Experts say that mild memory loss is
perfectly normal — especially as we age. That's right, if you sometimes forget
simple things, you're not necessarily developing Alzheimer's disease. There is
a gang of people walking around just like you who occasionally misplace their
keys, have that deer-in-headlights look as they search for their cars in parking
lots, and can't recall the name of one new person they met at their last office
party — yes, the one from last night. And there's a reason for those
character-themed floors coupled with the happy-go-lucky music in Disney
amusement park parking garages.
"If we have forgotten an appointment,
we begin thinking, 'Uh oh, is this the first sign of Alzheimer's disease?' and
we become much more conscious, and it gets kind of a disproportionate amount of
attention when it really may be something quite benign," said Stuart Zola,
PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Emory School of
Medicine and director of Yerkes National Primate Facility in Atlanta.
Memory is the ability to normally recall
the facts and events of our lives, and this takes place in three stages:
Stage 1: Encoding. This is when a person
takes information in.Stage 2: Consolidation. This is when the
brain takes the information it encodes and processes it so that it gets stored
in certain areas of the brain.Stage 3: Retrieval. When a person recalls
stored information in the brain.
But differentiating between normal memory
loss and Alzheimer's disease can be puzzling for a layman; the kind of memory
that is affected in day-to-day situations is also the kind affected in the early
stages of Alzheimer's disease.
Time: Memory's Worst Enemy
Fear not, memory loss and brain aging are
a natural part of getting older.
But memory loss can happen even before we
hit our 50s. Many people even in their 20s and 30s have forgotten a name or an
appointment date or some fact that was on the "tip of their tongue."
Memory is tricky, and time is its worst enemy, says Zola. In fact, shortly
after taking in information, memory traces begin to deteriorate, he explains.
"Some things begin to fade right away, other things fade less quickly, and
they're a bunch of different forgetting curves with different rates of
forgetting depending the nature of the material, depending on how important it
is for you, depending on your stress level, depending on … all of the things
that can affect memory."
If you've ever gotten into heated debate
with someone about how a past event or experience transpired, there's a likely
reason. You may think you have a vivid memory of an experience, but studies
show that after awhile, people probably don't remember events as they actually
happened. Memory distortion — also a side effect of father time — explains
this. This is the phenomenon where as time passes our ability to accurately
recall events becomes diminished — and the longer the period of time that
passes between the event and trying to recall it, the greater the chance we're
going to have some memory distortions and forgetting. Sometimes time distortion
causes us to forget the event totally, Zola explains.
Other Causes of Memory Loss
But even if you think your slips of the
old noggin aren't normal, there could be other reasons for it short of
Alzheimer's disease, including:
- Stress and anxiety
- ADHD
- Depression
- Metabolic diseases such as thyroid gland
diseases, diabetes, and lung, liver, or kidney failure - Alcoholism
- Vitamin B-12 deficiency
- Infections
- Drugs, both prescription and
over-the-counter
The good news is, causes of memory loss
from many of these conditions are normally reversible. Zola says depression and
stress are the most common reasons for temporary memory problems.
"If your encoding isn't good, you're
not going to get the information in properly, and so you're going to have
difficulty retrieving it because it isn't there in good form to retrieve. So
that's the kind of memory problem associated with depression, or with attention
deficit disorder, as its name implies, you have trouble paying attention and
focusing."
Stress affects the way the brain processes
memory. It's not so surprising that you have memory problems often during very
stressful states because part of the brain is not engaged in the way it needs
to ordinarily be in order to have good memory.
Use It or Lose It
No matter how "normal" memory
lapses may be, let's face it, that doesn't make them any less frustrating.
Experts agree that the best way to keep your brain fit is to keep using it.
"People should realize that they have
more control than they think, that one-third [of memory loss] is genetics, that
means we have the potential to influence a large component of our brain
aging," Gary Small, MD, author of The Memory Bible: An innovative Strategy
for Keeping Your Brain Young, and director of the Memory and Aging Research
Center at the UCLA psychiatric institute. "The sooner we get started, the
sooner we're going to benefit from it."
Small emphasizes four things in his books
to slow down brain aging: mental activity, physical fitness, stress reduction,
and healthy diet. "People who eat too much are at risk for high blood
pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and other conditions that increase their
risk for small strokes in the brain. Secondly, you want to have a diet that's
rich in antioxidants." Small says antioxidants help protect brain cells
and exercise helps with overall health.
Staying intellectually and socially
engaged are "probably the most important things you can do to help extend
and maintain your cognitive abilities for a longer period of time in
life," Zola says. Challenging oneself by learning new things, reading, and
taking up hobbies keep the brain active and strong for the long haul.
Some other things you can do to improve
memory include:
- Focus your attention. Forgetfulness may
indicate that you have too much on your mind. Slow down and focus on the task
at hand. Small says multitasking and not paying attention are some of the
biggest causes of forgetfulness, especially in younger people. - Reduce stress. Stress can endanger the
brain areas involved with memory processing and impair memory. - Choose to snooze. Zola says sleep is
important because fatigue can affect memory and concentration in any age group.
- Structure your environment. Use calendars
and clocks, lists and notes, and write down daily activities on a planner or
use an electric organizer. Store easy-to-lose items in the same place each time
after using them. Park your car in the same place at the office each day. - Try memory tricks. To remember a person's
name, repeat it several times after being introduced. Use the same personal
identification number (PIN) for all of your accounts if necessary.
When to See a Doctor
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive
condition that damages areas of the brain involved in memory, intelligence,
judgment, language, and behavior. While there is no definitive way to pinpoint
an Alzheimer's brain — short of autopsy — there are some diagnostic ways
doctors distinguish normal memory loss from that which should raise concern.
Normal forgetfulness includes:
- Forgetting parts of an experience
- Forgetting where you park the car
- Forgetting events from the distant past
- Forgetting a person's name, but
remembering it later
While research shows that up to half of
people over age 50 have mild forgetfulness linked to age-associated memory
impairment, there are signs when more serious memory conditions, such as
Alzheimer's disease, are happening, including:
- Forgetting an experience
- Forgetting how to drive a car or read a
clock - Forgetting recent events
- Forgetting ever having known a particular
person - Loss of function, confusion, or decreasing
alertness - Symptoms become more frequent or severe
Still confused? Zola sums it up. "The
kind of rule of thumb that's kind of whimsical in a sense but clinicians often
use is, if you're worried about [your memory], it's probably not that serious,
but if your friends and relatives are worried about it, then it probably is
more serious."
Source : www.webmd.com
Originally published March 3, 2004. Medically updated July 2006.
