Depression, stress and insomnia, this is at what age the problems peak

People in their 40s and 50s report more mental health problems, increased stress, pressure and less life satisfaction than younger or older people.

Therefore, the midlife crisis is very real and exists, say economists from Britain, the US and Singapore in a related study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) titled The Midlife Crisis.

People in their 40s and 50s have been found to have the worst and most stressful time of their lives, despite the fact that their incomes may be increasing.

Also, the creation of a family does not seem to affect the situation as research data shows that the same crisis is experienced by both those who have children and those who have not created a family.

One possible explanation of the researchers is that the phenomenon is due to the fact that middle-aged people feel that they have failed in their life goals.

"Middle age is a time when people are more likely to kill themselves, have trouble sleeping, have clinical depression, have trouble concentrating, forget things, feel pressured at work, suffer excruciating headaches and become addicted from alcohol," the authors of the study, and point out that "something fundamental is wrong with middle age."

The term midlife crisis was coined by psychoanalyst Elliott Jaques in 1965. He described it as the set of changes in a person's identity that occur at the transition to middle age, usually from 45 to 65 years of age.