Doctors Reveal Exactly What Happens To Your Brain After You Turn 50

These are the changes that you can expect as you get older, and what you can do about them.

No matter our age, most of us are guilty of saying, “I must be getting old,” when we can’t quite find the words to describe something or an important item on our to-do lists slips our minds. Indeed, our brains do change with age; research suggests that the brain shrinks about 5% per decade starting at age 40.

But as we get into our 50s and 60s, what can we expect to happen to our brains? What little slip-ups can be attributed to normal brain aging, and what can signify something more serious? We spoke with doctors to find out:

Brain Changes To Expect Once You Hit Your 50s

In your 50s, your brain is already shrinking. “The cortex ― outer layer of the brain ― becomes thinner, the myelin sheath surrounding the fibers of neurons may begin to degrade, and receptors don’t fire as quickly,” explained Dr. Dylan Wint, a neurologist and neuropsychiatrist at the Cleveland Clinic.

That being said, most people are still pretty sharp in their 50s — but they may start to notice some changes in their cognition. “In your 50s, cognitive functions such as on-demand recall of names and numbers, processing speed, rapid task-switching and spatial skills can diminish,” Wint said. “This tends to continue in the decades ahead.”