Recently, the Georgia Institute of Technology took a look at the concept of a “senior moment” and found a striking conclusion: Their minds have trouble sifting through much of what is absorbed, leading to trouble recalling information when needed. This ultimately leads to less confidence in one’s memory, which has adverse effects. Per their press release:

Researchers looked at brain activity from EEG sensors and saw that older participants wandered into a brief “mental time travel” when trying to recall details.

We all have senior moments, from teenagers to those enjoying retirement. And as the methodology shows, college students have their troubles, too:

Researchers showed older adults (60 years and up) and college students a series of pictures of everyday objects while EEG sensors were connected to their heads. Each photo was accompanied by a color and scene (e.g., living room). Participants were told to focus on one and ignore the other. An hour later, they were asked if the object was new or old, and if it matched the color and the scene.

Neither age group was very good at recalling what they were told to ignore.

However, the college students were more confident in their answers when answering questions from the researchers afterwards, an interesting difference.

We found this fascinating to read, and we hope you do as well!