Maybe I’m not losing my marbles after all!

I remember on one occasion during my previous life when I was working on a computer in the office, something strange happened to me. It was one of those days when there was a lot going on and it was very busy. I was typing away to my hearts’ content and at one point I froze. For a few seconds, I didn’t know where I was, what I was doing or what I was supposed to do next.

It was just like when your computer freezes and refuses to cooperate. I just sat there like a garden gnome with a fishing rod. Didn’t move a muscle. I can’t even say that I was confused because I wasn’t, there was actually nothing going on in my head at all. My mind was at a complete standstill.

It’s the one and only time it has ever happened to me and it only lasted for a few seconds. I assumed that my small brain had somehow got to the stage where it was getting overloaded with all the stuff I was trying to fit into it and it just took a little break to readjust itself. After the moment had passed, things went back to normal and I didn’t think anymore about it.

That was a good few years ago but more recently I have discovered that I have another issue to deal with. I forget things. In particular, I have a terrible time trying to remember peoples’ names, even the people I know well. It’s gone to the stage now that when I see people walking towards me I race through the alphabet in a panic, to try to come up with their name before we meet.
Usually, it comes to me after the person has passed. Then I get excited as I remember and I start shouting after them, scaring the kids and everyone else within earshot.

I know that I’m not alone in this and many people have a difficulty trying to remember where they left the car keys or their wallet. Some people will go into a room and then forget why they went in there in the first place. Keys and wallet were never an issue for me because I always put them in the same place when I come home. This was a habit that I got into years ago and maybe that’s the only reason I’m not struggling with those.

So, I began to wonder if there was something else wrong with me and whether I was starting to exhibit signs of early Alzheimer’s or some form of dementia. Maybe people are talking about me and I don’t even know it. It is possible that people are getting concerned about me when I’m out walking and worrying about me being out on my own.

Maybe I’ve become a complete menace behind the wheel of the car and all other drivers break out in a cold sweat when they see me coming. But just when I was starting to panic, I heard of a thing called ‘Middle aged brain’ and I began to feel a little relief.

Apparently, when we reach our middle years, around 45 or so, our brains start to decline. This what we now call middle age. Although a study did find that certain innate skills, like memory and reasoning speed, begin to slow between our forties and sixties, the news wasn’t all bad.

The study also found that the middle-aged brain performs better in other ways. Patricia Cohen was reporting on a study in the British Medical Journal that found as we age, other aspects of intelligence related to learning and experience actually improve.

People in their 40s, 50s and early 60s generally have a happier outlook than their younger counterparts. Because of their life experience, they feel more competent and more in control and feel that they can influence what happens in their lives. They are also less neurotic, more open, reflective and flexible. The theory is, that as people get older, they place more importance on maintaining a sense of well-being, even if things aren’t going particularly well.

In this case, nature and nurture may be working hand in hand. By middle age, people have had their share of bad times, so issues like a cancelled flight, an office feud, a broken ankle, a parking ticket or a lost phone aren’t enough to send them to a therapists’ couch.

These experiences are imprinted on our brains and can be retrieved as needed and this is why people in middle age are better able to handle stressful conflicts with their friends and family. A bit like the older generation who lived through the Second World War. They became more resilient and it was harder to rattle them because they had seen it all before.

There are times when we all forget things and get a little confused and we refer to those incidents as ‘senior moments’. We fear the worst and automatically assume that we might be developing something nasty but it’s not always the case. A senior moment is when you just can’t remember the name of the person walking towards you on the street. Dementia is when that person that you don’t recognise happens to be your son or your wife.

They say that maintaining your overall health will contribute to the well -being of the brain and, apparently, regular walking is enough to help to keep the brain active and in good nick.

So, there you are. If you want to be able to remember where you left the car keys or your wallet, just go for a walk. But if you don’t recognise anyone while you’re out there or you can’t find your way back home, then you may have left it too late.