Sentinel Watch December 12, 2011 Issue

'Senior moment'? Forget it!

Patricia Hardee

“Senior moment” jokes are heard everywhere. They are usually taken lightly and people even poke fun at a momentary loss of memory. But when the laughter dies down, memory lapses can be worrisome. People fear advancing age and the threat of the much publicized Alzheimer’s disease, or as it has been nicknamed, “old-timers disease.”

Yale University psychologist Becca Levy writes, “You’re only as old as you think you are.” Dr. Levy notes that during a study of older people a few years ago mental influences played a role. One group that was subliminally shown words such as senile did significantly worse on physical performance tests than one that was shown positive words such as wisdom (see bottomlinesecrets.com).

What Levy and other researchers say about how thought directly effects experience could be encouraging, but worried seniors want more. Many are investing in the “brain fitness market.”