Dr Badham added: “Therefore, the decline an individual might expect to experience as they become older is smaller than originally thought. In other words, we can expect to be more cognitively able than our grandparents were when we reach their age.”
Researchers carried out a meta-analysis of 60 studies that have recorded mental ability scores of different generations.
In 83 of the tests used in the studies, older adults showed better performance than earlier cohorts. However young adults’ cognition remained relatively flat across time.
The average mental deficit between old and young people in 2022 would have been considered in the bottom 30 per cent of age deficits from 1962. And the smallest mental gap between generations in the 1960s would now be considered average today.
Scientists believe the phenomenon is being caused because the Flynn Effect has plateaued.
The Flynn Effect states that global IQ will rise steadily over time, mostly fuelled by improvements in education, diet and health. But it now appears to have stalled for people born at the turn of the millennium.
In contrast, those born earlier are still recording improvements compared to older people of previous generations.
Reasons to be optimistic
Dr Badham also compared the scores of 1,000 older and younger people taking the Digit Symbol Substitution Task (DSST) – a test that measures mental function and is often used to diagnose dementia.
Younger people with a mean age of 20 had scored an average of 70 points since 2009 but had not improved by 2016. In contrast, older adults with an average age of 73 had seen their scores rise from around 40 to nearly 50 in the same time period.
If the trend has continued, they would be expected to have reached scores of 60 and beyond by around 2020.
Caroline Abrahams, the charity director of Age UK, said: “The results of this new research are encouraging and should give hope to people who worry that they are certain to experience a significant loss of their thinking ability as they age – they may not.
“Many older people are aware of the importance of remaining active, connected and eating well, to help protect all aspects of their health, including their brains, and hopefully studies like this will persuade others to do likewise.
“There are no certainties about your health as you age but also reasons to be optimistic and to keep doing the things you love, which turns out not only to make life more enjoyable but to be good for you too.”
Dr Badham said the improvements in cognitive ability may also have implications for dementia diagnosis. If people are becoming more mentally cognisant, then falls in their ability could be missed under current thresholds.
He added: “As older adults are performing better in general than previous generations, it may be necessary to revise definitions of dementia that depend on an individuals’ expected level of ability.
“This is because dementia is defined as cognitive ability that is below normal and the current results suggest that as healthy older adults become more cognitively able, we may need to revise our definition of normal when diagnosing dementia.”
The research was published in the journal Developmental Review.
Sarah Carter is a health and wellness expert residing in the UK. With a background in healthcare, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, promoting healthier living for readers.
