been playing with this one since last night and have improved drastically and keep improving so I’m not so sure about its effectiveness. Just reached level 12 on sequencing memory (from 4 last night lol) so while fun playing them not so sure of its effectiveness of them as I’ve been improving ever since I started. The one I’m stack at lower level 25% percentile seems the visual one, and I’m consistently bad at it lol. The rest of them the more i practice the better I get, so there is that.
Two mental declines I am experiencing at my age are short-term memory and the one that really clues me in about age-related mental decline: the inability to do math in my head.
I used to be quite adept at this, but now I have to use a calculator for many things I used to do in my head.
Oddly, two things that I have been doing for years that I thought would be indicators of age-related mental decline are sudoku puzzles and crossword puzzles. I have suffered no decline in these areas. In fact, when it comes to crossword puzzles, I feel I am at my peak, so they are not good indicators of mild cognitive decline.
I don’t think your waning fluidity at mental math is a true sign of cognitive decline. That’s a skill that can wither from disuse because your brain takes those resources to put them elsewhere. It’s likely just an adaptation. Short term memory is a different thing.
Yeah, but my short-term memory sucks. This is somewhat subjective, as my doctor specializes in geriatrics, and the clinic I go to gives regular tests for short-term memory. It isn’t much of a test, IMO, and I always pass.
It is odd to me what my short-term memory can and cannot do. If I consciously have to remember a few words or numbers for a short time, I can do that.
What is missing is the subconscious part, where you automatically remember where you placed the tool you were just using. In other words, my left hand used to know what my right hand was doing most of the time. At all ages, we ask, “Why did I come into this room?” but I experience this more frequently now.**
I’d say the math thing is probably even more concerning especially if you know for sure there’s a difference. I was very good at math, but my skills have improved by age (mind you I’m nowhere near 80 yet and things can change) including my ability to do math in my head. As for short term memory mine has been shot for as long as I can remember, so no change there, good nor bad.