There is a new concern arising as “boomers” are now dealing with cognitive decline in their aging parents. They are now asking “What about me?” This is to say that boomers are concerned about dealing with one possible outcome of their own aging – dementia. As always I suggest getting a plan in place before you need it.

We don’t wait until we are in our 70s to plan for financial needs in retirement – we purchase IRAs or 401Ks earlier in life. We don’t wait until we have cancer to act – we undergo cancer screenings from middle age. We don’t wait for medical problems to emerge – we have annual physicals. We are proactive about so many issues in life but remain reactive with our memory. There are several possible reasons for this. First, we treat decline in memory as an outcome of aging. Aging does not rob us of memory. Rather aging makes our memory less efficient.

Second, we treat brain functions as biology. This ignores the fact that the brain is a “learning sponge.” It masters experiences and wires its own unique circuits for everyone. This leads to greater wisdom with normal aging.

Third, we currently rely on medicine to determine how well our memory is functioning. Medicine does not have all of the answers. We manage diabetes better with insulin but we also need to be proactive, catch it early, and manage life style as well as biology. Indeed, this is the best level of intervention early for those at risk for diabetes. We rely on screenings to determine if we have memory decline. These can be as simple as someone listening to you or administering a screening “test” – most often the Mini-Mental State Exam. Neither approach allows you to know how our short-term memory is functioning. Neither allows you to be proactive. Rather these screenings allow you to be reactive.

The risk for progressive memory disorders like Alzheimer’s disease is easy to detect. The first sign of risk is decline in short-term memory which happens years before there is impairment in ability to manage one’s life. There are no medical tests (e.g., screenings, scans, blood tests) that can determine the strengths and weaknesses of memory. Short- term memory is the culprit. Short term memory is not like a muscle – you cannot exercise it. That’s why we use post it notes and calendars.

How do you know how your short-term memory is working? Take a challenging memory test that allows you to know for sure how your short-term memory works. If it is not normal for your age, you may be at risk in the future. The rub with short-term memory loss is that you have to stay ahead of the changes. You are open to having a colonoscopy to detect possible changes that may develop within 10 years into a cancer. Why do you short change your short-term memory? A memory evaluation is way more fun than a colonoscopy.