Yahoo Lifestyle The Age You're Most Likely To Have A MidLife Crisis Will Surprise You
When you think midlife crisis, you think it's something that happens in your 40s or 50s right?
Wrong.
New research says we're actually susceptible to a 'mid-life crisis' at the end of each decade, starting from age 29.
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According to the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, this is when people tend to take stock of their lives and consider what their future might look like.
"We found that at nine-ending ages, people tend to question whether their lives have been meaningful," said study co-author Adam Alter, professor at NYU Stern School of Business. "That can be an overwhelming psychological experience, particularly if they don't feel their lives are meaningful enough."
While the end of each decade is a chance to rethink relationships, jobs and friendships, for others it can be a destructive time, with extra-marital affairs and large purchases apparently rampant at this time.
However, cautions Alter, age really is just a number, so we shouldn't get too caught up in lamenting the end of a decade.
"In truth, the difference between 29 and 30 is no more meaningful biologically than the difference between 28 and 29 or between 30 and 31," Alter says. "At the very least, it's worth pausing to consider whether your decision is motivated by a genuine need or rather by the symbolic passage from one decade to the next."
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