Not a senior moment
I hate the way I (and maybe you) assume that if you’re over 70 (or maybe 50) every tiny temporary slip of the memory is due to incipient dementia and old age.
Senior moment? Never say it, write it or think it.
Forgot why you went into the kitchen? That’s just your lovely brain doing the right thing, segmenting and categorising tasks and working at maximum efficiency.
On the other hand, every threshold you cross is a good moment for a moment of mindfulness. But relax. It’ll all work out.
I heard about doorways several years ago and try to avoid them. My moments are not senior but are blonde.
Now let me think. How to avoid doorways…
🙂
Well said!
So much entrenched in our language that seems funny at the time but is insidious in its affect.
That’s a great YouTube clip. I’ve seen a British version of that doorway research. With students tested on what they remember after moving to another room. It’s very reassuring and logical. We all forget things and it’s nothing to worry about. When you put your shoes in the fridge, and don’t know that’s wrong – then perhaps….
Thanks for this, Rachel.
Good to hear from you. It is reassuring, isn’t it? We are too quick to succumb to our inner stereotype. Hm, no shoes in the fridge last time I looked, so all is well.
I recall hearing of room research a few years ago. I had never have been that concerned about forgetting why I went into another room as an older person ’cause I recalled experiencing the same thing when young. Brain function is fascinating and as much as it’s the same for people it can also be very different for each of us.
Room research was new to me. Forgetting my reason for going downstairs is usually just a nuisance to me: like you, I know it’s not a new thing, but it’s a nuisance. And like you I’m fascinated by the flood of research on brain function.
I quite like the expression ‘senior moment’ because it means I’m a senior and sometimes, just sometimes, it makes me feel less of a kid! 😉 Apart from that, I’ve also known about the doorway effect for a while and my thought about the research they did was this: testing undergraduates? They probably had too much coffee and expect to see a coffee pot through the doorway!
Indeed we should be proud of our seniority: goodness knows it is hard earned. As for forgetting, let’s forget it!
Oh and most of my forgetting is minute to minute, sitting, standing, walking, anywhere.