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Comment by hueving | Hacker News Reader

As I've gotten older I've noticed my memory is not as good (both short term - what was I talking about, and long term - what was the very obvious term for this thing I've said many times in the past).

Any other middle-aged people (early 40s) experience this? What degree of it is just "your brain sucks as you age"?

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I have found that times in my life when I exercised less, I forgot more.

I also find less time to exercise as I grow older.

However, for the same level of exercise, rest, and study, I can't tell if there is a difference.

I also have more to forget, so I can barely remember entire arguments in philosophy that I had down cold 10 years ago, but even at age 20, you may not remember much from when you were 10.

That's a good point, about how when you're 20 you hardly remember much from 10+ years ago.

In that sense, my memory is excellent, now I can remember a lot from 20 years ago.

Yep, definitely aren't as sharp as when I exercise more. And come to think of it, there was a good 13 year period where I was cycling a lot just to get around and now I drive to work every day.

I don't think having a smartphone in my pocket helps either, I tend to pull it out and read HN for 30 second periods during the day, then lose track, somewhat, of where-and-what I was doing.

"I have found that times in my life when I exercised less, I forgot more. I also find less time to exercise as I grow older."

Want to improve your memory and brain function at any age? Exercise. [0] Want to add new neurons (neurogenesis), exercise. [1] Want to improve your neuro-plasticity? [2] Learn new skills.

It's always bothered me nerds/tech-heads optimise their lifestyles for time, not realising fitness, novelty and rest can be used as a strategic weapon to getting better at what you do. I'm not being critical of the OP, I'm just observing what I see in my own tech circles.

Reference

[0] http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/regular-exercise-changes-...

[1] https://www.dnalc.org/view/848-Exercise-induced-Neurogenesis...

[2] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v427/n6972/full/427311a...

I believe my memory, both short term and long term, isn't as good as it once was. I'm 36.

I sometimes wonder how much of this is due to stress, tiredness, inattention, disinterest. All those things probably contribute. But then I go on to think: no, this is just what happens when you age. One day you will not be able to hack it anymore and die.

I don't really believe young brains are that good either. I'm young and it's not like I remember a lot of things. When I practice something I see the improvement in that area. When I don't I forget it.

What I mean is I could complain all day.

I'm 29 and I've been experiencing this all my life. Especially the very obvious word part. That's how "floor spatula", "floor blanket", "trash panda", "majestic sea flap flap" and similar fun terms are born. (some of those are not mine)

Short term memory lapses I mostly attribute to inattention and mind racingness. But I'm not old yet so maybe it's different.

Is "floor spatula" a dustpan?

Yes. See, it works :)

I love it! I have a tendency to do the same thing and I suspect it'll only get worse as time goes on (or better, depending on how you look at it). I'm definitely stealing floor spatula though.

It's quite frustrating to be able to come up with very complex descriptions and not remember the obvious name/word.

Actual thing I've said: "What's the name of that actor that played Han Solo, Indiana Jones and who recently nearly crashed his own plane into another full of passengers by landing on a taxiway?"

I think part of forgetting as you're older is simply that there's less novelty in your experiences. You're going to remember your first 100 movies way better than your 1000th.

Your first ten trips to Red Robin (tm) vs your 40th. And so on.

It can also be related to stress or lack of sleep. Both of these things are absolute memory killers - to a point where people suffering from it literally worried about dementia.

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