memory Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Better Health While Aging

6 Ways that Memory & Thinking Change with Normal Aging (& What to Do About This)

It’s annoying but unfortunately true: most parts of the body work less well as one gets older and older.

This is even true of the brain, which is part of why it becomes more common to experience a “tip of the tongue” moment as one gets older.

Such age-related changes in how the brain manages memory, thinking, and other mental processes are called “cognitive aging.”

Understanding how aging changes cognitive function is important. It can help you understand what to anticipate when it comes to your own aging. It can also help families better understand the changes they’re noticing in an older person, and whether those are out of the ordinary or not.

Since I’ve often written about changes in thinking that are abnormal and concerning in older adults, I thought it might be helpful for me to write an article outlining what is normal and to be expected.

Specifically, I’ll cover:

How cognitive aging differs from other diseases and conditions that affect memory and thinking
6 ways that memory and thinking change with aging
The difference between crystallized and fluid intelligence
How to tell cognitive aging apart from more worrisome changes, such as mild cognitive impairment and signs of Alzheimer’s and related dementia
Practical takeaways and what you can do

[Read more…]

Q&A: How to Diagnose & Treat Mild Cognitive Impairment?

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH

Q: I realize that I sometimes have difficulty connecting a name and a face. I presume that this is mild cognitive impairment.

On researching the topic online, I find a variety of suggestions for alleviating it. These include supplements (lipoic acid, vitamin E, omega 3s, curcumin), food choices (fish, vegetables, black and green teas), aerobic exercise, yoga, and meditation.

Do these actually help with mild cognitive impairment? What’s been proven to work?

A: It’s common for older adults to feel they’re having trouble with certain memory or thinking tasks as they get older.

I can’t say whether it’s mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in your particular case. But we can review what is known about stopping or slowing cognitive changes in people diagnosed with MCI.

First, let’s start by reviewing what MCI is, and how it’s diagnosed. Then I’ll share some information on the approaches you are asking about, as well as other approaches for treating MCI.

What is Mild Cognitive Impairment?

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5 Things to Know about Aging Parents & Financial Decline

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH

You probably already know that many older adults develop problems managing finances as they age.

Now how would you answer the questions below:

Has your aging parent planned for a decline in financial abilities?
Are you prepared to detect signs of a financial decline?
Do you know what to do if you do notice problems with finances?

Many people, even the ones who are caring and well-informed, will often answer “no” to these questions.

But this post will equip you to start answering yes. And I want you to be able to answer yes, because declines in the ability to manage finances are very common among older adults, and often causes serious health and life problems.

The trouble, of course, is that financial decline is uncomfortable for older adults and their families to think about. Managing money, after all, is one of the ways we maintain autonomy and control over our lives.

So nobody likes to confront the fact that our ability to manage money will — in all likelihood — someday decline. (Research suggests that even aging adults who don’t develop dementia often experience declines in financial ability.) And families are understandably squeamish about monitoring an older relative’s financial abilities.

Fortunately, a little education and guidance can make it much easier to be more proactive about this tough topic.

In this post, I’ll cover

Five warning signs of financial decline
Five important things to know about aging & finances
How to protect aging parents from financial problems
What to do if your aging parent is having trouble managing their finances

I’ll also cover some ways that geriatricians and other healthcare providers can help, both to reduce declines in financial ability and to properly evaluate them when they occur.

5 Warning Signs of Financial Decline

[Read more…]

What is Mild Cognitive Impairment?

5 Warning Signs of Financial Decline

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