As you age, it’s common to momentarily forget things like the name of your best friend’s youngest nephew. While many adults who experience these temporary memory lapses fear that it’s a sign of dementia, how your brain ages is individual. Some people — known as “Super Agers” — reach their 90s and perform as well as 30-somethings on cognitive tests, while others experience cognitive changes decades before that. It’s very normal to see changes in how well we perform in day-to-day situations as we get older. Here’s what’s actually considered normal aging, even if it doesn’t seem like it:
- 1. It takes you longer to learn new things. There’s a reason it takes older adults longer to learn things like updated computer features or the latest smartphone technology. You’re going to have to repeat it a few more times in order to learn it. It may be easy for your grandson to memorize your new phone number, but it may take you longer to memorize his — and that’s normal.
- 2. It can be challenging to find the right word. Our thinking as we age is just slower in general. The biggest complaint from older folks is trouble remembering a specific word or phrase — that tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon. As we age, it takes us longer to find that word or pull up that information, but it’s still there. While it may take a minute to remember the name of your neighbor’s dog or the word you want to use in a sentence, it does eventually come to you. If you forget a word, and then you remember the word a few minutes later, that’s normal. It’s just your brain functioning a little bit slower.
- 3. It’s common to forget why you walked into a room. Perhaps you walk into your bedroom to get your phone charger but then become distracted b a pile of laundry that needs to be done. Those kinds of things are very typical and characteristic of healthy aging.
- 4. Misplacing items becomes more frequent. It’s common to misplace your belongings occasionally. Maybe you forget where you put your glasses — *hint*..... check your head. That’s absolutely normal behavior, as long as forgetfulness doesn’t completely disrupt your day.
- 5. It becomes harder to multitask. Multitasking becomes more challenging as you get older. Perhaps you used to cook dinner while writing an email and tidying up your workspace. It may become harder to do all of those things at once, and that’s perfectly normal.
What’s normal for one person might not be normal for someone else. Sometimes, cognitive decline isn’t related to dementia at all. It could be due to a new medication, a lack of sleep, or mood changes related to the stress of older adulthood.
