Here’s a little depressing news for anyone my age or a little older:  while some people like to tell themselves that life begins at 40, research shows that age 39 (my current age) is the peak age in terms of brain health.

That is to say, it all goes downhill from there.

This research, reported by UCLA, indicates that middle age is the time at which we start losing myelin, a kind of fatty “insulation” that allows for fast signals across the brain:

“Beginning in middle age, the process of age-related myelin breakdown slowly erodes myelin’s ability to support the very highest frequency neuronal action potential bursts. That may well be why, besides achy joints and arthritis, even the fittest athletes retire and all older people move slower than they did when they were younger.”

Perhaps someone should tell this to those octogenarian mall walkers.  They’ll just about bowl you over without even thinking about it.

Then again, maybe they’re the ones providing just the hope those of us 39 and up need after hearing such delightful news.