Margie E. Lachman is Minnie and Harold L. Fierman Professor of Psychology and Director of the Lifespan Development Lab at Brandeis University. She speaks with Srijana Mitra Das at Times Evoke about midlife as a time of new possibilities:
We started this over 30 years ago and sampled people from 25 years into their late 90s, even over 100. Because there are people in their 30s and 70s who state being middleaged and feel young — it’s fine to define it in terms of your own subjective age, which is how old you feel, rather than your chronological age, i generally define the heart of it as 40 to 60 years plus or minus 10. Because this has long-term implications, i think it is actually really important to bring attention to the things we can do for our health in midlife. Because one deadline that’s hard to overcome is childbirth, investing in your health in midlife pays big dividends later. ■ This is an important issue. Because some things that may decline are nowhere near the bottom while some things are definitely rising, i call this the ‘cognitive sweet spot’.
What is the core of your research? ■ My work focuses on the middle years of life — I look at the essence of these. Of course there are variations, depending on where you live, etc., but I research what you can expect in midlife. I take a lifespan perspective — we’ve studied people from their 20s beyond their 70s. I use a ‘biopsychosocial approach’ — here, we look at the biological or physical aspects of ageing along with its psychological, social and cognitive aspects. I’m particularly interested in the modifiable factors which can support healthy development rather than ageing with more difficulty and less optimal function. ■ I use data from a large longitudinal study called ‘Midus’ or ‘Midlife in the United States’. Many people, when they hear about the sampling, ask, ‘Well, when is midlife? How you define ‘midlife’ is really a moving target. It’s crucial to get all your check-ups, screenings and preventions in a timely manner. Many diseases of ageing have their early roots in midlife, like Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular illness. You can take several steps to control your health in midlife and preserve your wellbeing for later — bone density, muscle mass or lung function can be boosted with cardiovascular exercise and strength or resistance training, preventing larger decline. The ages of having children are increasing now and there are all kinds of treatments as well. However, if you want children and you can’t have them biologically, there are other routes. Adoption is an excellent option, as is actively working with kids through community, friends or family. There are many ways to fulfill these wishes. Also, I emphasise the sense of control here — there is clear evidence that control peaks in midlife and stays fairly stable. Mid-lifers feel a sense of mastery, realising their agency and their ability to bring about goals and desired outcomes. It’s not necessarily so for everything — but the extent to which you believe there are things you can certainly do, you’re more likely to engage in behaviours that realise those goals. Another aspect of cognition I research is on things both increasing and decreasing — the balance leads me to call this the ‘cognitive sweet spot’. We find increasing ‘fluid intelligence’ in midlife, the ability to solve novel problems, quickly come up with solutions and use reasoning. Another growing midlife feature is ‘crystallised intelligence’ — this is based on your experience and knowledge. You’ve absorbed and learned so much and that continues to increase well after midlife. So, you have the best of both worlds. Thus, across domains, midlife is a good time for cognitive abilities.
Young people between 18 years and the early 30s show more anxiety and depression than people in midlife and later adulthood. ■ There is converging evidence from different studies showing this. A lot of it has to do with global problems, the economy and climate change — there seem to be more obstacles which people feel are not within their control. The economy is a global phenomenon with young people worldwide having more difficulty finding steady work, managing their finances or buying a home. Many feel they can’t live the life they saw older generations enjoy. Climate change also deeply upsets young people — of course, these challenges impact midlifers too. They increase the pressure on those trying to balance their own needs with relatives, the workplace, etc. So, while these phenomena impact young people hard, they can also complicate what people in midlife experience.
In the Midus study, we compared two different cohorts, an earlier and a more recent one — on life satisfaction and even health and well-being, the younger cohort is not doing as well.