Commentary on the early frontrunners in the 2024 race for the US presidency has frequently dwelt on their respective ages, and occasional very public memory lapses.
Would either Joe Biden or Donald Trump be up to the job a second time around? Both would be well into their 80s by the end of a four-year term.
Neither candidate has released medical records that might point to mental or physical decline, and they’re under no obligation to do so. But what can we expect in terms of working memory from a typical 80-year-old?
The Memory and Aging Center at UCSF says our thinking abilities appear to peak around 30-years-old and, on average, subtly decline with age. Most commonly, these age-related declines include “slowness in thinking, trouble sustaining attention, multi-tasking, holding information in mind, and word finding”.
Understanding is growing, though, of the difference for any one individual between chronological age and their biological age, and experts in aging agree that the rate at which people age varies widely.
Dr Nir Barzilai from the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, recently told The New York Times that chronological age does not necessarily reflect biological age.
Cheryl Tiegs, the former model and fashion designer, took it further. Interviewed back in 2000, when she was 52, she said: “You know there’s chronological age (that there’s nothing you can do about), there’s biological age, and there’s psychological age.”
It’s something most of us know intuitively, particularly as we see how our contemporaries age. Some appear older than their years, some younger. Some act their age, some don’t. But until recently there was little in the way of science, or easily available tests, to back up the biology.
Dr Emily Rogalski, Professor of Neurology at the University of Chicago told CNN a decline in cognitive abilities is a normal part of aging. That decline, she said previously, can be faster past the age of 55 to 60. So, by the age of 80 “the expected memory decline on average is quite striking between 80-year-olds and 50- to 60-year-olds”
Conversely, a few in their 80s have the mental acuity of people at least three decades younger. Dr Rogalski calls these exceptions SuperAgers, and she is leading a ‘SuperAging’ research study to understand what’s going right with aging, as opposed to what’s going wrong.
Professor Rogalski’s team are still working on exactly what it takes to become a SuperAger. And she offered no opinion on whether either of the presidential frontrunners might possess that magic sauce.
Top tips for a healthy brain
Most experts agree already, though, that regular physical exercise, a balanced diet, mental stimulation, social interaction, and getting enough sleep all contribute to maintaining brain function as we age.
If you’re wondering what superfoods to include in a diet for a would-be Super Ager, here are some suggestions for healthy brain food snacks.
