You know that moment when you’re trying to remember where you left your reading glasses, only to realize they’re perched on top of your head?
Last week at book club, three of us did exactly that within five minutes of each other. We laughed about our “senior moments,” but then Margaret, who’s 72 and sharp as a tack, said something that stuck with me:
“My grandson can’t remember anything without checking his phone first. At least we still use our brains.”
She had a point. After teaching high school for over thirty years, I’ve watched how technology has changed the way younger generations think and remember. But here’s what I’ve discovered in retirement: those of us over 60 might actually have cognitive advantages we don’t even realize. Our brains had to develop differently, and those skills are still serving us well.
So let’s put it to the test. If you can answer these eight questions correctly, your brain might be in better shape than people half your age.
1. Can you recite at least five phone numbers from memory?
Quick, without looking at your phone, can you recall your childhood home number? Your best friend’s number from the ’80s? How about your first workplace?
If you rattled off several numbers without hesitation, congratulations. You’re using a part of your brain that younger folks rarely exercise anymore. We memorized phone numbers because we had to. There was no contacts list to rely on. That repetitive memorization built neural pathways that still benefit us today.
Research shows that this kind of rote memorization actually strengthens overall memory function and helps maintain cognitive flexibility as we age. While younger people outsource their memory to devices, we’re still flexing those mental muscles.
2. Can you navigate to a familiar place without GPS?
Remember driving to new places with nothing but written directions or a paper map? “Turn left at the old oak tree, go past the blue house with the picket fence…”
If you can still find your way around town using landmarks and mental maps, you’re demonstrating spatial intelligence that’s becoming increasingly rare.
This isn’t just about knowing your neighborhood. It’s about your brain creating and maintaining complex mental maps, understanding spatial relationships, and processing multiple pieces of information simultaneously.
Every time you navigate without technology, you’re giving your hippocampus a workout. That’s the brain region crucial for memory and spatial navigation, and keeping it active is like doing crossword puzzles for your sense of direction.
3. Can you focus on a single task for 30 minutes without checking something else?
The other day, I sat down with a cup of tea and an actual book. No phone in sight. An hour later, I was still reading, completely absorbed. When I mentioned this to my neighbor’s daughter, she looked at me like I’d performed magic.
If you can read, garden, knit, or work on any hobby for extended periods without the urge to check notifications, you’ve maintained what researchers call “sustained attention.” According to experts, this ability is declining rapidly in younger generations who’ve grown up with constant digital interruptions.
We developed our attention spans in an era of longer-form everything. TV shows that required weekly patience. Books without hyperlinks. Conversations without text interruptions. That training still serves us.
4. Can you entertain yourself without a screen?
Think about Sunday afternoons in the ’70s. Stores were closed. TV had three channels showing nothing interesting. Yet somehow, we weren’t bored out of our minds.
If you can still spend a rainy afternoon contentedly with a crossword puzzle, a craft project, or simply daydreaming, you’re demonstrating cognitive self-sufficiency. You don’t need constant external stimulation to keep your brain engaged. You can generate your own mental engagement, whether through reflection, planning, or creative thinking.
This skill is becoming so rare that researchers now study it as a lost art. The ability to be alone with your thoughts without discomfort is linked to better emotional regulation and creative problem-solving.
5. Can you tell time on an analog clock instantly?
Sounds simple, right? But ask anyone under 30 to read an analog clock, and watch them pause to figure it out.
For us, it’s automatic. We don’t think about it; we just know.
This instant recognition involves spatial reasoning, pattern recognition, and mathematical thinking all working together seamlessly. It’s not just about telling time. It’s about how efficiently your brain processes visual information and converts it to meaning.
Every time you glance at an analog clock, you’re using cognitive skills that younger generations have to consciously work through.
6. Can you write a letter by hand without struggling?
When did you last write more than a grocery list by hand? If you can still write a full letter in cursive without your hand cramping, you’re maintaining fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination that directly benefit brain health.
Psychology Today reports that handwriting activates parts of the brain involved in thinking, language, and working memory in ways that typing simply doesn’t. Those thank-you notes we still insist on handwriting are actually mini brain workouts.
7. Can you recall facts without immediately googling them?
Who was the 16th president? What year did man land on the moon? What’s the capital of Montana?
If you answered these without reaching for your phone (Lincoln, 1969, Helena), you’re demonstrating something increasingly rare: stored knowledge.
We learned facts and kept them in our heads because we couldn’t instantly look everything up. That mental library we built isn’t just trivia; it’s the foundation for critical thinking and making connections between ideas.
When you can pull information from your own memory rather than external sources, you’re able to think more deeply and creatively about problems. You’re not just finding answers; you’re synthesizing knowledge.
8. Can you delay gratification without anxiety?
Remember when we had to wait a whole week between TV episodes? When ordering something meant waiting weeks for delivery? When photos took days to develop?
If you can still order something online and not obsessively track the package, or start a TV series without binge-watching the entire season, you’re showing emotional regulation skills that are increasingly uncommon.
This ability to delay gratification without distress is linked to better decision-making, lower stress levels, and greater life satisfaction.
We learned patience because we had no choice. Now it’s a superpower.
The verdict
How did you do? If you answered yes to most of these questions, your brain isn’t just keeping up with younger folks; in many ways, it’s outperforming them.
Those “outdated” skills we developed aren’t obsolete at all. They’re the cognitive equivalent of a diversified portfolio, giving us mental resilience and flexibility that purely digital natives often lack.
Sure, I still lose my glasses on my head sometimes. But I can also navigate without GPS, entertain myself without a screen, and remember phone numbers from 1978. That’s not old-fashioned thinking. That’s a well-trained brain that knows how to work independently.
So next time someone jokes about “senior moments,” remind them that our brains were doing crossfit before crossfit was invented. We just called it living.
