According to the Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, boomers are demonstrating greater cognitive decline than earlier generations.
For the cognitively impaired, that means we’re looking at early warning signs of dementia. Boomers start having lower cognition scores than earlier generations at age fifty to fifty-four. We know this because the scores from these tests were compared with those from tests taken by people over the age of 50 in past generations.
This has serious implications for our future mental health.
Every two years, study participants filled out surveys. They also completed a battery of cognitive tests in which they were asked to perform such mental tasks as recalling words they had heard previously, counting backwards from 100 by sevens, identifying objects depicted in drawings and naming the president and vice president.
Sound familiar?
Person, woman, man, camera, TV.
What explains our decline in cognitive function? We eat right, pursued higher degrees, and often have professional careers. The study indicates it may have more to do with loneliness, depression, and psychiatric problems than a deprived childhood. Substance abuse too (think opioids) may be a factor.
A large percentage of boomers also have heart health risk factors, such as obesity, lack of physical activity, high blood pressure, stroke and type 2 diabetes.
In short, a lot of boomers are in lousy physical shape and therefore not in very good cognitive shape.
So it’s time to shape up. Doing nothing will only exacerbate the trend. We need more regular physical activity and pursuit of social relationships. In addition, we need to address underlying mental health issues as well as treat the cardiovascular diseases. For some boomers, even these remedial behavior/health changes may not impede their risk of dementia in years to come.
Person, woman, man, camera, TV.
Oh thank God. I was getting worried. A minute later and I can still repeat those 5 words. I’ve got nothing to worry about.
Unless they give me 5 different words.
Jay Harrison is a graphic designer and writer whose work can be seen at DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.
Before knowledge of the deadly pandemic, I gave notice to retire as high school English teacher after 24 years in the classroom. Since the pandemic’s abrupt decision to end that role, I had three months of remote learning experience which helped to seal the deal. June came as I faced quarantine, retirement, limited summer vacation, and sidelined from the revolution I so wanted to join. I honored the quarantine, thankful that I could, knowing that I was entering a nofly summer. I acknowledged my retirement as the new school year approached, wrapped in its remoteness, without me, and ventured out on one last “summer vacation.”
“We’ve hit rock bottom,” my wife Anna groaned. “Sitting on the couch watching other couch potatoes on television critiquing reality shows like we do, it’s proof positive we have no life.”
