Keep your memory in mind and boost it as you age

Here, Tanith Carey examines how your memory changes as you get older, what's normal, and how to keep it strong

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nce again, you've lost your keys, your mind went blank when you tried to remember your number at the cashpoint, and for a moment you couldn't remember your best friend's partner's name. Who hasn't, from time to time, fretted that tiny memory slips might be early signs of something more serious?

YOUR TWENTIES

After growing fast during your childhood and adolescence, your brain reaches peak performance at around the age of 25. It's also at its largest - 3.3lb on average - and all the different regions are fully connected, making it the best it will ever be at learning, storing, and recalling information.

That's why people in their 20s outperform every other age group in memory-based tasks, like learning names, remembering phone numbers, doing mental arithmetic, and recalling random words from lists.

Yet even at this age, your memory is starting to subtly decline because the blood flow gets less efficient. Now it's hit its peak size, it gradually starts to shrink by about 5% per decade. Even so, you won't notice it yet because, for now, you have more brain connections than you need, according to research by the University of Michigan.

How to keep your memory strong:

Are you scrolling TikTok while trying to write up a work report? You may feel like you're on top of it but multitasking on lots of digital devices at the same time makes memory worse. Research has found that switching between tasks forces your memory systems to reset each time, so the details slip away before they can embed.

To remember better, focus on one thing at a time - and turn off distractions.

Try to avoid regular binge drinking too. Research has found regularly drinking large amounts cuts young people's ability to remember now and in decades to come.

Psychologist Dr Aric Sigman says not enough young people realise binge drinking can affect their future long-term memory.