Brain Fog or Just Age? Decoding Cognitive Changes

Key points

• By 2030, one in six people will be over the age of 65.
• To avoid cognitive decline with aging, it’s important to stay active physically and mentally.
• Socialization is important to minimize cognitive decline.
• You should see a doctor if others notice serious changes in your cognition.

Aging has been on my mind lately. It’s probably related to turning seventy last year. However, it’s also a subject that has been fascinating to me since my early years. This might be a result of being raised in an immigrant household of three generations. I frequently heard my parents and grandparents complain about their aching bodies. Interestingly enough, one of my first term papers in university was called, “How to Age Gracefully,” written like an expert on the topic.

Compared to others, I feel that the elders in my family have all aged gracefully. My grandfather died at eighty-three during surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm, and the day before his passing, he swam in the Atlantic Ocean. My mother will celebrate her ninety-fifth birthday next month and although she’s in a nursing home, in a wheelchair and on oxygen, she told me she’s still not ready to die.