Just because you are a senior does not mean that you do not have the mental capacity to make your own decisions. My mom just turned 90 years old in July and her memory is better than mine. When you first look at her she appears to be physically frail due to various health problems that have affected her mobility. During one of her doctor’s appointments that I took her to, the doctor was reviewing the list of medications that she is taking. As he was going down the list, he read a medication that she is no longer taking. My mother corrected him and said “I don’t take that one anymore. You changed it at my last visit with you.” She was able to tell him the name, dosage and number of times a day of the new medication he gave her at the last visit. She also did not have a list of medications with her; she relied totally on her memory. The doctor had this surprised look on his face and said, “Her memory is better than mine!”

As we age, experts say that mild memory loss is normal. Memory is the ability to normally recall facts and events. This happens in three stages: a person takes the information in; the brain processes it and stores it; then a person recalls the stored information.

Time affects memory and the retrieval of information. We do not always remember events as they actually happened. With time your memory is distorted, the more time since an event the greater the probability that the memory of the event will become distorted or forgotten completely. There are other causes of memory loss. These include stress, depression, alcoholism, drugs (including prescriptions), vitamin B-12 deficiency, and some diseases such as diabetes or thyroid gland diseases. Memory loss can be reversible in most of these conditions.

You can control and slow down normal memory loss. In the book “The Memory Bible: An Innovative Strategy for Keeping Your Brain Young”, Gary Small, MD, emphasizes four things that you can do to slow down memory loss. These are mental activity, physical fitness, stress reduction and a healthy diet. In order to maintain your mental activity you can take classes or engage in certain pastimes, like doing crosswords or word search puzzles.

If you want to stay fit you can engage in any activity that you enjoy. Go for a walk or turn on the radio and just start dancing. This can help reduce your stress, as well as help you stay active. People who do not follow a healthy diet and overindulge are at risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other conditions that increase the risk of small strokes to the brain.

In the future, when you see a senior citizen using a wheelchair, walker or a cane, stop to take another look at this person. They can offer more to society than you think. Seniors have a lot of life experiences that they have lived through and are open to sharing these experiences. Also, don’t forget that you do have some control in slowing down normal memory loss.