My wife will often hear me say after a home visit or (nowadays) telephone visit, “I just heard the most amazing story about this (guy, older lady) … who grew up … or moved with his family to escape persecution or find a better life. And in turn, it’s meaningful for families to learn as much as possible from their parents and aging relatives about their family’s past, especially in a time when we are so mobile throughout the life course.Īs a dementia researcher I find this a source of immense pleasure. People reminiscing brighten up with a listener who appreciates their memories and is interested in their stories. I believe in our everyday life as we have conversations with older persons, including persons with mild to moderate dementia, engaging in reminiscing is pleasurable and worthwhile.

But it is important to acknowledge that with time, our memory develops into what one eminent memory specialist, the psychologist Douwe Draaisma, calls a “nostalgia factory,” which may bring great pleasure to our lives, especially the older we become. Think of the challenges faced by busy attendants in long-term care or other facilities where older persons live.

This can be challenging for many younger persons, and even spouses of older persons who themselves are old, who may find it tiresome to hear the same stories repeatedly. People shouldn’t be denied this pleasure. This is not unhealthy but simply a feature of aging. Since the time of Aristotle’s Rhetoric, wise people have realized that reminiscing is not harmful, but helpful, and that as we age, people think a lot less about their future and more about their past. It is clear to anyone who speaks frequently with older persons that many delight in the telling-and retelling-of these experiences and relationships of their past lives. It’s as if our minds lay down vast amounts of earlier-in-life events that get embedded deeper and stronger into our brains’ circuitry. Studies show that when centenarians are asked to reminisce on past events-especially, to cite their enjoyable or most meaningful events-the trove of events they recall involving their first 20 years of life vastly exceeds the previous 20 years. As we age, memories of long past events become more important, especially with each passing decade of late midlife and old age.

Reminisce about the past