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Normal Brain Aging

Like most of our human anatomy, the brain undergoes some changes as a person ages. Your loved one may have started to pick up on some of these changes, and so might have you. But minor changes do not mean your loved one can’t still live independently (with a little help from you). It may mean that he’ll need to be intentional about certain cognitive tasks or need a helping hand now and again.

The brain controls most aspects of thinking, from remembering to planning to organizing and comprehending. Difficult tasks can make him nervous about his ability to care for himself.

If your loved one feels that stress, you might consider having someone provide senior home care to help him with cognitive tasks, such as organizing his closet, keeping track of monthly bills, or filling out online forms. The brain may be a bit slower to recall words, multitask, and/or pay attention. But it doesn’t mean your loved one can’t keep his independence with a little help.

A senior home care provider can also help with transportation, especially to unfamiliar places. Learning new directions or following a GPS while driving may put too much stress on your loved one. Especially, as he tries to multitask and get where he needs to go, while staying safe on the roads. So, while you may not need to have the discussion about eliminating all driving from your loved one. You might want to talk about the times when someone, like a senior home care provider, gives him a ride, might be a better choice.

The good news about an aging brain is that it actually improves in some areas. Your loved one may find he has a larger vocabulary than his younger counterparts. Likewise, he can better understand the meaning of words. He might find that his ability to read and enjoy books with more historical and educational content has improved.

Likewise, an aging brain doesn’t mean your loved one can’t learn new things or improve his knowledge. In fact, working on both of these cognitive skills will help your loved one stay sharp for years to come. Learning a new skill is one of the best exercises for the brain. While it might take your loved one a bit longer to learn the skill, working toward the ability to complete the skill with confidence will boost his brain power. Needing a little extra time is perfectly normal.

Like many parts of living as a person grows, learning to work with the cognitive skills your loved one has and building upon them will help him remain active, independent, and confident.