A recent study from the University of Minnesota reported that the memory deficiency among the elderly is not as high as earlier thought. While it is true that the capability to remember the specific facts reduces with age, other types of memory are not affected in the same way.

A recent study from the University of Minnesota reported that the memory deficiency among the elderly is not as high as earlier thought. While it is true that the capability to remember the specific facts reduces with age, other types of memory are not affected in the same way.

Koustaal (2015) reported that while the elderly have less ability to remember specific details than other groups, the retention of events and experiences is almost similar. This changes the highly widespread belief of the decrease in our ability to remember as we grow old. The changes in memory among people as they grow old are caused more by other health problems than age.

Most neuropsychologist agrees that cognitive loss starts at the age of 20 years. People fail to notice the loss because it is not significant enough to impede daily activities. However, between 45 and 49 years, people start to feel these effects while at 75 years, other people can see the impact (Clapp & Gazzaley, 2012). While it is normal to have changes in our ability to remember, it is necessary to identify those changes that are abnormal so that severe diseases cases are not ignored. It is a common problem, especially among low-income communities to confuse most memory challenges such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease for aging and inevitable (Gard, Hölzel & Lazar, 2014). It is noteworthy that the brain is capable of producing new cells to stall information even at a very old age which makes memory loss with aging not inevitable.