Patient advocate: You can check out your own cognition with new test

There are various tests that can be done to test for cognitive decline. Getty Images

Some days, it feels like the neurons just aren’t firing. You call one child by another child’s name, can’t remember where you left your phone and forgot to pick up something at the grocery store.

Such forgetfulness becomes more common as we age, but it isn’t necessarily age-related. Lack of sleep and stress can cause stuff to leak out of our brains, too.

Memory lapses like these aren’t necessarily a sign of cognitive decline, either. They are generally manageable and can be overcome with strategies such as sending yourself text reminders, making to-do lists and maintaining a calendar.

That said, cognitive decline is a reality for millions of people around the world. In 2022, researchers at Columbia Un