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Muscle strength, reaction time, cardiac output, and sensory abilities begin to slowly decline in early
and middle adulthood. Fertility, particularly for women, also decreases, and women eventually
experience menopause.
Most older adults maintain an active lifestyle—remaining as happy or happier than they were when
they were younger—and increasingly value their social connections with family and friends.
Although older adults have slower cognitive processing overall (fluid intelligence), their experience
in the form of crystallized intelligence, or existing knowledge about the world and the ability to use it,
is maintained and even strengthened during aging. A portion of the elderly suffer from age-related
brain diseases, such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.