Middle adulthood, or middle age, is the time of life between ages 40 to 60. During this time, people experience many physical changes that signal that the person is aging, including gray hair and hair loss, wrinkles and age spots, vision and hearing loss, and weight gain, commonly called the middle age spread.In middle adulthood physical development is totally complete and there is gradual decline in functioning of organs begins. Middle adulthood is a time of personal development; however, it is the least researched and the last understood of the life stages.In 1900, the average life expectancy was approximately 49 years; in 1976, it was approximately 72 years. Some scientists predict that life expectancy will reach 100 years by the end of the twentieth century. Because of this rapid lengthening of the life span, the middle-adult population continues to grow. Middle adulthood, is the time of launching children from the home, grand parenting, reaching the peak in one's career, and preparing for retirement.Studies have shown that the socioeconomic status of an individual greatly influences the timing of major life events; in general, those in the middle and upper classes tend to delay these events. Therefore, to identify middle adulthood solely in terms of the events that often characterize it would be as erroneous as regarding chronological age as they only criterion.
