So what improves with age? From emotional resilience to sharper decision-making, here’s what the research shows.

1. You get better at handling stress

Stress doesn’t disappear with age, but our response to it changes. “Older people have a lot more ability to understand stressful or difficult circumstances, and they’re actually better able to manage [stress] than they are when they’re younger,” says Aanand Naik, executive director of the UTHealth Houston Consortium on Aging.

One reason why is that many older adults have developed strategies to deal with recurring challenges. “Older adults have more experience generally, but they have more experience with specific situations and have strategies on how to manage and address them,” says Naik. Part of it is also physical: A 2023 study found that older adults aged 65-84 had lower cortisol levels and heart rate reactivity during a lab-based stress test compared to adults aged 18-30. They also reported feeling less stressed overall.

2. You become more emotionally resilient

It’s not just the stress response that changes with age—our emotions shift, too. “As you get older, you have a bit more emotional intelligence and emotional adaptability,” says Naik. Feng agrees, adding that “older adults tend to be a little bit better at avoiding negative affect and maintaining the positive affect.”

(Your body ages rapidly in two “bursts,” at 44 and 60. Here’s how to prepare.)