Memory, mental function begin slipping as early as age 45

[seabeyond]

Researchers in Europe tracked the mental function of more than 7,000 British civil servants for a decade, and they found that even the youngest participants, who were between the ages of 45 and 49 at the outset, generally displayed slight yet measurable declines in short-term memory, mental reasoning, and verbal facility over the course of the study.

*

"We, and others, have shown healthy lifestyles and good cardiovascular health to be important for cognitive outcomes," says lead author Archana Singh-Manoux, Ph.D., research director at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), in Paris. "The fact that cognition declines early implies that midlife levels of these factors -- health behaviors and cardiovascular risk factors and disease -- might be important for cognitive outcomes later in life."

*

Researchers haven't conclusively proven that cognitive decline in middle age predicts Alzheimer's or other dementias, but on balance the evidence suggests that small changes in midlife mental function can become magnified later in life, says Francine Grodstein, Sc.D., an epidemiologist and associate professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, in Boston.
"There is a lot of evidence that [people] with cognitive decline are at highest risk of later developing dementia, so it is likely that preventing or delaying cognitive decline today will help reduce risk of dementia tomorrow," says Grodstein, who was not involved in the research but wrote an editorial accompanying the study.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/06/health/memory-cognitive-function-slips-early/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

[redraider1974]

1. Wha??

Wha??

[seabeyond]

2. i don't remember..... nt

[T S Justly]

3. Egads. (nt)

[seabeyond]

10. i am going to start exercising. lol. i do the rest pretty well. nt

[lonestarnot]

4. Leave me alone!

[Little Star]

5. Well aren't you just the...

bringer of good news this am! LOL

[seabeyond]

11. we have been joking about my lack of short term last couple years. ya.... funny loll lol. nt

[PRETZEL]

6. Sometimes the morning news just has a great sense of irony

they ran a story on this this morning.................

Then followed it with a story about how women are finding sex much more enjoyable as they age.

Naturally, since I'm in my mid 50's it's comforting to know that my wife is going to start enjoying sex and I'm not going to remember it...................

[seabeyond]

12. bah hahahahah. we just laugh at the fuzy and how much fun

it is for me to live in it. maybe not for those aroud, but fuck, if i dont remember really???? all about me. lol

[unblock]

7. personally, i think it starts around age 25....

you accumulate more data over time, and therefore your reasoning and decisions are better informed.
but raw mental processing i think peaks much earlier than the mid-40s.
i think if you look at the mental and creative giants throughout history, most made their mark well prior to their mid-40s and their contributions after their mid-20s were weaker (albeit quite possibly still brilliant by mortal standards).

eventually they will have more refined testing, i imagine, that will show this to be correct.

[tridim]

8. Do things that create new synapses and you'll probably buck this statistic.

I've been concentrating on learning to play new instruments and making music as I age. It keeps my mind limber.

I really think the problem is that as people age they sometimes give up all efforts to learn new things.

[seabeyond]

14. all i forget i say, ya but.... look at all i am remembering. everything for three people in a house

wht homework, where shoes are, it goes on and on.

so i coddle and brag about the memory i do have.

i do think a lot is, we have sooooo much, more picking and choosing. i realize, i dont NEED to remember every persons name i meet. even if it is 5 sec later. lol. hey you, works

[IDemo]

9. Get off my lawn!

[dawg]

13. I find this to be depressing.

But in a few months, I'll probably forget all about it.

[seabeyond]

15. lol lol. ya, there is that.

post above talking about how fuzy isnt all bad.

[randome]

16. The study was based on civil servants.

I was a federal employee at one time but I have to say the scope of the study leaves much to be desired, IMO.

I think tridim has it right, though.

[RadiationTherapy]

17. Will this lead to more Ageism in hiring?

We already worship endless youth in this country - especially as cheap, indentured labor to replace expensive, well-trained labor.

[seabeyond]

19. i dont know. i was thinking about this, too. kids are older

i have been out of workforce forever. thinking about getting back in. no degree and what i left when i had the baby is not an option. i look around and think, hm, not looking worth it.

then i think, looking from employer perspective, i am not looking worth it, lol

[ScreamingMeemie]

18. Gosh your user name seems familiar...

but I can't place it.

[seabeyond]

20. lmfao... lol lol. took a sec to hit me. cute. nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

21. Wut?

That's depressing, for now. By tomorrow I will have forgotten I read this. I also will have forgotten where I put my car keys and my glasses.

[seabeyond]

22. ya, but you will remember eating that apple out in the front lawn, watching the world go by

at age 4.

so see, there is that. lol

[PRETZEL]

23. kicking

for those who are experiencing senior moments and may have forgotten.

[seabeyond]

24. went into my post... found replies and oh ya....

lol and here you are reminding me.

cute.