The Past

- In comparison with previous decades and centuries, an increasing percentage of today's population is made up of middle-aged and older adults. - In the past, the age structure of the population could be represented by a pyramid, with the largest percent-age of the population in the childhood years. - Today, the percentages of people at different ages in the life span are more similar, creating what is called the "rectangularization" of the age distribution (a vertical rectangle)

What occurs during menopause?

- In menopause, production of estrogen by the ovaries declines dramatically, and this decline produces uncomfortable symptoms in some women—"hot flashes," nausea, fatigue, and rapid heartbeat, for example. - However, cross-cultural studies reveal wide variations in the menopause experience. - For example, hot flashes are uncommon in Mayan women. - Asian women report fewer hot flashes than women in Western societies. - In a recent study in China, Mosuo women (Mosuo is a matriarchal tribe in southern China where women have the dominant role in society, don't marry, and can take on as many lovers as they desire) had fewer negative menopausal symptoms, higher self-esteem, and better family support than Han Chinese women (the majority ethnic group in China). - It is difficult to determine the extent to which these cross-cultural variations are due to genetic, dietary, reproductive, or cultural factors. - Menopause overall is not the negative experience for most women that it was once thought to be. - Most women do not have severe physical or psychological problems related to menopause. - For example, a research review concluded that there is no clear evidence that depressive disorders occur more often during menopause than at other times in a woman's reproductive life

Frequency of Diseases During Middle Adulthood (Age)

- In middle adulthood, the frequency of accidents declines, and individuals are less susceptible to colds and allergies than in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood. Indeed, many individuals live through middle adulthood without having a disease or persistent health problem. - For others, however, disease and persistent health problems become more common in middle adulthood than in earlier life stages

Religion and Middle Age

- In research that was part of the Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS), more than 70 percent of U.S. middle-aged adults said that they are religious and that they consider spirituality a major part of their lives (Brim, 1999). - In thinking about religion and adult development, it is important to consider the role of individual differences. - Religion is a powerful influence in some adults' lives, whereas it plays little or no role in others' lives. - In a longitudinal study of individuals from their early thirties through their late sixties and early seventies, a significant increase in spirituality occurred between late middle (mid-fifties/early sixties) and late adulthood. - In one survey, 77 percent of 30- to 49-year-olds and 84 percent of 50- to 64-year-olds reported having a religious affiliation (compared with 67 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds and 90 percent of adults 90 years of age and older)

Frequency of Sexual Activity Among Age Groups

- In the Sex in America survey, the frequency of sexual activity was greatest for individuals 25 to 29 years old (47 percent had sex twice a week or more) and dropped off for individuals in their fifties (23 percent of 50- to 59-year-old males said they had sex twice a week or more, while only 14 percent of the females in this age group reported this frequency) - Note, though, that the Sex in America survey may underestimate the frequency of sexual activity of middle-aged adults because the data were collected prior to the widespread use of erectile dysfunction drugs such as Viagra. - In a recent study, higher frequency of sexual activity in middle-aged and older adults was linked to better overall cognitive functioning, especially in working memory and executive function

Mortality Rates and Middle Age

- Infectious disease was the main cause of death until the middle of the twentieth century. - As infectious disease rates declined and more individuals lived through middle age, chronic disorders increased. -These are characterized by a slow onset and a long duration. - Chronic disorders account for 86 percent of total health-care spending in the United States. - In middle age, many deaths are caused by a single, readily identifiable condition, whereas in old age, death is more likely to result from the combined effects of several chronic conditions. - For many years heart disease was the leading cause of death in middle adulthood, followed by cancer; however, since 2005 more individuals 45 to 64 years of age in the United States died of cancer, followed by cardiovascular disease - The gap between cancer and the second leading cause of death widens as individuals age from 45 to 54 and from 55 to 64 years of age. - In 2013, about 46,000 45- to 54-year-olds died of cancer and about 35,000 died of cardiovascular disease; about 113,000 55- to 64-year-olds died of cancer and about 73,000 died of cardiovascular disease. - Men have higher mortality rates than women for all of the leading causes of death

The Seattle Longitudinal Study

- K. Warner Schaie is conducting an extensive study of intellectual abilities in adulthood. - Five hundred individuals initially were tested in 1956. - New waves of participants are added periodically. - The main focus in the Seattle Longitudinal Study has been on individual change and stability in intelligence. - The main mental abilities tested are verbal comprehension (ability to understand ideas expressed in words); verbal memory (ability to encode and recall meaningful language units, such as a list of words); numeric ability (ability to perform simple mathematical computations such as addition, subtraction, and multiplication); spatial orientation (ability to visualize and mentally rotate stimuli in two- and three-dimensional space); inductive reasoning (ability to recognize and understand patterns and relationships in a problem and use this understanding to solve other instances of the problem); and perceptual speed (ability to quickly and accurately make simple discriminations in visual stimuli).

Is leisure an important aspect of middle age?

- Leisure can be an especially important aspect of middle adulthood. - By middle adulthood, more money may be available to many individuals, and there may be more free time and paid vacations. - In short, midlife changes may produce expanded opportunities for leisure. - For many individuals, middle adulthood is the first time in their lives when they have the opportunity to explore their leisure-time interests.

Influences of a Spouse/Partner on Sexual Activity

- Living with a spouse or partner makes all the difference in whether people engage in sexual activity, especially for women over 40 years of age. - In one study conducted as part of the Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS), 95 percent of women in their forties with partners said that they had been sexually active in the last six months, compared with only 53 percent of those without partners. - By their fifties, 88 percent of women living with a partner had been sexually active in the last six months, but only 37 percent of those who were neither married nor living with someone said they had been sexually active in the last six months.

How are today's middle age people different than past generations of middle age people?

- Many of today's 50-year-olds are in better shape, more alert, and more productive than their 40-year-old counterparts from a generation or two earlier. - As more people lead healthier lifestyles and medical discoveries help to slow down the aging process, the boundaries of middle age are being pushed upward. - It seems that middle age is starting later and lasting longer for increasing numbers of active, healthy, and productive people. - A current saying is "60 is the new 40," implying that many 60-year-olds today are living a life that is as active, productive, and healthy as earlier generations did in their forties.

Strength, Joints, and Bones Changes During Middle Age

- Maximum physical strength often is attained in the twenties. - The term sarcopenia refers to age-related loss of muscle mass and strength. - Muscle loss with age occurs at a rate of approximately 1 to 2 percent per year past the age of 50. - A loss of strength especially occurs in the back and legs. - Obesity is a risk factor for sarcopenia. - Recently, researchers have increasingly used the term "sarcopenic obesity" to describe individuals who have sarcopenia and are obese. - In a recent study sarcopenic obesity was associated with a 24 percent increase in risk for all-cause mortality, with a higher risk of mortality for men than for women. - Peak functioning of the body's joints also usually occurs in the twenties. - The cartilage that cushions the movement of bones and other connective tissues, such as tendons and ligaments, become less efficient in the middle-adult years, a time when many individuals experience joint stiffness and greater difficulty in movement. - Maximum bone density occurs by the mid- to late thirties, from which point there is a progressive loss of bone. - The rate of this bone loss begins slowly but accelerates during the fifties. - Women lose bone mass about twice as quickly as men. - By the end of midlife, bones break more easily and heal more slowly. - A recent study found that greater intake of fruits and vegetables was linked to increased bone density in middle-aged and older adults

Cardiovascular System Changes During Middle Age

- Midlife is the time when high blood pressure and high cholesterol take many individuals by surprise. - Cardiovascular disease increases considerably in middle age. - The level of cholesterol in the blood increases through the adult years and in midlife begins to accumulate on the artery walls, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease - High blood pressure (hypertension), too, often occurs in the forties and fifties. - One study found that uncontrolled hypertension can damage the brain's structure and function as early as the late thirties and early forties. - Another study revealed that hyper-tension in middle age was linked to risk of cognitive impairment in late adulthood (23 years later). - Also, a recent Chinese study revealed that men and women who gained an average of 22 pounds or more from 20 to 45-60 years of age had an increased risk of hypertension and cholesterol, as well as elevated triglyceride levels in middle age. - And risk factors for cardiovascular disease in middle adulthood can show up even earlier in development. - A recent study indicated that a healthy diet in adolescence was linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease in middle-aged women

Height and Weight Changes During Middle Age

- On average, body fat accounts for about 10 percent of body weight in adolescence; it makes up 20 percent or more in middle age. - Obesity increases from early to middle adulthood. - In a national U.S. survey in 2014, 40.2 percent of U.S. adults 40 to 59 years of age were classified as obese compared with 32 percent of younger adults. - Being overweight is a critical health problem in middle adulthood and increases the risk that individuals will develop a number of other health problems such as hypertension and diabetes - Also, a recent study revealed that an increase in weight gain from early adulthood to middle adulthood was linked to an increased risk of major chronic diseases and unhealthy aging

Visible Signs of Physical Change in Middle Age

- One of the most visible signs of change in middle adulthood is physical appearance. - The first outwardly noticeable signs of aging usually are apparent by the forties or fifties. -The skin begins to wrinkle and sag because of a loss of fat and collagen in underlying tissues. - Small, localized areas of pigmentation in the skin produce age spots, especially in areas that are exposed to sunlight, such as the hands and face. - For most people, their hair becomes thinner and grayer. - Fingernails and toenails develop ridges and become thicker and more brittle. - Since a youthful appearance is valued in our culture, many individuals whose hair is graying, whose skin is wrinkling, whose bodies are sagging, and whose teeth are yellowing strive to make themselves look younger. - Undergoing cosmetic surgery, dyeing hair, wearing wigs, enrolling in weight-reduction programs, participating in exercise regimens, and taking heavy doses of vitamins are common in middle age. - Many baby boomers have shown a strong interest in plastic surgery and Botox, which may reflect their desire to take control of the aging process

Age Identity

- Questions such as, "To which age group do you belong?" and "How old do you feel?" reflect the concept of age identity. - A consistent finding is that as adults become older their age identity is younger than their chronological age. - One study found that almost half of the individuals 65 to 69 years of age considered themselves middle-aged, and another study found a similar pattern: Half of the 60- to 75-year-olds viewed them-selves as middle-aged. - And a British survey of people over 50 years of age revealed that they perceived middle age to begin at 53. - In this study, respondents said that being middle-aged is characterized by enjoying afternoon naps, groaning when you bend down, and preferring a quiet night in rather than a night out. - Also, some individuals consider the upper boundary of midlife as the age when they make the transition from work to retirement.

testosterone replacement therapy (TRT)

- Recently, there has been a dramatic surge of interest in testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). - Research indicates that TRT can improve sexual functioning, muscle strength, and bone health. - A recent study found that TRT was associated with increased longevity in men with a low level of testosterone. - Another recent study indicated that TRT-related benefits in quality of life and sexual function were maintained for 36 months after initial treatment. - Also, recent research indicates that testosterone replacement therapy is associated with a reduced incidence of heart attack or stroke, as well as a reduction in all-cause mortality

Sleep Changes During Middle Age

- Some aspects of sleep become more problematic in middle age. - The total number of hours slept usually remains the same as in early adulthood, but beginning in the forties, wakeful periods are more frequent and there is less of the deepest type of sleep (stage 4). - The amount of time spent lying awake in bed at night begins to increase in middle age, and this can produce a feeling of being less rested in the morning. - One study revealed that poor sleep quality in middle adulthood was linked to cognitive decline. - And a Korean study found that these factors were linked to sleep problems in middle age: unemployment, being unmarried, currently being a smoker, lack of exercise, having irregular meals, and frequently experiencing stressful events. - Further, in a recent study of young and middle-aged adults, females had more severe sleep problems than males. - However, in this study the good news is that a majority of individuals (72 percent) reported no sleep disturbances.

What might be some of the effects of religion on physical health?

- Some cults and religious sects encourage behaviors that are damaging to health, such as ignoring sound med-ical advice. - For individuals in the religious mainstream, however, researchers are increasingly finding positive links between religion and physical health. - In a recent study, spiritual well-being predicted which heart failure patients would still be alive five years later. - In another study, adults who volunteered had lower resting pulse rates and their resting pulse rates improved if they were more deeply committed to religion. - And in an analysis of a number of studies, adults with a higher level of spirituality/religion had an 18 percent increase in longevity. - In this analysis, a high level of spirituality/religion was more closely tied to longevity than 60 percent of 25 other health interventions (such as eating fruits and vegetables and taking statin drugs for cardiovascular disease).

Midlife Career Changes

- Some midlife career changes are self-motivated, while others are the consequence of losing one's job. - Some individuals in middle age decide that they don't want to continue doing the same work for the rest of their working lives. - One aspect of middle adulthood involves adjusting idealistic hopes to reflect realistic possibilities in light of how much time individuals have before they retire and how quickly they are reaching their occupational goals. - Individuals could become motivated to change jobs if they perceive that they are behind schedule, if their goals are unrealistic, if they don't like the work they are doing, or if their job has become too stressful. - A final point to make about career development in middle adulthood is that cognitive factors earlier in development are linked to occupational attainment in middle age. - In one study, task persistence at 13 years of age was related to occupational success in middle age

Researchers That Disagree With Schaie

- Some researchers disagree with Schaie that middle adulthood is the time when the level of functioning in a number of cognitive domains is maintained or even increases. - For example, Timothy Salthouse has emphasized that a lower level of cognitive functioning in middle adult-hood is likely due to age-related neurobiological decline. - Salthouse also argues that a main reason for different trends in longitudinal and cross-sectional comparisons of cognitive functioning is that prior experience with tests increases scores the next time a test is taken.

Stress and Disease

- Stress is increasingly being identified as a factor in disease. - The cumulative effect of chronic stress often takes a toll on the health of individuals by the time they reach middle age. - Chronic stressors have been linked to a downturn in immune system functioning in a number of contexts, including worries about living next to a damaged nuclear reactor; failures in close relationships (divorce, separation, and marital distress); depression; loneliness; and burdensome caregiving for a family member with progressive illness. - Research indicates that stress-reducing activities such as yoga, relaxation, and hypnosis have positive influences on immune system functioning - An important aspect of understanding stress and disease are stress hormones. - One hormone in particular, cortisol, has been labeled the stress hormone because elevated cortisol levels are linked to physical health problems such as lower immune system functioning and higher blood pressure, cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease, as well as to higher levels of mental health problems such as anxiety and depressive disorders. - A recent study of men and women from 21 to 55 years of age found that married individuals had lower cortisol levels than either their never-married or previously married counter-parts

cohort effects Schaie (1994)

- Such differences across generations involve cohort effects. - In a recent analysis, Schaie concluded that the advances in cognitive functioning in middle age that have occurred in recent decades are likely due to a combination of factors: increased educational attainment, different occupational structures (increasing numbers of workers in professional occupations with greater work complexity), changes in health care and lifestyles, immigration, and social interventions in poverty. - The impressive gains in cognitive functioning in recent cohorts have been documented more clearly for fluid intelligence than for crystallized intelligence

What are the challenges that current middle aged workers face?

- The current middle-aged worker faces several important challenges in the twenty-first century. - These include the globalization of work, rapid developments in information technologies, downsizing of organizations, pressure to choose early retirement, and concerns about pensions and health care.

Effects of Declining Testosterone Levels in Middle Age Men

- The gradual decline in men's testosterone levels in middle age can reduce their sexual drive. - Their erections are less full and less frequent, and men require more stimulation to achieve them. - Researchers once attributed these changes to psychological factors, but increasingly they find that as many as 75 percent of the erectile dysfunctions in middle-aged men stem from physiological problems. - Smoking, diabetes, hypertension, elevated cholesterol levels, and obesity are at fault in many erectile problems in middle-aged men

The Role of Work During Middle Age

- The role of work, whether one works in a full-time career, at a part-time job, as a volunteer, or as a homemaker, is central during the middle years. - Middle-aged adults may reach their peak in position and earnings. - They may also be saddled with multiple financial burdens including rent or mortgage payments, medical bills, home repairs, college tuition, loans to family members, or bills from nursing homes for aging parents. - One study found that difficulty managing different job demands was associated with poor health in middle-aged adults

Why might religion promote physical health?

- There are several possible answers. - First, there are lifestyle issues—for example, religious individuals have lower rates of drug use than their nonreligious counterparts. - Second are social networks—the degree to which individuals are connected to others affects their health. - Well-connected individuals have fewer health problems. - Religious groups, meetings, and activities provide social connectedness for individuals. - A third answer involves coping with stress—religion offers a source of comfort and support when individuals are confronted with stressful events. - One study revealed that highly religious individuals were less likely than their moderately religious, somewhat religious, and non-religious counterparts to be psychologically distressed

Lung Changes During Middle Age

- There is little change in lung capacity through most of middle adulthood. However, at about the age of 55, the proteins in lung tissue become less elastic. - This change, combined with a gradual stiffening of connective tissues in the chest wall, decreases the lungs' capacity to shuttle oxygen from the air people breathe to the blood in their veins. - The lung capacity of individuals who are smokers drops precipitously in middle age, but if the individuals quit smoking their lung capacity improves, although not to the level of individuals who have never smoked. - A longitudinal study also found that increased cardiorespiratory fitness from early adulthood to middle adulthood was linked to less decline in lung health over time

Carl Jung on Midlife

- When Carl Jung studied midlife transitions early in the twentieth century, he referred to midlife as "the afternoon of life". - Midlife serves as an important preparation for late adulthood, "the evening of life". - But "midlife" came much earlier in Jung's time. - In 1900 the average life expectancy was only 47 years of age; only 3 percent of the population lived past 65. - Today, the average life expectancy is 79, and 12 percent of the U.S. population is older than 65. - As a much greater percentage of the population lives to older ages, the midpoint of life and what constitutes middle age or middle adulthood are getting harder to pin down. - Statistically, the middle of life today is about 39.5 years of age, but most 39- year-olds don't want to be called "middle-aged." - What we think of as middle age comes later—anywhere from 40 or 45 to about 60 or 65 years of age. And as more people live longer, the upper boundary of middle age will likely be nudged higher still.

Schaie on Intellectual Abilities

- When Schaie (1994) assessed intellectual abilities both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, he found declines more often in the cross-sectional than in the longitudinal assessments. - For example, as shown in Figure 3, when assessed cross-sectionally, inductive reasoning showed a consistent decline during middle adult-hood. - In contrast, when assessed longitudinally, inductive reasoning increased until toward the end of middle adulthood, when it began to show a slight decline. - In Schaie's view, it is during middle adulthood, not early adulthood, that people reach a peak in their cognitive functioning for many intellectual skills.

Crystalized Intelligence And Middle Age

John Horn argues that crystallized intelligence, an individual's accumulated information and verbal skills, continues to increase in middle adulthood.

Fluid Intelligence And Middle Age

John Horn argues that fluid intelligence, one's ability to reason abstractly, begins to decline during middle adulthood

How individuals react to stressors is linked to

health outcomes. - In one study, how people reacted to daily stressors in their lives was linked to future chronic health problems - Also, in a recent study, adults who did not maintain positive affect when confronted with minor stressors in everyday life had elevated levels of IL-6, an inflammation marker. - And in another study, a greater decrease in positive affect in response to daily stressors was associated with earlier death

Midlife is characterized by

individual variations (Robinson & Lachman, 2017). As life-span expert Gilbert Brim (1992) commented, middle adulthood is full of changes, twists, and turns; the path is not fixed. People move in and out of states of success and failure.

climacteric

is a term used to describe the midlife transition during which fertility declines.

Menopause

is the time in middle age, usually in the late forties or early fifties, when a woman's menstrual periods cease completely. - The average age at which women have their last period is 51. - However, there is large variation in the age at which menopause occurs—from 39 to 59 years of age. - Later menopause is linked with increased risk of breast cancer

The highest level of functioning for four of the six intellectual abilities occurred during

middle adulthood. - For both women and men, peak performance on verbal ability, verbal memory, inductive reasoning, and spatial orientation was attained in middle age. - Only two of the six abilities—numeric ability and perceptual speed—showed a decline in middle age. Perceptual speed showed the earliest decline, actually beginning in early adulthood. - Interestingly, in terms of John Horn's ideas that were discussed earlier, for the participants in the Seattle Longitudinal Study, middle age was a time of peak performance for some aspects of both crystallized intelligence (verbal ability) and fluid intelligence (spatial orientation and inductive reasoning). ** Notice in Figure 2 that declines in functioning for most cognitive abilities began in the sixties, although verbal comprehension did not drop until the mid-seventies. From the mid-seventies through the mid-nineties, all cognitive abilities showed a considerable decline.