Life begins at forty - and don't you forget it

 Life begins at forty - and don't you forget it

THE belief that life begins at 40 is a myth. Research has found that the fourth decade heralds¹ the beginning of the end.

A study of 2,282 people aged² 18 to 87 found that hitting 40 was synonymous with forgetfulness, lack of concentration and poor focus. While general intelligence appeared to remain stable over time, psychologists concluded that everyday mental skills, such as remembering a telephone number or a person's name, showed a marked decline from the age of 40 onwards.

Prof Keith Wesnes, from Cognitive³ Drug Research Ltd, a private research company in Reading, discovered that people aged between 40 and 50 were 15 per cent slower at completing simple computerised tasks than those in their twenties. He told the British Psychological Society's conference in London: "The decline is most strongly associated with speed rather than accuracy.

"People in their forties clearly get worse at remembering, recalling and recognising things. This can be very embarrassing when someone walks into a busy room and can't remember people's names. At this age you can't concentrate as well, and you can't focus and ignore distractions⁴ to the same extent that you used to."

The computerised tasks performed by the volunteers included tests of their reaction time, their memory of words, pictures and digits⁵, and their ability to maintain concentration. What causes the decline in memory remains⁶ uncertain. One theory is that the problem is linked to the deterioration⁷ of the messaging system in the brain.

It is understood that as people get older their brain cells lose some of their ability to communicate with each other via chemicals called neurotransmitters. But researchers insisted that there was no cause for alarm. Dr James Semple, a brain specialist at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, said that with age came experience, and a series of defence mechanisms⁸.

He said: "Old dogs have strategies that they can bring to mind and draw on to compensate⁹ for the loss of speed. Older people may be slowing down but they have years of experience that they can rely on." Clinical trials have showed that herbal remedies can help to improve memory among older people.

A recent study found that the memory of people aged between 40 and 65 improved by 7.5 per cent after taking supplements containing ginkgo and ginseng.

1 heralds   

n.使者( herald的名词复数 )；预报者；预兆；传令官v.预示( herald的第三人称单数 )；宣布（好或重要）

参考例句：

• The song of birds heralds the approach of spring. 百鸟齐鸣报春到。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The wind sweeping through the tower heralds a rising storm in the mountain. 山雨欲来风满楼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

3 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

4 distractions   

n.使人分心的事[人]( distraction的名词复数 )；娱乐，消遣；心烦意乱；精神错乱

参考例句：

• I find it hard to work at home because there are too many distractions. 我发觉在家里工作很难，因为使人分心的事太多。
• There are too many distractions here to work properly. 这里叫人分心的事太多，使人无法好好工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 digits   

n.数字( digit的名词复数 )；手指，足趾

参考例句：

• The number 1000 contains four digits. 1000是四位数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The number 410 contains three digits. 数字 410 中包括三个数目字。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

8 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。