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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If you've ever stood at a cashpoint and your mind has gone blank trying to remember your PIN number, you're not alone - and it's almost certainly nothing to worry about.

Research has found that most people start to notice slight memory issues by their 40s.

A 2012 study in the British Medical Journal found our memory begins to decline more noticeably as we enter middle age. One reason may be increasing stress levels as we cope with juggling careers, children and ageing parents.

When too much of stress hormone cortisol is released, it can prevent the brain from laying down new memories or from retrieving memories that are already there. Further research by Stanford University found constant stress can damage the hippocampus, the part of the brain where learning and forming memories starts.

How to keep your memory strong:

Cutting back on red and processed meat in your 40s will help protect your memory in years to come. Research in the journal Neurology this year found diets richer in plant proteins and lower in meat were linked to better verbal memory and attention scores.

Eating about two servings of processed red meat - like bacon, pork sausages, hotdogs and salami - a week raised your risk of dementia by 14% compared with those who ate less than about three servings a month.

It also claimed that by swapping processed meat for protein found in nuts, tofu or beans, you can cut your risk of dementia by 19%.

Have you ever walked into a room and completely forgotten what you were looking for? While it may feel alarming, it's not unusual in this decade.

By now, the prefrontal cortex, often described as the brain's blackboard for short-term memory, has shrunk further.

If you tend to eat a lot of saturated fats, mostly found in animal products, blood flow may also be reduced due to narrowing arteries. But it's not all downhill because you're likely to be a whizz at pub quizzes and crosswords.