2. Normal Changes in Memory with Age

November 18, 2016 American Council on Exercise Off Natural Health News

Many people in middle and older age complain that their memory just isn’t as sharp as when they were young. It becomes harder to remember names of people you just met. You may spend more time than you’d like looking around for your reading glasses, watch, or car keys. As we age memory starts to falter in mostly predictable ways. Increasing difficulty with short-term memory (like forgetting where you parked the car), diminished ability to quickly switch mental gears among several tasks, and taking longer to process new information are typical in most people as they get older.

These problems are not uncommon, and they are not telltale symptoms of dementia. In dementia, cognitive abilities are lost to the point where a person cannot function independently. In normal aging, they are simply diminished somewhat.

The more exposure you have to information you need to remember, and the more often you repeat it, the more likely you are to remember it, at any age. Therefore, it’s possible to compensate for reduced informationprocessing speed.

Some memory problems may be caused by a health condition or medication you’re taking. Fatigue, stress, depression, and anxiety can lower your memory potential, as can a vitamin B12 deficiency, thyroid problems, and anemia. Medications such as antihistamines, anti-anxiety drugs, sleep aids, and painkillers also may impair memory.

You can correct the problem by treating the underlying condition or by stopping the medication. Any concerns about medications and their potential cognitive effects or interactions should be discussed with your doctor. Your pharmacist is a valuable resource regarding drug interactions. Consult with your pharmacist, and make your doctors aware of any information obtained.

Normal Memory Changes

The changes that take place in memory and cognition vary from person to person, however, some are relatively common ones. For example, the speed at which the brain processes information is often affected. This means if a list of words is given to a group of 20-year-olds and a group of 75-year-olds, and they are asked to recall the words a short time later, the 20-year-olds will remember more words. However, if the list of words is shown more than once and the participants are allowed to read the words out loud, the 75-year-olds are likely to do just as well as the 20-year-olds. The more exposure you have to information you need to remember, and the more often you repeat it, the more likely you are to remember it, at any age. Therefore, it’s possible to compensate for reduced information-processing speed.

Older adults may also experience a delay in recalling information. This is what is happening when you have to rack your brain to remember a familiar word or the name of someone you recently met. The encouraging news is the information is not gone for good. If someone tells you the word or name, you will recognize it, or you may eventually come up with it on your own.

Focus on One Task at a Time

Some older adults have a decreased ability to divide their attention among more than one activity or source of information. This also happens to people with Alzheimer’s disease. With Alzheimer’s disease it becomes increasingly worse, significantly impairing the ability to function. With normal aging, it simply means that you need to concentrate your attention more fully on one task at a time.

On the positive side, aging does not affect the recall of established skills. Vocabulary and general knowledge continue to increase with age, and reasoning and intelligence are not impaired.

It is important to realize there are large differences in mental function among people at any age. Not everyone experiences difficulties in all aspects of mental function, and the degree of difficulty varies widely among different people. Some people in their 70s and 80s have a remarkable ability to maintain a very high level of memory and other mental functioning.

The Adaptable Brain

In the past, age-related changes were blamed on dying neurons in the brain. Experts believed that new neurons were produced only early in life and that once a person reached adulthood brain cells started to die off. A much more complex view of the brain has come to be accepted. Neurons don’t die quite as rapidly as previously thought and new neurons actually can grow, even in adults.

Perhaps more importantly, new connections among neurons continue to be formed throughout life. Brain processes, including memory, thinking, and other functions, occur as neurons communicate with one another via projections (called axons and dendrites) that create a vast web inside the brain. As memories are formed, new skills learned, or other thought processes occur, new pathways get created among the network of neurons. The more the information is reinforced, the stronger the pathway becomes.

Because the brain responds to stimulation, such as exposure to new information, by creating new connections, staying mentally active by reading, doing crossword puzzles, joining discussion groups, or engaging in any activity that stretches your mind may help you maintain mental function.

The brain also is capable of adapting. In fact, the brain has a remarkable capacity for modification and repair. If one network becomes faulty, another network can often take over its function. And even if new neurons are not created the existing ones can create new connections.

Memory Training

Because the brain is adaptable and can continue to form new connections throughout life, most people can learn and improve their memory at any age. A memory-improvement industry has grown up around the promise of mental fitness. Numerous books and computer- and web-based products claim to boost memory and mental function. Whether these brain-training programs have any measurable impact on memory or cognition is unclear and continues to be studied.

Before spending money on a high-tech solution, however, consider some low-tech strategies for improving your memory. Put simply, memory involves three basic steps: acquiring information, storing it, and retrieving it. Often people have difficulty remembering something because they didn’t adequately acquire the information to begin with. Acquiring information requires you to focus your attention on what you want to remember. So when you park your car in a large parking lot, stop and be mindful for a moment, telling yourself exactly where your car is and perhaps write down the location—then it will be easier for you to find your car later.

It’s easier to pay attention to, and therefore to remember, information that has meaning to you. You can also give meaning to information you find not quite as interesting, making it easier to remember. You can organize the information in certain ways, or use memory tricks. An example of a memory trick is the method commonly used to remember how many days are in each month (“Thirty days hath September, April, June and November…”).

Another way to improve your memory is simply to be more organized. Use tools such as appointment books and calendars to keep track of your schedule. Keep a to-do list to remember tasks and chores. Designate certain “forget-me-not spots” where you always put your keys or glasses. Remember, it isn’t always necessary to rely on your memory. Keep a notebook in which you write down things you want to remember.

You can learn memory techniques (see Box 2-1, “Memory Techniques”). For example, you can create a story or picture for things you want to remember or say the information out loud. You can also connect new information with something that you already know well.