***Senior Moments

Trash the idea of senior moments. If friends suggest they are having a senior moment, do them a favor and explain why it is highly unlikely. Baby Boomers want everything instantly—including their memory. When their memory isn’t instant, they give up and lament, “I’m having a senior moment.” Few beliefs age Boomers faster than not trusting their memory and copping out by claiming a senior moment. Too many Boomers attribute “insufficient memory at this time” to inevitable neural deterioration that “goes with aging.” Rarely is the problem due to aging. When stressed, tired, sleep deprived, ill, or taking certain medications, memory suffers. As you age, your “processing speed” slows a little and you can’t concentrate on quite as many things at once. There also is a lot more information to search. The solution is to trust your memory and tell yourself, “It will come to me.” It’s amazing how a few minutes later, it pops into your mind. Sensing a gullible market, a supplement company marketed “Senior Moment,” which the FTC ruled (8-12-04) provided unsubstantiated claims that it could prevent memory loss or restore memory function. Certainly some Boomers impair their memory with alcohol abuse, extreme dieting or poor nutrition. In these cases, the problem will likely clear up with drinking less, eating better, and taking a daily multiple vitamin in case the diet isn’t meeting vitamin and mineral needs. Also exploiting the concept is a board game titled Senior Moments. Boomers may fear memory lapses are Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is rare before age 65. Even at 65, only 7 in 1000 Americans have it. Symptoms that tend to differentiate Alzheimer’s and other dementias from stress can include: becoming lost or disoriented on familiar trips, forgetting names of relatives and close friends, forgetting how to perform familiar tasks, losing initiative, and friends commenting on personality changes. Alzheimer’s and other dementias are diseases caused by damage to the brain and are not the normal course of aging.