A lot folks refer to momentary memory lapses as “senior moments.” But the truth is that senior moments can start as early as your 20s.
Memory lapses start in our 20s, though people don’t typically notice or fret about them until their 50s. In a study published last year in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, psychologists asked about 2,000 participants to solve puzzles, identify patterns and remember words and details from stories, among other memory tests. The top performers were 22 years old; researchers saw a notable decline in the ability to make rapid comparisons, remember unrelated information and detect relationships by age 27. A weakening memory can usually be detected by around age 37, according to the study. The good news was that people’s vocabulary and general knowledge increase until at least age 60.
I wonder if our memories for certain bits of information take a hit due to the increasing amount of data we face via online networks, etc. I tackled that topic over in my new blog: I Can’t Read Anything Longer than This Headline.
