How You Learn Throughout Life

• How You Learn
  Throughout Life
• One-Size-Fits-All Learning?
• On The Job
• Brain Work
• Notes From The Lab

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Does remembering all your computer passwords, purchase orders, or nephews' shirt sizes seem harder than it used to? When confronted with a new job process, do you study the training model for an hour while your teammate jumps right in? Do you find yourself understanding the truth of the old saw, "I've forgotten more than you'll ever know?"

Studies suggest that the trajectory of memory abilities generally peaks around age 25 and declines modestly thereafter. There is some age-associated decline in "speed of processing": how quickly we can transfer new information into memories. But although older people may lose some speed in turning new learning into long-term knowledge-i.e., it may take a bit longer to remember something-numerous studies suggest that once they have learned a thing, they learn it just as well on average as younger people.

The bottom line is that, while population-wide studies show some general decrease in certain aspects of memory, everybody is different. There is a tremendous variability among individuals with regard to the effect of age on learning and memory. Most important, learning can change your brain at any age.