Memory, Use It or Lose It
By: Patrick M. Kennedy
Memory is the ability of the mind of any person, or any organism, in most cases a senior human, to retain learned information and knowledge of past events and experiences, and then to be able to retrieve that information and knowledge. It sounds easy as Webster describes it. In other words, it is somebody's act of remembering or not.
Remember the time you made a meticulous list of items to buy at the supermarket, and then forgot to take the list. Or that time at the mall you could not remember which main entrance you came in, because there are three, and had to search for your car.
Sometimes it is easier said than done when trying to remember a name in mid sentence. But, just to make it harder, there are three kinds of memory to deal with, which are immediate, short-term, and long-term, and they all have different functions.
Immediate Memory, that is less than 1 minute, allows someone to experience an event at the time it is happening. This is also called fleeting memory, or, in one ear and out the other. Then there is Short-term Memory, under 30 minutes, this is better, but in 30 minutes a person will forget 70% of what was just learned unless a record was made of it. Long-term Memory, over 30 minutes, is longer lasting.
Every time a person transfers a memory from short-term to long-term memory there is a chemical reaction in the brain. At that time there is a synapse created where the new knowledge is being attached to old knowledge. This is where you want your memory to work in the long-term.
It is easier to think the memory or brain is like that penny jar sitting atop your dresser. Over time it overflows and some of the pennies drop out. As time goes on it seems some of the memories, and the memory itself, overflows and some get lost. It is just another penalty for being too smart with a lot of experience.
Here it must be said a list is an important and necessary tool and a good friend any senior should have around, and use, daily or more often. By other names it is a catalog, record, inventory, directory, file, memory jogger, whatever it is called, it should be in a pocket or purse at all times, especially when going to the Super Mall Market to purchase tofu. You do not want to come back with a tattoo. You also must be sure you can read your scribbled list.
Remember that old saying, “Making a list, and checking it twice”…even Santa had a bad memory.
OK, how do you improve this memory function of the brain? There is a lot of scientific blah-blah that can be examined in a lab or university, but here we are keeping it simple: Get your endorphins up so you are in the right frame of mind that is, not blocking the transfer. Keeping it simple again, endorphins are chemicals, a kind of enzyme in your brain that raises your mood, calms you down, and makes you feel good.
How do you do that? Sounds tough! But it is the easy and simply process of eating the right foods such as, blueberries, brightly color fruits and vegetables, chocolate, fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, and herring, and taking multiple vitamins and vitamin B6.
Naturally, there is the herbal way to go. Ginkgo Bilboa, it is said, seems to improve memory, concentration, and the ability to remain focused. This natural extract will increase blood flow, oxygen supply, and antioxidants, which help to minimize free radicals and can improve blood circulation and blood viscosity.
Of course, there are the hard things to do, there always are, like, getting 8-hours of sleep a night, regular exercise, imbibing in a brain drink, not a hard drink, that is tea, one bag of tea a day will do, and listening to classical music. Yes, this might be a health-practice stopper, but remember, music calms the savage beast, and in a senior’s case, a calm person has a better memory.
Then there is the “use it or lose it” method of memory improvement. Use the brain by working crossword puzzles and word games, read, memorize things like poems, take music lesson, or do anything to keep the synapses popping from cell to cell between your ears.
Just bear in mind that wise old man, Author Unknown, who said, “Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film.” I guess doing all the right things is like buying film for your mental camera.
“Thanks for the memory.” You are welcome, Bob Hope.
Now the real test; without looking, can you remember the first words of this discussion? Do you remember what it was all about?
