I’ve noticed lately that I seem to have more and more “senior moments”. You know where you can’t seem to remember a name or a place. I guess it’s all just a part of aging.
The other day I was talking to my doctor over in Ft. Myers and I told him that I seemed to have some short-term memory loss. He asked me how long I’ve had this problem and I said what problem?
There is a common stereotype of old forgetful people whose memory often fails, but the reason for memory loss has never really been pinpointed. Much like gray hair and wrinkles it’s simply thought to be part of growing old.
Have you ever walked into a room or climbed a flight of stairs only to forget the reason why you’re going and what you’re looking for? Sadly, it’s happened to me more than once.
Years ago I taught in a couple of colleges and each semester I might have 3 classes with 25 students each. Try as I might, I could never come close to remembering all of the students’ names. I found it to be very frustrating. I did learn an interesting tidbit that I passed on to my students. If you simply hear a lecture and are tested on it the next day, you’ll remember about 25% of the information that was presented. If you take notes during the lecture and then are tested on it the next day, your recall increases to 50%.
But on the positive side, I did a little “mental exercise” the other day. I tried to remember the names of the kids In my 8th grade class. That was in 1963 over 60 years ago! I surprised myself by being able to list the names of at least half of the students. The weird thing is, I can’t remember the names of the couple that I met last week at the dog park!
My buddy Cliff thinks our brain is a bit like a refrigerator. It can only hold just so much and when you keep trying to stuff it fuller and fuller, something’s gonna fall out.
Although memory lapses can be concerning they are not necessarily due to dementia. Stress, mood disorders, sleep problems, certain meds or poor eating habits can all lead to memory loss. Often when the underlying cause is treated, cognitive function improves.
At least I’m not alone in forgetting things. My wife will also forget things from time to time. My doctor told us that writing certain things down can help us to remember important things.
A few nights back, I started walking toward the kitchen and my wife asked if I could bring her some strawberries.
”Sure,” I said.
”Aren’t you going to write it down so you don’t forget?” She asked.
“No no. It’s fine”
“Well I’m going to want some whipped cream also” She said.” You should write it down so you’ll remember.”
”Don’t worry. I’ve got it.”
”I also want some chocolate syrup on top. You should really write it down dear.”
”I got it.” I grumbled. “Strawberries, whipped cream and chocolate syrup.”
After 15 minutes I came back carrying a plate of eggs, hash browns and bacon. My wife looked up at me and said “Where’s my toast?”
