“Senior moments,” or auto pilot?
It is my unsubstantiated opinion that the majority of so-called “senior moments” have very little to do with an aging brain. First, forgetfulness in our youth was not a huge concern; we notice it more as we get older, fearing potential oncoming senility or, worse, Alzheimer’s. Second, and more importantly, we have tended to learn over the years what is important and what is not so important. We have experienced more, so we have more to remember; and out brain starts sorting things into categories based upon relevance to the moment.
Studies that “prove” younger minds have better memory are flawed by their design. Sure, a 20-something’s brain may be better at remembering a long list of unrelated words or items; but a more experienced brain has learned that such a list is “low priority” and chooses to concentrate on more relevant matters. There are more important things in life than meaningless lists.
We have also become adept at “putting things on automatic.” If I tell myself I need to go to the cupboard to see whether I need rice when I go to the store and then find half a dozen things that need to be done on the way, my brain stores that “cupboard/rice” thought in “automatic” so that I can concentrate on the other things I’m doing at the moment. (I won’t claim this doesn’t suggest a touch of AADD, but that’s another story!) However, once I’ve accomplished these various distractions, I am very likely to find myself in the kitchen, at the cupboard, with the door held open with one hand as I wonder what I’m doing there. The reason? — My brain remembered I had said half an hour ago I needed to check the cupboard for rice; it had seen me get distracted with other things, so it put that piece of information on “auto pilot,” guiding me (eventually) to the cupboard and opening the door!
Yes, it’s frustrating that I don’t recall right off that I was there to check on the presence or absence of a sufficient quantity of rice; but the real question is, would a 20-something even have ended up at the cupboard in the first place? And the amazing thing is that the brain eventually remembers why I wanted to be at the cupboard. Granted, it may not be until I’ve gone back through the house to the room where I originally had the idea in the first place; but it does eventually pull the thought out of “automatic” and back to the forefront of consciousness.
That said, I cannot leave the topic without telling the “minister’s joke” (jokes of a type often told by ministers that make you smile, if not laugh out loud) about the elderly lady who was told by her minister that she was at a point in her life when she should be thinking about the hereafter. She replied, “I think about the hereafter all the time! I find myself in the kitchen or living room or wherever and think, ‘Now, what am I here after?!’”
Warning: putting things on automatic can be hazardous to your health.
Once we realize how good we are at putting things on automatic (see previous post), we need to start being aware of this tendency, as well. It seems a bit like reversing the ability, concentrating on putting things on auto pilot; but there are times when putting things into automatic may not be advisable. The one that comes to mind first is driving an automobile! We are so good at putting things on automatic and we have been driving for so long that it is very easy to find ourselves driving on automatic — and I’m not talking as opposed to stick shift!
If we put driving (as well as other things) too far back into “automatic” or “auto pilot,” we run the risk of not paying attention to what we’re doing at all. When operating heavy machinery, that is not a good idea! So we need to be conscious of our tendency to put things on automatic and remind ourselves to make sure we’re not doing it when doing so becomes dangerous! There may be more important things on your mind than going to the grocery store to pick up that rice, but they are not more important than getting there and back home safely!
Exercise the brain
If you’re reading articles like these, you probably already know that an active brain is a healthy brain; a couch-potato brain develops a beer belly and groans when it tries to get up. Think “crossword puzzles, Soduko, Cryptoquote”; but also never stop learning or, perhaps, creating. Learn Spanish. (Speak Spanish? — Learn French!) Write that romance novel. Go out and observe nature or people. If you must watch TV, try PBS once in a while, Nova, for example!
Text and photograph © Richard G. Mills All rights reserved.
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