CogBlog – A Cognitive Psychology Blog

You’re going to get old no matter what, but how you get old is a completely different story. Aging involves a lot of changes. To name a few, our hair may become grey, our hearing slowly gets worse, and reading a menu in dimly lit restaurants becomes a well fought battle. You’re probably thinking to yourself, “wow, aging sounds awful!” Sure, it kind of stinks to know that our cognitive processes will inevitably decline as we age (wow what a downer!) but the truth is, it’s just a normal part of life. In fact, it means you’ve lived an entire life of experiences (congratulations!). Furthermore, there are actually ways to prevents certain age related changes. In other words, the idea of getting older doesn’t have to scare you.

When we get older, our cognitive abilities change and, in some ways, don’t operate as they once did. Cognitive abilities include things like attention, memory, language, speed of processing (how quickly you can comprehend information) and much more. They are crucial for everything we do; however, they can change over time which is why it is important to work on maintaining these functions. As mentioned earlier, there are strategies that can be used to slow, or improve the effects of aging. A really great way to maintain your abilities is actually through socializing with other people. Yup, it’s as fun as it sounds. By hanging out with your friends, family, or anyone else in your life, you’re actually helping yourself in the long run.

You walk into your friend’s room and find them crying, and so you desperately try to cheer them up. Give them a hug? No, they look like they want their space. Tell them it’ll all work out? No, they won’t believe you. Ok, how about you crack a light-hearted joke? Yes! They’re smiling so you add a little more humor. Suddenly, your friend begins to laugh so hard that the tears disappear. Who knew you were so funny that you could cure stress! Well, actually, quite a few cognitive researchers could’ve told you that. Turns out laughter really is the best medicine…