If you're like most individuals of their 50s or older, your memory has lost a little bit of wattage. This becomes obvious for those who often forget where you left your glasses or can't remember why you walked into the room. Everyday lapses in memory are common in middle and older age. Why is that this, and is there anything you may do to alter it?
Age-related brain changes
As we age, subtle changes occur in all places within the body, including the brain. Some of those changes affect memory.
For example, a region of the brain called the hippocampus (which plays a giant role in learning and memory) shrinks a bit, and structural and chemical changes in brain cells make it harder for them to speak. This makes it difficult for us to pay attention or absorb and remember recent information.
Basic conditions
On top of getting older, some people have health conditions that make it difficult to pay attention or remember information. Examples include depression, thyroid disease, vitamin deficiencies, migraine headaches, or medication unwanted side effects.
Lack of sleep may affect your memory. “To learn new information, you need to be alert so you can pay attention. But it's hard to be alert if you're tired,” says Dr. Andrew Budson, a neurologist and cognitive end on the VA Boston Healthcare System. Chief of Behavioral Neurology. . “And in order to store a memory over time, you need to consolidate it during sleep, when connections between brain cells are strengthened,” says Dr. Budson. quality, then the hardening process will be disrupted,” says Dr. Budson.
Some memory problems will be early signs of dementia. While forgetting where you set your glasses isn't a symptom, forgetting who the glasses are for — or forgetting members of the family' names — is something to take more seriously.
If you observed you've a medical condition that's causing memory loss, see your doctor to search out out what the issue is and get it under control.
Sharpen memory
Keeping the brain as healthy as possible might help reduce age-related brain changes. The best solution to do that is to live a healthy lifestyle: exercise often (at the very least 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise, resembling brisk walking), give yourself seven to nine hours of sleep each night , a Mediterranean-style weight loss plan, managing stress, socializing, and learning recent things. These habits work together to create recent connections between brain cells and maintain existing ones, which keep pondering and memory sharp.
Also, you might help keep your memory in fine condition by following certain habits.
To learn recent information: “Pay attention and put effort into the learning process,” says Dr. Budson. “Many people think they can learn and retain information while multitasking, but evidence suggests they can't.” can If someone is talking to you whilst you're checking your email or watching TV out of the corner of your eye, you're unlikely to put in writing down what they said. Say it out loud, or repeat it back to the person.”
To get well memory: “It is important to relax and try to go back in your mind to the time and place when you made the memory. Think about the senses that were engaged at that time. What you saw, heard, smelled, tasted. Or? What? Were you feeling at the time that the brain associates these memories to help you retrieve them later,” Dr. Budson explains.
For overall sophistication: Make your brain work harder. Challenge him with exercises like crossword puzzles. A small randomized trial of individuals with mild cognitive impairment, published online October 27, 2022 NEJM Recordsfound that individuals who did online crossword puzzles for 18 months had less brain shrinkage and performed higher on memory tests than those that participated in online cognitive games for 18 months. Tasks of memory, matching, spatial recognition, or processing speed were included.
Dr. Budson just isn't surprised. “Many studies show that doing moderately difficult cognitive tasks is better for your brain than doing simple tasks,” he says. “A particularly good crossword puzzle causes you to use large parts of your brain to come up with the correct word, and in turn, those parts of your brain will be strengthened. Finally. For me, crossword puzzles—at least in my house—are usually a social activity, with the person doing the puzzle often calling on people around for help, and the more we connect with others, the better. The more we connect our brain cells, the more ready we are to act.”
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