London - Older people have poorer memories because they are more likely to get distracted, a study has found.
Researchers said that the elderly are prone to “senior moments” because their ability to hold thoughts in their head deteriorates with age.
This decline in their “working memory capacity” means that when the phone rings or the doorbell goes they completely forget what they were just doing.
A study of 30 000 people playing a memory game via a phone app showed younger participants scored higher than older ones when a flashing coloured light distraction was introduced.
Dr Fiona McNab of the Birmingham University school of psychology suggested that cognitive training and practising cognitive tasks over a long period could help stave off the decline in memory. - Daily Mail