When we are exasperated, trying to explain something to someone who does not seem to understand it, we usually say “grow up”. We have read about Peter Pan, the boy who never really grew up. But away from the world of fiction, in real life too, many people really don’t grow up all that well, in a mental sense.
In most countries, you are considered an adult on turning 18. This is the voting age. But for tobacco and alcohol purchases, in Sri Lanka and many other countries, the stipulated minimum age is 21. Thus 21 is considered as the adult age in all countries, except for very high political office, when you have to wait till 30 or 35.
But do we really become adults at 18 or 21 ? Scientists are now saying that we really do not become adults in the true sense of the word until the 30s. This is exacerbated by a trend where people tend to stay with their parents until the 30s and delay their marriages due to work or education.
Although anyone over 18 years is considered an adult, scientists argue that our brains do not mature that quickly. Being an adult in the eyes of the law might not actually align with our biological clocks. Speaking at a meeting of the Academy of Medical Sciences in London, researchers explained that our brains slowly transition to adulthood, which is finally reached in our 30s.
Our brains develop really fast in the early childhood stage with millions of new neural connections added virtually every day and then settle to a more sedate pace in late childhood. But it is not only physical neural connections that matter – we accumulate life experiences as we age and learn to discern what is good and what is bad in a given situation. At the same time, we accumulate memories, some of which last a lifetime, while others fade away quickly. We remember nothing about the first three-four years of our lives, in any case.
“What we are really saying is that to have a definition of when you move from childhood to adulthood looks increasingly absurd,” Prof Peter Jones, a neuroscientist at the University of Cambridge, explained at the meeting. “It’s a much more nuanced transition that takes place over three decades. There isn’t a childhood and then adulthood. People are on a pathway, they’re on a trajectory.”
Adolescence, according to the researchers, actually runs from 10 to 24 years of age. Rather than age 10–19 years, a definition of 10–24 years corresponds more closely to adolescent growth and popular understandings of this life phase. Even newspaper reporters get confused about the 18-21 phase. Some newspapers would say “18-year-old man” while others would say “18-year-old boy”. Teenage years and teenagers, of course, can be confusing to all.
Prof Jones went on to explain that it’s mainly out of societal convenience that there is a specific age for adulthood in the first place. “I guess systems like the education system, the health system and the legal system make it convenient for themselves by having definitions.” He does however think criminal judges do know the difference between a 19-year-old defendant and a “hardened criminal” in their 30s, proving that in some aspects, the law is already aware of how the human brain differs with age, even after attaining the legal age of adulthood.
So what does this mean for us? The prolonged state of development allows us to learn new concepts more quickly. But this also means that excessive alcohol or drug use while your brain is still developing may have a lasting impact. By our 30s, the brain is less susceptible to mental health disorders and for neuroscientists, understanding the nuances of brain development and age is important for improving how people treat and research serious mental disorders.
Of course, there is an inner child in all of us regardless of the age. I still occasionally watch cartoons such as Scooby Doo and Woody Woodpecker from my childhood days (satellite TV and YouTube make this really easy) and I am itching to see the new Asterix movie in town. A Tin Tin book is always welcome whether you are 8 or 80. The same goes for certain food items – we really go back to our childhood when we indulge in certain Avurudu sweets.
And we learn most of life’s skills when we are children. “All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten” is the title of a popular book that expands on this theory. From using a pair of scissors to putting on a shirt, the most essential skills for life are learned during this phase when our brains and minds are growing at a phenomenal rate. A little later, we learn subjects such as mathematics that come in handy in all phases of life.
We can still recite the multiplication table by memory and there are many who can do the same for the periodic table of elements, though the latter has hardly any use for day to day life. In fact, there are many things that we learn that have no relevance to everyday life, but I guess that is part of education and growing up. The trick here is not to overburden your brain with a load of unnecessary information that can actually slow it down. Taxing the grey cells too much is not recommended for anyone.
However, some recent studies have shown that the brain does have the ability to generate new cells later in life as well. Scientists have long been divided over whether neurogenesis —a process involving the growth of new neurons—continues into adulthood. Latest findings suggest humans are actually capable of producing fresh cells well into their 90s. The fact that new neurons were being made at all, bodes well for researchers hoping to capitalize on the benefits of cell creation.
Such growth could help those working to recover from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, or perhaps even delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. “I believe we are generating new neurons as long as we need to learn new things,” researcher María Llorens-Martín, a neuroscientist at the Autonomous University of Madrid, told the media. “And that occurs during every single second of our life.”
Thus there is hope even for ageing brains. Whatever the age, it is best to keep the brain occupied with an activity such as writing, a hobby or a mental pursuit such as a crossword or Sudoku. Meditation is also a good way to calm one’s nerves. And never underestimate the power of sleep, which helps repair and rejuvenated the entire body and soul. We are far from understanding how our mind and body work, but these little steps will keep them going strong.