UK Edition
Forgetfulness isn't just an older person's problem, researchers say, as a new study finds half of people in their 20s forget why they enter a room once a week.
Two in five said they misplaced their phone once a week, with almost one fight (17 per cent) saying they lost it several times a week.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh surveyed 124 adults aged between 18 and 59 on how good they thought their memory was.
The volunteers, who had an average age of 27, were also asked how often they experienced various different memory lapses.
Just 13 per cent rated their memory as “excellent”, 39 per cent said their memory was worse than five years ago and 24 per cent felt it was worse than others of the same age.
More than half (56 per cent) were scared of developing dementia, including 13 per cent who were “very afraid”.
The study, published in the journal CNS Spectrums, also reported half forgot why entered a room at least once a week.
Some 48 per cent forget to buy items on their shopping list at least once a week, a fifth can’t find their keys and 18 per cent have a mental blank over their PIN number.
The memory lapses were as common in those in their 20s as those in their 50s, the researchers said.
Dr Laura McWhirter, a neuropsychiatrist at the University of Edinburgh, said: “‘A lot of people will be surprised at how frequent the memory lapses were.
“I think people think that if you (are) starting to forget things – something like misplacing your keys – that it is something to worry about but it is normal.
“It is just a function of how the brain works and how attention works. You can only remember something if you properly attend to it. If you are doing lots of different things and not concentrating when you get in and just put your keys down somewhere, you may well forget where you have put them.”