Knowing what you are improving helps you build your goals. This will give you direction and a better understanding of the element you want to develop in yourself. The same goes for memory improvement. Let's understand what memory and memory loss is first by getting to know some basic yet relevant facts about it.
What is Memory?
Memory is our "ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences."1 It's not a physical part of the brain but is a process of it and the major part which does this processing is the hippocampus (hih-puh-kam-pus). The hippocampus "is located in the medial temporal lobe, beneath the cortex…and has a distinct curved shape that is compared to the shape of a sea horse."2Its function of retaining occurrences to form long-term memory and spatial navigation has long been established and proven with cases of amnesia wherein the hippocampus is damaged and the person's ability to form new memories is impaired.2
Memory has different kinds as determined by scientific research and studies too. The most important are short or working memory and long or episodic memory. There are still other types like photographic and false memory which are still in research or scientific theory.
Short-term memory also known as working memory is formed from new experiences of the sense organs and may eventually develop into long-term memory. Most often these are the everyday things that need "brief storage and immediate recall"3in our lives. This type of memory relies mostly on the senses to be retained and processed by the brain.
Long-term or episodic memory involves the sensations and information passing through and being sorted out by the hippocampus several times so associations are strengthened in it until it gets used to the information and reconstructing the event or idea comes easily. 4 These could be the skills you do on your job or an event that happen to you which made a big impact on your emotions.
What is Memory Loss?
Memory loss simply means forgetting. It could be minute details like keys, glasses, combs, notes and other similar stuff to bigger things like appointments, due dates, a speech, a special occasion, a past event, a lecture or worse, personal hygiene or the name and association with a loved one.
Memory loss is triggered by stress, depression, aging, diseases or accidents. Brain injury or stroke for example, most often causes amnesia. Alcohol and drugs injure the brain by changing some chemicals in it making it harder to recall.5Major stress and depression can cause trauma to the brain wherein it has a hard time focusing and concentrating so it cannot recall too. Thyroid dysfunctions and nutritional deficiencies either bring an excess of hormones or lack of it needed for the brain to function well affecting memory as a result.3
Being forgetful or absentminded is normal in everyday life because not everybody processes information at the same pace but if it is getting worse and disrupting many of your daily activities then you need to measure if you can do something about it by yourself or would need the assistance of a health care professional. Ask yourself the following questions6 to measure how forgetful you are but of course, keep in mind that age is a factor:
What kinds of things do you forget and is it just temporary or a permanent loss of recall?
How often do the memory lapses occur and is it getting worse?
Do you get confused about familiar things or places?
Take note of the observations of family and friends too to realistically gauge your capacity for recall. Forgetfulness is typical and again considered normal as we age. It is bothersome in personal life but if it is serious then everyday things are harder to do.
These are facts but these are not common knowledge. Now that you know about memory and how it works, memory loss and how or why it happens, you may ask yourself if you really need to improve your memory or not as well as to what extent do you want to improve it? Whether personal or professional what do you want to achieve upon improving your memory?
Next: Improved Memory for Studies and Exams
SOURCES:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory
- http://www.buzzle.com/articles/hippocampus-function.html
- http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Memory
- http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/d/d_07/d_07_cr/d_07_cr_tra/d_07_cr_tra.html
- http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/brain/memory.html#
- http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm107783.htm
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