Study: older really is wiser

Age really does bring wisdom, making the brains of older people as agile as their younger counterparts, researchers claim.

Scientists discovered that years of life experience makes older brains as effective when it comes to decision-making as much younger minds.

Older people were found to be less bothered by making a mistake and used their brains in a far more efficient way, only engaging certain parts of it at the exact moment they were required. The findings contradict previous theories claiming our brains deterioriate with age, making us less able to make sound decisions.

Canadian researchers from Montreal University’s Geriatrics Institute studied 24 people aged 18 to 35 and a group of ten aged 55 to 75, all of whom still held down a job.

Participants were asked to perform a special matching task, whose rules changed as the game went on.