8 things you didn't know were ageing you

What's ageing your... memory?

Your mobile phone and in-car sat nav

When Japanese researchers tested the memory of healthy people in their 20s and 30s, they found that one in 10 had memory problems more commonly associated with people in their 60s. It turns out that increased reliance on things like mobile phone address books and in-car navigation systems prevent people from exercising the part of the brain that helps us recall things or work out spatial orientation. And it's a case of - if you don't use it, you lose it!

Halt the decline Exercise your mental muscles. Call phone numbers from memory or try to remember your shopping without taking a list; use numbers instead, such as recalling 10 things to buy. "Using your mind strengthens the connections between brain cells and so boosts mental sharpness," says neuropsychologist Professor Ian Robertson of Trinity College in Dublin.

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