Senior Living: Difficulty in focusing comes with aging — but it’s not all bad

I don’t remember this being a problem when I was younger, but then I don’t remember much of when I was younger — although I do remember my senior year in high school: The intramural basketball team called “Nads” (think about it!); dress down day when I was suspended for wearing a pair of torn and worn out jeans; and when we often wore to school pleated pants, tie, and sports coat with a button-down Gant shirt just to be cool.

But what was I talking about? Oh yeah, distractions.

As we age, we become more easily distracted and have a harder time focusing on one thing. These distractions can occur in what we observe around us: Seeing a billboard along the freeway while driving. Or they can be internal distractions: Worrying about a family member while walking down the steps.

Distractions are a serious concern. But it is not all bad news. Surprisingly, one way distractions can be beneficial is that older adults remember irrelevant information more than younger adults. Now you may be asking, what is that good for? Well, it can be helpful if the distracting information becomes relevant later. For example, hearing on the radio about a road closure, which is not relevant while washing dishes, may be relevant and helpful later when choosing your route to the grocery store.

Regardless of the benefits, to remember anything, you must first encode the information into your brain by avoiding distractions and focusing on what you are doing, whether it is driving on the freeway, walking down the stairs, or remembering to turn off the stove after you’ve finished cooking.

Consequently, the appearance of a memory problem may just be because our ability to focus worsens as we get older and we are more easily distracted. But it is also important to understand that making sense of what we know and forming reasonable arguments and judgments remains intact.

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BRAIN TEASE: Jack walks out of his house and over to his beautiful tulip garden. He holds out his right hand, and a bee lands in it. What is in his eye?

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Back in the ’50s and ‘60s, I was constantly reminded to wait an hour before “swimming.” I received correct answers from Sandy Haechrel, Judy Kiser, Ken Jernstedt, Donna Mollet, Kathy Bullack, Rhonda Spies, Dave Lutgens, Rose Schulz, Lana Tepfer, Linda Frizzell, Kim Birge, Craig Terry, Keith and Marlene Clymer, Deborah Medina, David Liberty and Bruce Johnson.

And for the week before, the chairman and president of American Motors Corporation when they introduced America’s first successful compact car, the Rambler American, and later served as governor of Michigan was George Romney. I received correct answers from Ken Jernstedt, Judy Kiser, Bruce Johnson, Doug Nelson, Tom Schaefer, Jim Tindall, Donna Mollet, Dave Lutgens, Lana Tepfer, Marny Weting, Rose Schulz, Bill Bullack and Linda Frizzell. The winners of a quilt raffle ticket for the last two weeks were Ralph Winans and Ken Jernstedt.

And I missed Rose Schulz and I’m sure she won’t be the last.

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I wasn’t a big fan of disco during the ‘70s — I never even watched Saturday Night Fever — but I did enjoy this singer. For this week’s “Remember When” question, what was the name of the Queen of Disco who had the breakout hits “Love to Love You Baby” and “I Feel Love,” co-written by Giorgio Moroder, who was known as the Father of Disco? Email your answer to www.mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788, or send it with the German adaption of the musical Hair in which she performed.

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Well, it’s been another week seeing what I can pull out of the hat. Until we meet again, keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road.

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“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”

— John Wooden

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Nutritious home-delivered and in-person meals are available at noon Monday through Friday unless otherwise noted.

Seniors of Mosier Valley (541-980-1157) —  Wednesdays with music on 2nd and 4th Wednesdays; Mt. Hood Townhall (541-308-5997) — Tuesdays; Hood River Valley Adult Center (541-386-2060); Sherman County Senior and Community Center (541-565-3191); The Dalles Meals-on-Wheels (541-298-8333).

For meal sites in Washington, call Klickitat County Senior Services: Goldendale office (509-773-3757) or the White Salmon office (509-493-3068), and in Skamania County call Senior Services (509-427-3990).

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Answer: