Is it possible to start out at, let’s say, 20 years and be sharp as a knife. Never forgetting things, never dropping things, always have an answer ready and can do multiple things at once. And then around 30 you suddenly drop stuff you have in your hands, you forget if you locked the door, your contactlenses have gone missing from the storagecontainer, people need to stop talking while you drive?
Oh yes, there’s many things that can cause this as others have said. Stress, sleeplessness, mental problems or illness, and especially physical health and weight. I’m almost 40 and I find I have “degraded” in many ways due mostly to my weight, depression, and diabetes. I lost my balance a lot now, I find I am not as quick witted as I used to be. The main one is my memory. I used to have an encyclopedic memory and do still to some extent, but interactions with people, movie plots, I don’t remember as well anymore. But there’s still so much trivia and knowledge that is just stuck in my brain.
If it happened suddenly this is not normal and you should see a doctor
If it’s happened gradually it might be the result of more stress, less sleep, etc, but you still might want to consider talknig to someone. Conditions like thyroid issues can cause a global reduction in function like that and it can be insidious.
I’ve had clumsy moments as time goes on, and I’ve thought about this before, but in my case I can chalk it up to two big things:
1.) I’ve gained weight, and I believe there’s a correlation between aging and gaining weight. Certain maneuvers are noticeably harder. I seem more top-heavy than in my memories of being younger.
2.) I have KIDS. I have almost died so many times because we’re disorganized and my kids’ crap is EVERYWHERE. I’ve had one broken toe, countless foot bruises, surprise falcon kicks to baby skulls, and several instances of “Why, child, have you crawled under my feet, from behind me, while I briskly walk to the bathroom? Well I don’t want to maim or kill you, so…Guess I’ll die aka avoid putting any weight on that foot and toss my body as far away from theirs as possible during planetfall btw Did you know plastic cups explode if crushed just right?” Likelihood of having kids correlates with age, I assume.
Now…you listed several mental things besides physical. So I guess I’m only speaking to physical clumsiness :P
It’s certainly possible with neurological problems or just stress or sleeplessness.
Bro just discovered the concept of aging 😅
