{"id":101770,"date":"2015-05-14T09:28:46","date_gmt":"2015-05-14T13:28:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=101770"},"modified":"2017-01-12T09:59:21","modified_gmt":"2017-01-12T14:59:21","slug":"relax-your-aging-brain-is-just-behaving-normally-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2015\/05\/relax-your-aging-brain-is-just-behaving-normally-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Relax. Your Aging Brain is Just Behaving Normally"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Elderly<\/a>
Elderly couple walking in a park. (iStock Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Misplaced your car keys lately? Can\u2019t remember if you locked the door when you left the house? Does an old friend\u2019s name elude you? Don\u2019t worry too much, it happens.<\/p>\n

Such lapses are indicative of the normal changes in cognitive abilities that most people experience as they get older. Though frustrating, these occurrences shouldn\u2019t be confused with symptoms of disease processes such as Alzheimer\u2019s or dementia.<\/p>\n

This reassuring message comes from Leslie Snyder, a professor in UConn\u2019s Department of Communication. She was recently a member of a team assembled by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) \u2013 part of the National Academy of Sciences \u2013 that created an action guide on what is called \u2018cognitive aging.\u2019<\/p>\n

Cognitive aging is the normal process by which the human brain changes with age in both physical structure and ability to cope with things, including the speed of making decisions, the ability to learn new tasks, and that ever-popular topic, memory.<\/p>\n

The IOM committee focused on the public health dimensions of cognitive aging, and its mission included coming up with clear definitions and terminology, as well as identifying ways to communicate effectively with health professionals, caregivers, and the general public.<\/p>\n

Snyder, who is also director of the Center for Health Communications and Marketing at UConn, says, \u201cIn talking about cognitive aging, we are not talking about a state of disease \u2013 we are talking about a healthy state in an older population. And we know from experience that while a certain decrease in mental abilities is common, there are other abilities characterized by such things as wisdom and knowledge \u2013 and even levels of happiness\u00a0\u2013 that continue to increase with age.\u201d<\/p>\n

Snyder notes that the trajectory of when these declines and gains occur varies with each individual. “What the IOM wants everyone to know,” she says, “is that change is completely normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

In preparing its report, the committee identified three actions that people can take to help protect their cognitive health as they age. They are:<\/p>\n