Older people show significant cognitive benefits from learning, provided they have the opportunity to do so

I’ve always suspected that a good part of the reason for what people call a slowing of the brain in people from their 40s to 50s onwards could be understimulation. Once you’re settled into a full-time job that pays the bills, and a routine of looking after the home and kids, there’s little time or money left for education or travel or going to concerts or the theatre other new experiences. It can get to be pretty much the same thing every day, for years and years.

And it’s odd how society puts value on learning when you’re younger, but there comes a point where you’re just expected to stop learning (except things directly related to your job) and do the same thing every day. Learning for older people isn’t valued, probably because in a capitalist society it’s all about economically tangible return on investment. The benefits to the person, or the benefits to the happiness of society as a whole, are not reckoned into the calculation.

Although you may not have as much money when you’re younger, if you’re only supporting yourself you do have more time. It’s a challenge to keep oneself mentally refreshed when life becomes very routine and pretty tightly constrained.