How's your diet? Do you take any supplements? Do you have stressful things going on in your life? Are you bored with your job? Maybe your brain doesnt want to do it anymore. Diversify your activities? Do something with your hands, paint, sculpt, woodworking? Something very different. I went back to college to study programming when I was 40. I don't think it's age related.
Ask HN: I'm 40 and feel my mental ability declining. Programming seems harder.
261–270 of 534 posts
Re: Ask HN: I'm 40 and feel my mental ability declining. Programming seems harder.
#262Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is good advice. Just a few days ago I randomly stumbled upon a youtube video where someone was using — blast from the past, here — a hunk of green bar line printer paper as a big scratch pad to write on. It made me wonder how I ever got out of that habit. That stuff, when it was ubiquitous, was the best scratch paper ever, and I used to do it all the time when I was young and, one would think, at my cognitive pe…
I would want one of these Etch'n'Sketch but with a pen and some higher resolution. The variant where you pull a lever to reset it. Whiteboard markers are too wide and I am left handed so I erase as a write. And using paper makes it feel like I am wasting paper.
Does that really work out, with regards to waste? I mean, does something with a circuit board, a battery, an LCD screen, a case, a stylus, and a limited lifespan really end up being greener than renewable, recyclable, compostable plant fiber?
Re: Ask HN: I'm 40 and feel my mental ability declining. Programming seems harder.
#263As many have said already, it could have one or several of many different causes but aging.
Cognitive decline once happened to me at age 35: it was anemia (blood deficiency), caused by colon cancer (long cured)
If the problem is serious, by all means do see a physician. He should be able to diagnose burnout, if nothing else -- which I believe is the most probable cause. There are many programmers in their fourties and older that do fine. Don't believe the agists.
Re: Ask HN: I'm 40 and feel my mental ability declining. Programming seems harder.
#264I'm almost 40 and I'm much more aware of the circumstances when my mental ability are worse. If I want to be at my peak, sleep well, not have breakfast, drink a cup of coffee. Under these circumstances I think I may have better mental ability than 10 years ago.
Re: Ask HN: I'm 40 and feel my mental ability declining. Programming seems harder.
#265Sounds hard, man! Poor you :( General tips: exercise, lots of water, meditation/pranayama, emotional processing/therapy if you have unresolved trauma, sleep, cut coffee and alcohol, cut processed foods/snakcs, more vegetables. Maybe try some nootropics? Nootropics are a highly-opinionated / personal / subjective topic but there's plenty of different options. Worth exploring as temporary rewiring enhancement while you get your personal health routine up to sustain your abilities. Also if you can and want to maybe take a break / sabbatical from work and just see where it takes you. What do you want to do?
Re: Ask HN: I'm 40 and feel my mental ability declining. Programming seems harder.
#266Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hmm. Do you think we will ever get a pill to replace exercise?
Exercise is a source of enjoyment, why would you want to replace that?
I exercise on a strict schedule, both weight lifting and cardio. It is never enjoyable for me. I don’t get runners high, or pleasure from the exertion. I just make myself tired, sweaty, and add on temporary pain to my muscles.
It’s worth it for the global effect on my energy levels and health. But it remains true that for some of us, exercise is never a source of enjoyment, and I understand why many people can’t get through that to do it anyway.
Re: Ask HN: I'm 40 and feel my mental ability declining. Programming seems harder.
#267Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'll second this. Based on my own experience (I'm 50) it's all about energy levels. When my energy is high, I can code like I did two decades ago. Probably better. I guess the difference is that in your twenties, energy is almost for free. As you get older, you've got to be smarter about it - all the usual things - diet, exercise, avoiding stress... Not that I'm good about those things - I do OK but not great. Someti…
I'm 33 and this describes me perfectly too. Some days are clear and sunny while others are dark and cloudy.
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Re: Ask HN: I'm 40 and feel my mental ability declining. Programming seems harder.
#268Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hmm. Do you think we will ever get a pill to replace exercise?
Exercise is a source of enjoyment, why would you want to replace that?
Most of it's less enjoyable than several other things I could do with that time instead. Focused cardio, especially, is miserable enough that I'd rather do a bunch of other things I find unpleasant instead (IMO). The parts I find enjoyable enough that I'd choose to do them over other not-unpleasant things mostly require a bunch of other people (sports) and are hard to schedule, and then become another thing to schedule around for other activities or things that come up. Weight lifting's fun as far as such things go, but takes up space or requires trips to the gym.
The feeling after's nice, though. Would take that in a pill form, for sure.
Re: Ask HN: I'm 40 and feel my mental ability declining. Programming seems harder.
#269I'm going to assume you are male. If not, disregard.
Get your blood work done.
I know this may seem unrelated, as we often think of testosterone as related solely to muscle development and sex, but it's far, far more. It is very important for cognition, focus, and mood. Further, the estradiol produced from aromatization is highly neuroprotective.
Check your levels, just in case.
Re: Ask HN: I'm 40 and feel my mental ability declining. Programming seems harder.
#270IMHO think its possible that you are disinterested in the task. I am at about the same age and have been increasingly finding it difficult to concentrate on tasks that don't help me learn much.