Adulthood Starts at Age 32: New Study on Adolescence

Adulting can officially start later in life.

Neuroscientists at the University of Cambridge found that the human brain experiences four pivotal turning points throughout someone’s lifetime, determining that adolescence begins around the age of 9 and lasts until age 32 on average, according to a study published in Nature Communications Nov. 25.

The study compared the brains of 3,802 people between ages 0 and 90 and found that there are five brain phases: childhood from birth to age 9, adolescence from 9 to 32, adulthood from 32 to 66, early aging from 66 to 83 and late aging from 83 onwards. 

As the study notes, when a person is in their early 30s, their brain’s neural wiring shifts into adult mode, which then leads into the longest era, as adulthood can last up to three decades. 

“Around the age of 32, we see the most directional changes in wiring and the largest overall shift in trajectory, compared to all the other turning points,” lead researcher Dr. Alexa Mousley said in a Nov. 25 press release. “While puberty offers a clear start, the end of adolescence is much harder to pin down scientifically. Based purely on neural architecture, we found that adolescent-like changes in brain structure end around the early thirties.”