Is it normal to have a poorer memory as we age?

Aging is a natural part of life. It can be rich in experiences and discoveries, but it also brings its share of changes, whether physical, emotional, social or cognitive.

Some age-related cognitive changes are a normal part of this transition. Just like the wrinkles that appear over the years, our brains undergo quite normal transformations.

The aim here is to help you understand what is considered normal as we age. If, as you read these lines, you recognize experiences that resonate with your own journey, you're not alone. However, if you feel concerned, or if the changes you observe differ from those described here, it may be wise to consult a health professional.

The two main categories of cognitive changes associated with aging

One of the most palpable changes with age is the slowing down of information processing speed. Imagine you're driving a car: if you're older, the time it takes to make a decision may be slightly longer than for a younger driver. It could be reacting to a suddenly changing traffic light, deciding to change lanes on the freeway, or answering a question in a conversation. In these situations, the brains of older individuals may need a few extra milliseconds to process the information and react.

On the other hand, executive functions, which encompass a wide range of skills, are also undergoing changes. These include aspects such as planning, strategizing, mental flexibility and inhibitory control, among others. Within these executive functions lies working memory. This can be illustrated by an everyday example: imagine listening to someone give you directions for preparing a new dish.

You need to retain this information temporarily, just as if you were retaining the ingredients of a recipe in the making. Some of this information, such as the essential ingredients of a recipe, can be transferred to long-term memory for more permanent storage. Working memory is your “mental workspace”, allowing you to juggle different information in real time. However, for many older people, working memory can present a greater challenge, and taking notes can become a valuable strategy for supporting this cognitive process.

Other changes that come with ageing

Changes in executive function and processing speed have repercussions in other key areas of our daily lives.

As we age, it sometimes becomes more difficult to select relevant information from a multitude of sources. Imagine reading an online article and your mind wandering between the advertisements, images and main content. For an older person, it can be more difficult to focus on the essential text and process it in depth. Similarly, allocating our attentional resources between several tasks or pieces of information in parallel can become a challenge.

Episodic memory, which enables us to recall personal events, can also be influenced by aging. In older people, the methods they use to store information may become less effective. The process of storing new information may become less fluid and efficient with age. Once information has been carefully recorded, it can usually be recalled at a later date.

Language can also undergo changes. It may become more difficult to find the precise word one needs, such as looking up a person's name in a conversation. Access to the lexicon, i.e. all the words we know, may become a little less fluid.

What stands the test of time

Imagine that semantic memory is like the bank of our knowledge. With age, this bank doesn't close its doors. You always retain the essentials, like the fact that Paris is the capital of France or that cats are four-legged animals. It's as if you had a basic textbook at hand in your mental library, and that textbook doesn't disappear with time.

Procedural memory, which enables you to perform tasks almost automatically, generally resists the ravages of time. For example, imagine you knew how to ride a bike. As you age, this ability remains intact. It's as if these skills were ingrained in you, ready to be used without conscious effort.

As you age, the richness of your vocabulary does not diminish. You continue to have a variety of words at hand to express your thoughts and emotions.

If you or your loved one experience significant difficulties in speaking, unexplained memory loss, temporal confusion or difficulty using everyday objects, it's essential to consult a healthcare professional. These signals may indicate deeper problems that deserve immediate attention, and a medical evaluation is the first step toward a solution.

Our brain grows rapidly until adolescence, reaching around 1.5 kilograms. It then maintains this weight until around 55, after which it begins to lose weight gradually but gently. This weight loss is generally a little more pronounced in the front part of the brain, called the frontal lobe.

The death of neurons is not the main cause of this weight loss. In fact, neurons tend to shrink a little, reduce the number of connections between them, and become less active.

Deep inside your brain, there's a complex network of nerve fibers, much like highways that connect different parts of the brain, called “white matter”. As we age, these fibers deteriorate. The nerve signals that travel through them therefore do so a little more slowly, which means that our reactions may be slightly slower. Sometimes, too, there are little “road accidents” in the form of microbleeds, especially in the elderly, and even more so in those with high blood pressure.