Written By Alan Good
It’s said that, as you get older you loose three things; strength, friends…I forget the third. Last weekend I turned fifty—for the twenty-third time. I also had “another” senior’s moment. I misplaced the keys for my electric lawn mower and shed.
A “senior moment” is a colloquial phrase describing a brief, temporary lapse in memory or mental clarity. It’s a non-medical term generally referring to a moment where our memory takes a nap and we can’t remember a birthday, PIN, or person’s name.
Sometimes I forget things, like why I went into—or out of—a room. But it’s occasional. It’s not as though I go in places where I don’t belong and wake up suddenly. (Okay, but that was in college). While it is humorously attributed to advanced age, these harmless “brain glitches” are common at any age. You can probably think of a time when it’s happened to you. This more playful description denotes that it is a natural part of the aging process rather than a symptom of a serious condition like dementia.
Occasional forgetfulness is a natural part of aging. (Did I just say that?). As the brain ages, processing speed can slightly decrease, making it more difficult to juggle multiple tasks at once. But chronic or worsening cognitive issues should not be brushed off as just a “senior moment.” Medical experts recommend seeing a doctor or healthcare provider if memory lapses start to disrupt daily life, such as getting lost in familiar places, having trouble following step-by-step instructions, or experiencing drastic changes in mood and personality.
There are things you can do to reduce these senior moments, even your risk of dementia. Prevention is always better than treatment. The human brain is a mystery to us despite rapid scientific advancement. However, we can slow the progression of aging on the body and the mind, as well as the conditions which can put you at a greater risk of developing a degenerative brain disease.
A balanced lifestyle, including diet and exercise, will help keep you healthy over time. It stands to reason that keeping good brain and body health would also reduce your chances of having a senior moment.
Anything that gets your heart pumping harder, sending more oxygen and nutrients to the brain and keeping it healthy, helps with keeping your memory sharp. A lovely side effect of this is improving your mood and decreasing your risk of conditions which can cause dementia, such as stroke, diabetes, depression, heart disease, and high cholesterol.
So why am I having these brain blanks when I exercise as hard as I do? Stress. It can happen to us seniors, although for different reasons.
Perhaps we don’t need to worry about a test or job interview, as someone younger might, but health issues, loneliness, life changes, are but a few stresses for the aged. Here again, exercise, proper sleep and diet, and seeking someone to support you will assist in getting you through challenges.
Humour can be a great help. Laugh. Laugh at a good movie. Laugh at a good joke. Laugh at your situation. Turn it upside-down. Try to see the humour in it. Nothing lasts forever, so smile.
Humour is how I’ve managed stress for years. By the way, I found my keys in a spot that, let’s just say they didn’t belong—in my BBQ case on the deck—and could only laugh.
More on handling stress next time.
