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Many people assume that deteriorating memory is a given as we get older. Is that our fate? Is there no hope? Not so fast! Psychologists have studied memory and aging ever since there were psychologists. What have they learned?
First, what is the average typical decline in memory? The type of memory that tends to decline as you age is the type that you go to when you want to remember facts, dates, things you have done, different concepts, etc. Psychologists call this Declarative memory. There are two types of Declarative memory. One type refers to remembering your experiences, things you have done and places you have been (Episodic memory).The other type involves everything you have learned, general factual knowledge (Semantic memory). What makes the decline most obvious are issues with Episodic memory. For example, forgetting where you parked your car, or being unable to remember what you did on vacation. Studies suggest that the average onset of these memory issues are generally not expected before age 60.
People who are aging successfully will show little or no decline in memory until 70, 80, 90, or no decline at all. These people have been called superagers. How many of us can be or will be superagers ranges from around ten to around forty percent depending on how the studies were done. My guess is about twenty percent.
What is known about people who have delayed, minimized, or even avoided significant memory decline as they aged? The key word is lifestyle. Lifestyle involves what you do in your daily life, your social life, your habits, your attitudes, what you value, how you eat, how you sleep, and what you believe. Those things collectively have a lot to say about how successful you will age.
Education is a factor that is frequently mentioned in successful aging studies. It is often referred to in relation to aging people’s cognitive ability. Cognition is your ability to think, understand, remember, learn, make good decisions, and to express yourself accurately. One way that education helps is that it may allow better lifestyle choices and decisions that have to be made. Similarly, an occupation that is more complex and intellectually challenging can be a contributing factor to aging successfully.
A person’s level of physical activity is also a known factor. There are many studies that have demonstrated that the rate of cognitive aging can be impacted by exercise, including memory. One study reported approximately a 35 percent risk reduction due to a physically active lifestyle. My understanding is that it is never too late to start exercise and to be more physically active. You have nothing to lose by trying.