Memory Changes: What’s “Normal”?
Walking into a room and forgetting what you went there to do. That “tip of the tongue” feeling when you see your neighbor but can’t remember their name. Misplacing your cell phone and wondering where you saw it last. For older adults, these experiences aren’t just annoying, they feel like a warning sign: Decline Ahead.
Aging Changes How Brains Work
Whether you have a family history of dementia or not, many of us assume that, with age, everyone’s thinking skills deteriorate, as if we are designed to unravel cognitively. The truth is that normal aging does change how our brains work. But by understanding what’s normal (and what’s not), we can alleviate the anxieties and gain some perspective to make memory and language issues more tolerable.
According to researchers, the skills that we expect to change are known as “fluid intelligence”, and they start declining in our 30s. These abilities are related to the speed and capacity for learning new information, solving problems, and maintaining complex attention skills, such as multi-tasking or focusing on a certain activity while ignoring distractions.
Difficulty with finding a well-known word is also considered a part of normal aging. What remains strong with age is known as “crystallized intelligence”, which is built through knowledge and experience, such as remembering historical facts and locations and vocabulary. So, while we may get slower and experience occasional errors with retrieval, the quality of our thoughts and conversations remains steady.
What is “Normal”
Knowing that we can anticipate some “normal” changes doesn’t mean that brain aging is the same for everyone. There is plenty of variety in “normal aging”. Health issues, physical, or sensory changes, including vision loss or hearing impairment, may play a bigger role in how normal brain changes affect certain people.
The Dementia Society of America’s list of 22 Clues is a helpful resource. It can help to recognize symptoms associated with abnormal brain changes, including dementias. Talk with a knowledgeable health care professional to learn more about what successful aging looks like for you.
Contributor:
Lauren Schwabish, M.S., CCC-SLP
Lauren Schwabish is the owner of Neuro Speech Services. Neuro Speech Services is a private practice based in Northern Virginia. This practice specializes in person-centered assessment and treatment of cognitive-communicative disorders related to stroke, brain injury, concussion, and other neurologic conditions. Lauren received her Bachelor of Science degree with Honors in Communicative Disorders from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She holds a master’s degree in communication sciences from Hunter College of the City University of New York.
Her license is in the Commonwealth of Virginia and she is a certified member of the American Speech Language Hearing Association. She has over 21 years of experience working in hospitals and acute rehabilitation centers. And she is passionate about providing meaningful and accessible health education about the brain to patients, families, and health care professionals. Lauren is an engaging public speaker on the topics of memory and thinking skills, committed to empowering communities with evidence-based information and best practices in brain health behaviors.
Image Sources:
Woman playing instrument – www.twenty20.com/photos/3180ecd8-6771-47fe-88f6-de392c6e90f6/?utm_t20_channel=bl
Man deep in thought -www.twenty20.com/photos/5fc71299-8358-4793-8a93-8b6d90a0abbb/?utm_t20_channel=bl
Brain in puzzle – www.twenty20.com/photos/5b6d7414-4865-4e71-89a3-df74cea2d8ac/?utm_t20_channel=bl
Friends Life Care would like to express our gratitude for this useful post contributed to the eMeetinghouse blog. Friends Life Care has been helping older adults to age successfully in place for over 30 years. One thing that is important to remember about membership is that you have to be between the ages of 40 and 85 and in reasonably good health to join. Comment below with any questions you may have for one of our plan counselors. 💚💚💚