It’s not uncommon for someone to experience memory lapses and memory loss as they age. Although there is little you can do to keep it from happening, fully understanding what is happening with your brain during the later parts in your life will help you deal with and work around memory loss and memory lapses that may be experienced during your senior years.
The brain stores information all over–different parts of your brain store different kinds of memories. Long-term memories, such as events from your past or childhood, are stored in one spot of the brain, while short-term memories, such as what you wore yesterday or what you had for breakfast, are stored in another spot.
Starting from your 20’s, you start to lose brain cells. This is a typical part of growing up, but is very slow in its progression. Your body continues to store memories, but your brain will have continual difficulties when it comes to recalling and accessing these memories. As you age, your brain changes how it stores information and thus, makes it more difficult for you to be able to recall memories. It is normal to forget things like where you put your car keys or the name of the waitress you had while eating brunch with a friend earlier in the day. This kind of forgetfulness is normal and is definitely not reason for concern.
When your forgetfulness begins to involve daily activities, long-term memory, and becomes more permanent and progressive, you may want to have some neurological tests done by a doctor to find out where the problem is stemming and if it is part of a more serious issue that should be addressed and treated.