Understanding How Memory Works to Avoid Memory Loss

As you age, the problem with memory is often most severe when it comes to remembering names. In addition, you may also have lapses of memory in other things, such as retrieving information about appointments, dates, or simply where you have placed your keys and eyeglasses.

Do not worry too much about memory loss. Instead, put your memory problem in proper perspective; more importantly, understand how memory works in order to help yourself cope with your memory problem.

Memory works in three different stages or steps: .

• Initially, when your mind perceives information through your senses, the information is immediately transferred to your brain to be stored.

• Then, your brain processes the information and puts it in different compartments—just like you file any collected information in different folders in your filing cabinet.

• Finally, when the information is required by you, your brain begins to go through the different compartments to retrieve the information desired.

The storage of information hinges on awareness. First of all, you must be fully aware of its importance before you will decide to store it. If you think it is really important, then you must put it away in a safe place where you can easily retrieve it later. Finally, when you want to retrieve it, you must know where to look for it.

In the scenario of not knowing where you have put your eyeglasses, first and foremost, you make a deliberate mental note that you will need your eyeglasses as soon as you take them off; then, be aware of the place where you put them, for example, right next to your cell phones or in front of the TV; when you need to find them, you can readily recall the place where you put them. Of course, you can put your eyeglasses in an assigned place. However, that may help you find your eyeglasses, but it will not help you remember where you put them. Remember, it may not be possible to put them in the same place all the time. The bottom line is to be aware of any new information you want to retrieve later, make a conscious effort to remember where you store that information. Train your mind for better memory. Just practice this not just for your eyeglasses but for all other things, and you will soon find that your memory has improved, instead of deteriorated. Use it or lose it!

Remember, forgetting is only natural—part and parcel of growing old. It is easy to forget information that is not often needed or unimportant..

To facilitate your memory improvement, reduce information overload. If you are too busy, you will easily find yourself forgetting things simply because you have too many things you need to remember; you end up forgetting many of them.

Practice awareness in your everyday life, such as focusing your attention on the foam in the kitchen sink as you are doing your dishes, instead of watching the television or listening to the radio. Look and trace the outline of a distant building while waiting for the bus, instead of talking on the phone or listening to the radio.

Meditate to calm and compose your compulsive mind.

Awareness and meditation are deep mental relaxation of the mind is critical to reducing your information overload, which is a common characteristic of this day and age. Remember, reaction time increases with age, while the ability to ignore irrelevant or distracted information decreases. In addition, older people are more concerned with accuracy than speed than their younger counterparts. Furthermore, vision impairment and illnesses, such as heart disease and diabetes, make it more difficult for seniors to retrieve information stored in the brain.

The Unexplainable Store: Binaural beats are frequency brainwaves that cause the brain to synchronize with their rhythms thereby instrumental in programming the brain to weed out undesirable interferences to open up the communication channels inside the mind. A research study published in the Journal of Neurotherapy has shown that college students increased their GPA with the use of audio brainwave stimulation. (1999 – Thomas Budzvnski, Ph.D.)

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau