30 years old forgetting things

Doctor Shares Anti Aging Tips To Keep Memory Sharp

It happens to adults of all ages at one point or another: You leave work after a busy day and forget where you parked your car. Or you get up to grab an item from another room and can’t remember what it was once you get there.

Is it the start of memory troubles? Could Alzheimer’s disease be looming in the future?

Memory does naturally start to decline earlier than we think — when people are in their 30s — but such incidents are common and illustrate perfectly normal forgetting, said Dr. Richard Restak, a clinical professor of neurology and rehabilitation medicine at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

“These are things that people needlessly worry about,” Restak, author of the book “The Complete Guide to Memory: The Science of Strengthening Your Mind,” told TODAY.

In the case of the person unable to remember why they came into a room, “it sounds like a serious matter, but most of the time the person is preoccupied with something,” he noted. Blanking over the parking space happens when we rush to get to work or the mall, don’t pay attention to the location of the spot and fail to form a memory.

Now if you don’t remember how you got to the mall — whether by car or bus — that’s a sign of a memory that needs further investigation, Restak warned.

But forgetting often happens simply because we’re not focusing. Paying attention to something long enough to really observe it is key to memory, but that’s being threatened by all the rush, rush of modern society, he said.

“You’ve got to make efforts to set up your memory and keep it working,” he noted. “You want to enhance whatever natural abilities you might have.”

Here are his tips for keeping memory sharp at any age:

Keep reading fiction and cooking from recipes

Both activities employ the use of working memory — which involves maintaining a particular piece of information and moving it around your head, "so it doesn’t just sit there," Restak said.

Non-fiction books don’t quite do the job: You can jump back and forth and read only the information that interests you, if you wanted to.

“You can’t do that in a work of fiction. You have to go from beginning to end. But most importantly, you have to remember the characters. You have to remember something about them,” Restak noted. “It’s really much more challenging in terms of the brain.”

Following cookbook recipes is a similar concept. There are steps to keep track of and various bowls or pots to coordinate. Once you master the instructions, your working memory allows you make variations or take shortcuts.

Play games

Poker, bridge and chess can be helpful. Restak also liked crossword puzzles and Sudoku, but he was a fan of the game 20 Questions in particular.

All of these games also give your working memory a workout. “Working memory is associated with intelligence, therefore it’s a part of your mind that you want to maintain the best way you can, and it can be done in very informal ways,” Restak said.

He advised regularly doing mental exercises like naming U.S. presidents from Pres. Joe Biden to as far back in time as you can remember. Once you have that list in your head, then name only Democrats or Republicans. Then name all the presidents in alphabetical order. Those rearrangements let your working memory shine because you’ve got to keep in mind everything that you placed there before.

Restak recommended doing working memory exercises every day.

Convert words into images

We have to learn how to write and read, but we don’t have to learn how to see things, Restak pointed out.

Seeing is “more primal” than writing and reading, “so therefore if we could convert language into images, it will definitely enhance your memory. You’ll remember much easier,” he advised.

That’s the classic tip for remembering names. Restak recalled meeting someone named Dr. King and picturing him with a white coat, stethoscope and a crown on his head. It’s not always that easy, so you have to think about: What does that name sound like? Look like?

"Get in the habit of converting anything which you find hard to remember into a wild, bizarre or otherwise attention-grabbing image," Restak advised in his book.

Fix hearing and vision problems

These issues are shown to be directly related to the onset of dementia, most notably Alzheimer’s, Restak said.

“It’s hard to remember something that you haven’t seen clearly,” he noted. “(But) I think the hearing is even more important in some ways.”

Poor hearing is among 12 modifiable risk factors for dementia, according to a 2020 commission report in The Lancet.

It can change the context of a conversation and prevent people from keeping up in social situations, so it pays to protect your hearing in your younger years and use hearing aids when they become necessary.

Take naps

Naps help consolidate memories, so if you’re studying or preparing for a presentation, take a sleep break afterwards — it can help you recall that information, Restak said.

His preferred nap length is 20 minutes. A daily nap can be helpful if it fits into your schedule — the afternoon can be the best time as people naturally become drowsy after lunch.

Be careful with alcohol

Alcohol is a weak neurotoxin — “killer of brain cells,” as Restak puts it in his book. If a person starts drinking in their early 20s, their brain will have decades of exposure to it by the time they become an older adult.

Excessive alcohol consumption is another modifiable risk factor for dementia, according to The Lancet report.

Restak advises his patients to stop drinking alcohol altogether by age 70 at the latest, “when it’s necessary to conserve as many neurons as possible,” he writes in his book.

Forgetfulness — 7 types of normal memory problems - Harvard Health Publishing

It's normal to forget things from time to time, and it's normal to become somewhat more forgetful as you age. But how much forgetfulness is too much? How can you tell whether your memory lapses are normal forgetfulness and within the scope of normal aging or are a symptom of something more serious?

Healthy people can experience memory loss or memory distortion at any age. Some of these memory flaws become more pronounced with age, but — unless they are extreme and persistent — they are not considered indicators of Alzheimer's or other memory-impairing illnesses.

Seven normal memory problems

1. Transience

This is the tendency to forget facts or events over time. You are most likely to forget information soon after you learn it. However, memory has a use-it-or-lose-it quality: memories that are called up and used frequently are least likely to be forgotten. Although transience might seem like a sign of memory weakness, brain scientists regard it as beneficial because it clears the brain of unused memories, making way for newer, more useful ones.

2. Absentmindedness

This type of forgetting occurs when you don't pay close enough attention. You forget where you just put your pen because you didn't focus on where you put it in the first place. You were thinking of something else (or, perhaps, nothing in particular), so your brain didn't encode the information securely. Absentmindedness also involves forgetting to do something at a prescribed time, like taking your medicine or keeping an appointment.

3. Blocking

Someone asks you a question and the answer is right on the tip of your tongue — you know that you know it, but you just can't think of it. This is perhaps the most familiar example of blocking, the temporary inability to retrieve a memory. In many cases, the barrier is a memory similar to the one you're looking for, and you retrieve the wrong one. This competing memory is so intrusive that you can't think of the memory you want.

Scientists think that memory blocks become more common with age and that they account for the trouble older people have remembering other people's names. Research shows that people are able to retrieve about half of the blocked memories within just a minute.

4. Misattribution

Misattribution occurs when you remember something accurately in part, but misattribute some detail, like the time, place, or person involved. Another kind of misattribution occurs when you believe a thought you had was totally original when, in fact, it came from something you had previously read or heard but had forgotten about. This sort of misattribution explains cases of unintentional plagiarism, in which a writer passes off some information as original when he or she actually read it somewhere before.

As with several other kinds of memory lapses, misattribution becomes more common with age. As you age, you absorb fewer details when acquiring information because you have somewhat more trouble concentrating and processing information rapidly. And as you grow older, your memories grow older as well. And old memories are especially prone to misattribution.

5. Suggestibility

Suggestibility is the vulnerability of your memory to the power of suggestion — information that you learn about an occurrence after the fact becomes incorporated into your memory of the incident, even though you did not experience these details. Although little is known about exactly how suggestibility works in the brain, the suggestion fools your mind into thinking it's a real memory.

6. Bias

Even the sharpest memory isn't a flawless snapshot of reality. In your memory, your perceptions are filtered by your personal biases — experiences, beliefs, prior knowledge, and even your mood at the moment. Your biases affect your perceptions and experiences when they're being encoded in your brain. And when you retrieve a memory, your mood and other biases at that moment can influence what information you actually recall.

Although everyone's attitudes and preconceived notions bias their memories, there's been virtually no research on the brain mechanisms behind memory bias or whether it becomes more common with age.

7. Persistence

Most people worry about forgetting things. But in some cases people are tormented by memories they wish they could forget, but can't. The persistence of memories of traumatic events, negative feelings, and ongoing fears is another form of memory problem. Some of these memories accurately reflect horrifying events, while others may be negative distortions of reality.

People suffering from depression are particularly prone to having persistent, disturbing memories. So are people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD can result from many different forms of traumatic exposure — for example, sexual abuse or wartime experiences. Flashbacks, which are persistent, intrusive memories of the traumatic event, are a core feature of PTSD.

Memory problems in young people

Forgetfulness, impaired attention are attributed to the elderly. However, memory problems are increasingly occurring in young people. The reasons for this phenomenon are varied - from an unhealthy lifestyle and overwork to serious disorders in the functioning of the brain and internal organs.

CONTENT OF THE ARTICLE

1. Causes of memory impairment at a young age
2. Associated symptoms
3. How to solve memory problems

Causes of memory impairment at a young age

Memory impairment in older people is usually caused by age-related changes in the body. Atherosclerosis, microstrokes, Alzheimer's disease - these pathologies negatively affect cognitive functions.

The causes of forgetfulness at a young age are different, they can be divided into 4 groups.

Brain lesions.
Diseases of internal organs.
Unfavorable impact of external factors, violation of the daily routine.
Chronic intoxication of the organism.

Disturbances in the functioning of the brain - the main cause of memory impairment

The cerebral cortex is responsible for the functioning of long-term memory. The hippocampus, which is located in the temporal lobes, starts the processes of translating short-term information into long-term memory. There are other memory centers in the brain. Therefore, any damage to this organ provokes the development of forgetfulness, inattention.

Causes of memory problems in young people:

Traumatic brain injury. The area affected is irrelevant. After any blow, short-term or long-term memory loss, retrograde or antegrade amnesia is observed.
Stroke. When blood circulation is disturbed, the functions of the memory centers are disrupted.
Malignant and benign neoplasms. Tumors affect nearby tissues, including the memory centers located in them.
Encephalitis, meningitis. The infection negatively affects the functioning of the brain and memory.
Post-surgical asthenic syndrome.

After any injuries and diseases of the brain, it is necessary to be constantly monitored by a neurologist. This will help to timely identify memory impairment and cognitive disorders.

What diseases of the internal organs negatively affect memory

The normal functioning of the brain largely depends on the well-coordinated work of the whole organism. Many dysfunctions can indirectly affect concentration and memory.

The hormonal background affects the memorization process. Testosterone, vasopressin, prolactin, estrogen help convert short-term memory into long-term memory. Oxytocin impairs the memory process.

Main diseases:

Hypertension, other diseases of the cardiovascular system. Provoke a deterioration in the blood supply to the brain.
Violation of exchange processes. When metabolism fails, brain tissue suffers from nutritional deficiencies. Resources are allocated to vital areas, and the memory center is not a priority in this list.
Angiopathy - pathology develops against the background of diabetes mellitus. Vascular walls thicken, small vessels overlap and stop working. Blood circulation is disturbed in all organs, the brain also suffers.
Hypothyroidism - lack of thyroid hormone leads to the development of iodine deficiency.
Mental disorders - schizophrenia, epilepsy, depression.
Cervical osteochondrosis. Deformed vertebrae compress blood vessels, the brain suffers from a lack of oxygen and nutrients.

In diseases of the kidneys, verbal memory deteriorates. Cognitive functions decrease with an increase in creatinine levels, a decrease in glomerular filtration rate. The study was carried out for 5 years by scientists from the United States.

Adverse environmental influences, lifestyle

If young people have memory problems, the causes are often associated with unconscious brain dysfunction. But these causes, unlike diseases, are easier to eliminate. With a change in lifestyle, forgetfulness will gradually disappear.

Causes of memory impairment:

Information overload. The human brain freezes if it is not able to process all the information received. The principle of multitasking has already been recognized as ineffective, since it leads to a deterioration in memory capabilities, attentiveness, and nervous disorders.
Avitaminosis. For the normal functioning of the brain, it is necessary to constantly replenish the reserves of B vitamins. These substances protect cells from aging and overload, participate in oxygen metabolism and the synthesis of certain neurotransmitters, and ensure the normal functioning of the central nervous system.
Stress, nervous and emotional overwork. Under such conditions, the physiological processes associated with memory are blocked. With prolonged stress, information is not remembered at all.
Chronic sleep deprivation. During sleep, new cells are synthesized. If a person constantly does not get enough sleep, the brain does not have time to recover, the process of memorizing and reproducing information is disrupted.
Abuse of junk food. Foods with food coloring contain aluminum. The substance accumulates in the body, is poorly excreted. The result is a deterioration in memory, thinking, attention.
Caffeinated drinks. Constant stimulation of the brain leads to a decrease in memory.
Poisoning with lead, mercury, other heavy metals.
Long-term and uncontrolled use of tranquilizers, sedatives and antihistamines, neuroleptics. Anticholinergics, antidepressants, barbiturates negatively affect brain function.

Smoking destroys the brain. Heavy smokers suffer from memory problems, the ability to perceive new information, logical thinking is deteriorating. Equally dangerous active and passive smoking, memory performance is reduced by 25-30%.

Daily consumption of 36 g of pure alcohol leads to early memory impairment. But the complete rejection of alcohol negatively affects the functioning of the brain. It is safe to consume up to 4 glasses of dry red wine per week.

Drugs are neurotoxic substances that disrupt the process of receiving, processing and sending information. Even with a single use, irreversible damage often occurs in the serotonin system of the brain.

Associated symptoms

Forgetfulness, inability to remember and reproduce information are not the only signs of poor memory.

What symptoms should you see a doctor for?

lapses in memory - large or small fragments from the past are forgotten;

the line between past and present is lost;

troubled by false memories, frequent bouts of deja vu;

problems with short-term memory, a person cannot remember where he was going, find the right thing;

difficulty concentrating, formulating thoughts, because one cannot remember the right word;

people often repeat themselves, confuse days of the week for months;

increased anxiety due to the fact that it is impossible to remember whether he closed the door, turned off the iron, water.

Often, memory problems are accompanied by migraine attacks, tinnitus, hearing and vision impairment, heart rhythm disturbance, and chronic fatigue.

How to deal with memory problems

If memory often fails, it is necessary to visit a neurologist. After examination, history taking and primary diagnosis, consultation with a general practitioner, neuropsychologist, psychotherapist, oncologist may be required.

Neuromonitoring begins with an assessment of the neurological status. The doctor checks the work of the cranial nerves, determines the amplitude of the movement of the eyeballs, the symmetry of the tongue and dental grin, evaluates facial and voluntary movements.

Assesses hearing, vision, smell, reflexes, speech. To diagnose memory disorders, tests are used that show the ability to remember and reproduce new information. To detect cognitive impairment, the doctor prescribes a general and biochemical blood test, a study of cerebrospinal fluid, EEG, MRI and CT of the brain. Based on the results of the diagnosis, treatment methods and drugs are selected.

Prevention

Memory needs to be trained daily. Exercises according to the method of Lawrence Katz will help improve brain function.

How to avoid memory problems:

Perform habitual activities with your eyes closed, walk in the dark.
Combing, brushing teeth with non-dominant hand. Right-handed left, left-handed right.
Learn poems, foreign languages, solve crossword puzzles and logic problems, play chess.
Limit the time of watching TV, working at the computer.
Increase stress resistance - yoga, meditation, regular physical activity have a positive effect on the psycho-emotional state.
Eat right, refuse fatty and salty foods, sweets.
Timely vaccinate, treat viral and bacterial diseases, strengthen the immune system.
Observe the drinking regimen. The brain is 70-80% water, so it reacts sharply to the slightest dehydration. The optimal volume in the absence of contraindications is 1.5-2 liters of pure water per day.

Memory problems do not always indicate serious illnesses at a young age. Try to have a good rest, sleep, not be nervous, get rid of bad habits. Include foods high in vitamin B in your diet, and remember to drink plenty of water. If no improvement is observed, consult a specialist, do not select drugs for treatment on your own.

Six oddities of our memory: still more amazing than you thought

David Robson
BBC Future

December 29, 2018

Image copyright, Getty Images

Our memory's propensity to make mistakes has been known for a long time, and not only to psychologists, and yet many of us underestimate its ability to fail and deceive over and over again. Reviewer BBC Future has put together a roundup list of her weirdest quirks for you.

1) It is impossible to remember your first years of life, but many are sure that they remember

"I believe that my readers do not remember everything, or remember very vaguely this extremely important period of their existence, which precedes their birth and passes in the womb, - wrote Salvador Dali in his memoirs. - But I - yes, I remember this period as if it were yesterday. "

The artist hoped that his own memories of that "divine paradise" would help others to return to those moments of life lost in memory before birth.

In fact, Dali's memories were almost certainly the product of his wild imagination.

Today, scientists believe that it is impossible to remember even the very first years of one's life, and even the time before birth is completely erased from memory.

During this period, the brain structures necessary for remembering had not yet developed, making it physiologically impossible to retain personal memories of early childhood.

All "memories" of that time are illusions or "false memories" gathered from the experiences of others, stories from loved ones and friends, or knowledge that we gained later.

Image copyright, Getty Images

Image caption,

Old photographs can give the impression that you really remember the earliest years of your life

2) Your memory depends on your temperature

context. To understand what this means, consider an experiment in which participants are asked to dip their hands in a bucket of ice water (which is not very pleasant), and then they are asked to memorize a list of words.

After a series of tests, scientists found that participants' memory improves when they dip their hands in ice water again.

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This study has shown that we remember facts better if we recreate the environment (context) and conditions (physical or psychological) of the moment in time in which the desired memories were formed - even if it seems to us completely unimportant.

By the way, this is one of the reasons why we remember the events of the last party better after we drink beer, and when we are completely sober, this is difficult to do.

And this can be used: for example, if you chewed gum or drank coffee while memorizing something, your memory will return to you if you reproduce that process.

Smells help too: try the same perfume or, if you're a man, the same aftershave that you used in the situation you want to remember.

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Image caption,

The physical state of the body, including body temperature, can affect what and how we remember

3) Time warps your mind

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Test yourself: try to remember in which month and year the following events took place:

(a) Michael Jackson died

(b) Beyoncé released the album Lemonade

(d) Angela Merkel announced her decision to step down as chancellor in 2021

Unless you are one of those amazing people who keep all the news in mind, your answers will far from the real dates. And in this you can see a certain pattern.

Research has shown that we often underestimate the amount of time that has passed since events in the more distant past (eg the death of Michael Jackson) and exaggerate the amount of time that has passed since recent events (Angela Merkel's decision).

This phenomenon is known as "time shifting" or "telescope": your mind warps time and stores events in memory so that they do not follow the real chronology.

(Correct answers: (a) June 2009 (b) April 2016 (c) February 2017 (d) October 2018)

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Image caption,

Some events in history, such as the death of Michael Jackson, are so easily remembered that our minds minimize the amount of time that has passed since them

4) Vague memories are good...

Try drawing a portrait of your best friend from memory. Or, without looking at the photo, describe his (or her) appearance in as much detail as possible.

Unless you have a particularly poor memory for faces, you will be able to do this quite well as far as major features are concerned.

But here are some specific features (even such as the exact color of the hair) that can be remembered with great difficulty.

This is just one example of the fact that we tend to remember the essence of things rather than their detailed description. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

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Details of facial features may change over time, but the general impression of a person's appearance (the essence of his appearance) remains the same. This means that you will recognize your friend in any light, with any hairstyle.

(Interestingly, even our memories of our own appearance are not always accurate. We tend to remember our face as more attractive than it really is.)

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Photo caption,

Our memory for faces can not being very detailed is not always a bad thing

5) …however, your overconfidence in the accuracy of your memory can cost you dearly

Suppose you need to draw or describe your own face. You probably think you remember him very well. And you are most likely wrong.

Many studies have shown that most people believe that their memory is much better than the average person. Which, of course, is statistically impossible.

We ignore and then simply forget those times when our memory failed us, but we remember those times when it worked perfectly. Because of this, it seems to us that when we need it, our memory (our beautiful memory!) Will not let us down.

Without memory. People lost in time

And this turns into a serious problem if, for example, a policeman is sure in his memory, on whom depends how the investigation of a criminal case will go.

This is also a problem for those students who over-optimistically exaggerate what they have learned before an important exam.

We are often overconfident about our "prospective memory" - the ability to remember what needs to be done in the future. And this can already have serious financial consequences.

This is often used by those who offer a free subscription period for something that ends at some point and automatically starts charging you if you forget to unsubscribe due to overconfidence in your prospective memory.

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Image caption,

Overconfidence in your memory can have serious consequences during criminal investigations

6) You may be suffering from digital amnesia

The ubiquity of smartphones is having a major impact on what and how we remember.

Just imagine how many events your Facebook or Instagram account stores. This is a whole archive that will help you remember everything that happened in your life.

But social networks can also distort your memories. One reason for this is a phenomenon known as "retrieval-induced forgetting" ( retrieval-induced forgetting, RIF ). 0273 Note translator ).

It is now well known that memories become labile, unstable and fragile when we pull them into consciousness - and the accompanying memories are also distorted.

As a result, remembering one element of an event can refresh this detail in our memory, but it will lead to the fact that other information about the same event will be completely forgotten.

This is easy to see in social networks. Facebook brings you back from time to time to the events of the past that you once mentioned in your post - some photo, some recorded emotion, thought ...

But in this way, other things that happened that day, other aspects of the event, are forgotten even more strongly.

Given that our social media feeds and feeds already form an unrealistic picture of us, this becomes a problem.

"Social networks dictate to us what events are considered the most important in our lives, thereby killing memories of what is not considered worthy to be put on the page, what should not be "shared," writes Julia Shaw, a psychologist at University College London and author of The Memory Illusion.

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