Physical form
For physical activities that require short and sharp bursts of energy - running 100m, shot put or javelin throw - the starting shot sounds at 20, and after 25 there is a rapid decline. Football players reach the peak of their careers even earlier.
However, in grueling sports that require significant endurance, such as 100K and 1000K marathons, older athletes perform better. In such a sport, the decline in physical strength occurs very slowly even after 30 and 40 years. On her 61st birthday, Sunny McKee competed in the Iron Man triathlon, which consists of three consecutive events: a 180 km bike ride, a marathon and a 4 km swim. Some participants are so addicted to these grueling competitions that they continue to participate in them even after 70 years.

Intellectual ability
Data on brain aging is less optimistic.

After 20, the ability to remember new facts gradually decreases. In fact, the golden age of memory falls on the school years. The so-called "working" memory - the ability to retain short-term information, such as how many glasses of beer you knocked over yesterday in a pub - stays at a constant level a little longer and gradually decreases in 40 years.

It is even sadder to admit that creative activity reaches its zenith in young years. Most Nobel laureates made their breakthrough discoveries before the age of 40. The white matter in our brain, responsible for the formation of information pathways, also begins to shrink, which in general slows down mental activity.

But there is also good news.

Although more time is spent on memorizing facts at an older age, other intellectual abilities continue to develop. Reading and arithmetic skills improve until middle age. Social skills - our ability to adapt to complex interpersonal relationships - improve until late in life.

In other words, our intellectual abilities develop in waves. A decline in one area is replaced by a rise in another. "There is no age at which we would be the best in all respects," says Josh Gartshorne of Harvard University, who has done extensive research on this issue.

Is there an elixir of youth?
What conclusion can be drawn from these data? We can assume that the peak of sexual life occurs in 20 years, physical activity - in 30, intellectual - in 40 and 50, and the happiest years of life are the seventh decade. But you need to understand that these are average statistics, and the trajectories of your life may differ significantly. The most important conclusion is that different ages have their ups and downs, therefore, there is no golden age in general.
Even more encouraging is the fact that the most unpleasant consequences of aging are not as inevitable as we used to make them out to be. Exercise, in particular, not only helps you stay fit longer and prevent most age-related diseases like diabetes and cancer, but it also improves memory and mental performance. People in good health have about 5 years longer sex lives. It seems that we have almost discovered the elixir of youth.

Physiologists also believe that mood is of great importance. Some people say they feel younger than their age. This approach causes them to be more active and as a result they have a longer lifespan. In other words, we impose some restrictions on ourselves, and they are not always associated with aging.

We cannot stop the aging process. But we can recognize its strengths and weaknesses and navigate the terrain well, which will make our journey into old age more enjoyable. The next peak is yet to come.