Memory and focus issues are rising rapidly in young adults

More U.S. adults are reporting serious trouble with memory, focus, and decision-making. The rise is sharpest among people under 40. The steepest increases are appearing in households with lower income and less education.

The analysis comes from a team led by the Yale School of Medicine. The research pulls together more than 4.5 million survey responses gathered annually from 2013 to 2023.

“Challenges with memory and thinking have emerged as a leading health issue reported by U.S. adults,” said senior author Adam de Havenon. “Our study shows these difficulties may be becoming more widespread, especially among younger adults, and that social and structural factors likely play a key role.”

Measuring memory and focus struggles

Respondents answered a simple phone question: Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, do you have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions? A “yes” counted as a cognitive disability.

The team excluded answers from people who reported depression and set aside 2020, since the first pandemic year distorted many patterns. This isn’t a clinical test – it’s a snapshot of how people feel their thinking is working in daily life.

Across the country, the share of adults answering “yes” rose from 5.3 percent in 2013 to 7.4 percent in 2023, with the line bending upward after 2016. Among adults younger than 40, the shift is striking: 5.1 percent to 9.7 percent.

For those 70 and older, the trend edges downward, from 7.3 percent to 6.6 percent. That split matters. It suggests the issue isn’t simply about aging brains – something else is happening earlier in adulthood.

Who’s most affected

Adults living on less than $35,000 a year reported the highest rates, climbing from 8.8% to 12.6%. Those earning more than $75,000 saw a much smaller increase, from 1.8% to 3.9%.

Education showed a similar pattern. People without a high school diploma rose from 11.1% to 14.3%, while college graduates increased from 2.1% to 3.6%.

Rates also rose across most racial and ethnic groups. Native American and Alaska Native adults were highest, rising from 7.5% to 11.2%. Hispanic adults went from 6.8% to 9.9%.

Black adults increased from 7.3% to 8.2%. White adults climbed from 4.5% to 6.3%, while Asian adults went from 3.9% to 4.8%.

“These findings suggest we’re seeing the steepest increases in memory and thinking problems among people who already face structural disadvantages,” de Havenon said. “We need to better understand and address the underlying social and economic factors that may be driving this trend.”

Younger adults most at risk

A near-doubling adults under 40 can echo for decades. It touches school, work, parenting, safety, and long-term health.

“More research is also needed to understand what’s driving the large increase in rates among younger adults, given the potential long-term implications for health, workforce productivity, and health care systems,” de Havenon said.

“It could reflect actual changes in brain health, better awareness and willingness to report problems, or other health and social factors. But regardless of possible causes, the rise is real – and it’s especially pronounced in people under 40.”

What is driving memory issues?

The study wasn’t built to identify causes. But the pattern lines up with familiar headwinds: financial strain, unstable housing, food insecurity, chronic stress, poor sleep, untreated high blood pressure and diabetes, air pollution, and lingering effects from infections.

Technology habits and nonstop screens may play a role for attention and sleep. Access to care matters too. If you can’t get a timely appointment, small problems can snowball into daily struggles with memory and focus.

It’s one question, asked on the phone, over many years. That scale is a strength. The simplicity is a weakness. Self-report is blunt. It can capture pain, stress, burnout, long COVID symptoms, and psychiatric distress as well as neurological disease.

However, recall is imperfect. The definition of disability is broad. Still, the increase shows up across subgroups and years, even after excluding depression and the once-in-a-century shock of 2020. That consistency is hard to wave away.

Responding to the warning

Treat it like an early warning. Make it easier for people to get help for sleep, mood, anxiety, and vascular risks. Bring screening and counseling into primary care and workplaces.

Expand access to cognitive rehab and occupational therapy where it’s needed. Invest in upstream fixes – tobacco control, clean air, safer streets for activity, healthier food options, and stable access to preventive care – so fewer people find themselves in cognitive quicksand in the first place.

If your brain feels foggier than it used to, you’re not alone. The rise is showing up in the data, especially in younger adults and in communities already carrying more weight. It isn’t the same thing as a diagnosis, but it is a signal worth acting on – individually and together.

The sooner we pair support for people with fixes to the conditions that strain thinking in the first place, the better the odds we’ll bend this curve in the decade ahead.

The study was published in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

—–

Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates. 

Check us out on EarthSnap, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

—–