Brain Fog

When do I feel most ready to retire? When I can barely remember my own name! I don't know if it's chemical, hormonal, or just being tired, but there are days when I am so fuzzy-headed that I question my ability to do more than take up oxygen. Am I buying into our society's claim that you become less mentally sharp as you age or is it a reality?

At work I find it harder to remember all of the information coming at me from all sides. Luckily, Providence seems to provide reminders unexpectedly (a kid walks by and I suddenly think "Ah--I was supposed to talk to a teacher about him") or I suddenly remember something as I'm driving in to work (yes, I have a phone call I need to make) or I take enough notes to remind myself of what I need to absolutely not forget, but it can feel troubling. Is it an illusion that once I couldn't FORGET anything and my brain was like lightning? Probably... but I miss those days!

A friend of mine recently gave me a subscription to Lumosity, a website that challenges you with brain games focused on speed, attention, memory, problem solving, etc. It's fun! Unfortunately, when they give these tests, they don't take into account that some people know the numerical keypad without looking, and some of us have a temperamental mouse and aren't able to select things quickly, and some people just plain freeze up when put under testing pressure, but overall, you get a sense of how much you are struggling or not mentally compared to others in your age group.

Wouldn't it be interesting if tests like those were given yearly to everyone to determine your fitness to continue to work? In some ways it reminds me of the standardized tests we give kids--there are so many factors they don't measure and overall, they make kids feel anxious and make them question their abilities/intellect. I digress! But there are people who SHOULD retire and there are people who shouldn't be compelled to retire simply based on cognitive ability. Let's just hope they don't give us The Test on one of our foggy days!