Conventional wisdom says that as people age, their memory is compromised.
For the most part, this is true.
It happens because people lose brain cells as they age, and this has a direct impact on the person’s ability to store and to retrieve information.
This most strongly affects short-term memory.
So people find that they often have problems in remembering things that happened to them recently. At the same time, their ability to learn is compromised, which is why many older people struggle to learn new things.
This type of memory loss is completely normal and is even something to expect with seniors.
Despite this, senior memory loss can be a tricky subject because it’s hard to know when it is normal and when there is something more serious going on.
Senior Memory Loss Isn’t Inevitable
Senior memory loss tends to get taken for granted – but it isn’t actually inevitable.
For example, you will find that ability to remember (and to learn) differs considerably from one person and the next, even when they are the same age.
In some cases, a senior might experience considerable memory loss while in other cases a senior may find that their memory is largely unaffected.
Things like daily habits and lifestyle can have a considerable impact on a person’s brain health – much like how they can impact someone’s physical health.
In fact, there is a growing understanding that people who keep their brains active tend to have better memory than those who do not.
Basically, this means that the brain can be thought of like any other muscle, where you need to exercise it to keep it in shape.
Mind games, challenging reading and things like crossword puzzles can all be tools to help people stay sharp and decrease the impacts of aging on memory.
At the same time, some associations have been made between physical exercise and improved memory.
Other factors may also play a role, including reducing stress and getting sufficient omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants into your body.
These perspectives suggest that no matter where you fall in terms of age or memory, keeping your mind active is important to promoting health.
Likewise, for seniors already experiencing memory loss, exercising their mind may help to prevent this memory loss from getting worse.
There are many ways of doing this and it’s a matter of finding what works for you and for your family. For example, in one of my posts, I talked about tablet apps for seniors. Using a tablet can be a great way of keeping seniors engaged and there are many gaps and activities on them that can help to challenge people mentally.
Normal Senior Memory Loss versus Cognitive Issues
A major challenge with memory loss is that it also acts as a signal of cognitive issues.
In particular, certain types of memory loss can be an indication of the development of dementia.
Working out when a person is experiencing normal memory loss compared to something more serious is challenging.
One reason for this is that there are so many differences between individuals.
For example, some people were never particularly good at learning or keeping their mind active in their younger years, so as seniors they can often have substantially more problems with memory.
Despite this, there are some symptoms that act as early warnings of dementia.
Some of these are:
- Decreases in ability to follow direction
- Sudden changes in behavior or mood
- Getting lost in a familiar area
- Putting items in strange places, like shoes in the fridge
- Mixing up words, such as saying desk instead of chair
- Forgetting commonly used words
- Asking the same questions frequently
However, it is important to note that these are still individual specific.
So, for example, if you have a senior who has experienced mood swings their entire life, sudden changes in mood probably aren’t an indication of a cognitive issue. That’s especially true when people have a mental health condition that drives those changes in mood.
Likewise, if the senior was never very good at understanding or figuring things out, that issue isn’t an indication of dementia.
In general, the key is to look for symptoms that are a change for that individual.
A number of sites offer more information about senior memory loss and what approaches to take. Some examples are the Mayo Clinic, the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer’s Association.
Leave a Reply