How To Manage Memory Loss Strain In Adults
Having trouble with memory is a normal part of the aging process, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do about it. As you age, brain structures involved in memory may start to slow down and deteriorate as brain cells slow their regeneration. By working with the connections in your brain, you can retrain pathways involved in memory and enhance your attention and focus.
"Where did I put my keys?"
"What was her name?"
"I can't think of the right word for this…"
Do any of those sound familiar? Memory lapses are a normal part of aging, but it doesn't make them any less frustrating.
While there are plenty of tools and techniques with which you can engage to enhance memory and recall, very few of them address the root cause of fading memory.
In this article, you'll learn how memory works, why aging impacts memory, and how to work with your brain to enhance memory and get ahead of memory loss in aging.
How Memory Works
There are three processes that take place involving the construction and recall of memories. These include encoding, storage, and retrieval.
Encoding
During the encoding process, you use several of your senses to take in information from your environment. This is the process of learning something new. Examples may be:
Acoustic encoding (taking in sounds)
Visual encoding (taking in information visually)
Semantic encoding (taking in new knowledge or understanding)
Tactile encoding (taking in information on how something feels)
Storage
During the storage process, the encoded information is retained within your memory system. This includes both short-term and long-term memory. Most encoded information is first stored in your short-term memory, and then if deemed necessary, sent to your long-term memory.
In your brain, connections and synapses are created for each bit of new information stored, literally changing the brain's architecture. The hippocampus is the initial storage "unit" of the brain, but long-term memories can find their way into several different brain structures over time, depending on the nature of the information.
While you may regard your ability to recall what you ate for breakfast as a part of your short-term memory, the truth is that short-term memory is actually much more short-term than you may think. In fact, short-term memory only lasts about 15 to 30 seconds. Furthermore, short-term memory has a very limited storage capacity; around five to nine facts or pieces of information may be stored in short-term memory at any given time. Short-term memory is also primarily encoded acoustically from information that you hear in your environment.
A perfect example of short-term memory is someone giving you their phone number as you grab a pen and paper to jot it down. With time and a lack of attention to this information, the memories stored in your short-term memory will fade away and be forgotten.
On the other hand, information in your long-term memory can be stored indefinitely, and the capacity for items of information is immense. Information that is encoded semantically is primarily stored in long-term memory, meaning that once you learn something, it will be with you for life -- as long as you actually understand it. Visual and auditory information is also stored in long-term memory.
Retrieval
Once this information is encoded into your memory systems (either short-term or long-term), it's up to you to recall it; this is the process of retrieval. If you do not rehearse or repeat this information, it will either fade from short-term memory or lay dormant in your long-term memory.
The retrieval of information looks a little different in short and long-term memory. In short-term memory, information is retrieved in the order it is stored—a phone number, for example.
In long-term memory, information is retrieved either through:
Recall (accessing information without cues)
Recognition (identifying information that you have previously learned after encountering it again)
Relearning (reviewing information you learned a while ago)
Memory and Aging
A sharp memory is one of the many things that people take for granted in their youth. As you age, simple things like street names or items on your to-do list may elude you from time to time -- and this is normal.
Just as every other organ and tissue in your body may start going through changes as you age, your brain function does the same. For this reason, it may become more challenging to learn new things as you get on in the years, and your ability to retrieve information may slow down a bit. These changes that come with aging aren't actually memory loss, but rather a slowing down of neurological activity.
In fact, unless you have dementia or Alzheimers, all of that information stored in your long-term memory is still available to you -- you just may need to work a little harder to manage it.
So what exactly is happening in your brain as you age that accounts for slower cognitive function?
As a natural side effect of the aging process, the neurons in your brain start to shrink a bit, which also impacts the number of connections and synapses between brain cells. As you'll recall from earlier, a crucial part of the storage process is creating new connections in your brain. Therefore, when those connections start to deteriorate, your ability to recall information is impacted.
Two areas of the brain that are known to be impacted by the aging process are the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex.
The hippocampus is your brain's primary storage unit for new information, and the prefrontal cortex plays a key role in planning, attention, and prospective memory.
Furthermore, although neurogenesis (the formation of new brain cells) can happen at any age; this process slows down significantly as you age, so new information isn't as readily absorbed.
How Memory Loss May Show Up
Memory loss can show up differently in everyone. Some of the more common signs of memory loss with aging include:
Inability to find your phone or car keys
Missing a monthly bill payment here and there
Forgetting which day it is
Having trouble recalling specific words or names
How Brain Harmony Can Help With Memory
In the simplest terms, memory loss with aging can be explained as the natural deterioration in synaptic connections over time. However, if you look at your brain from a more holistic perspective, there is much more to the story.
For instance, auditory and sensory processing systems play critical roles in memory development, as these are the gateways for information to flow into your awareness. At Brain Harmony, we work with older people to enhance the quality of their memory and recall with great success because we use a bottoms-up approach.
Instead of targeting neural connections right off the bat, we begin by supporting your nervous system from a foundational level. This strengthens the areas that are involved not only in memory retrieval but also in encoding and storage.
As depicted in the pyramid below, by starting with sensory input, we set the stage for all other cognitive functions. Of course, the goal is to strengthen the top of the pyramid (which we do), but you can't build cognitive function without a solid base to hold it. Once we have your base solidified, we can then take advantage of the neuroplasticity of your brain -- its ability to form new connections.
Through listening systems and multi-sensory inputs, we build connections to the parts of your brain that allow information to be stored and retrieved. This allows you to build or strengthen connections through brain matter that may have started deteriorating due to aging.
There is no other program, tool, intervention or modality better able to lay the highway paths of efficiency in the brain required for enhanced short-term and long-term memory than the iLs Focus system. Originally this was revealed when Brain Harmony therapists were primarily working with the pediatric population. After a few months of OT sessions with our 5 Step Plan of Care, combined with the Focus program, the children and their parents were coming to the clinic bringing their report cards and standardized test scores, showing almost unbelievable gains without a change in their teaching methods, medications or tutoring. Brain Harmony therapists do not teach language arts or math, so how could this be?
The neuroplasticity of the brain is what allows us the ability to change the brain regardless of age or diagnosis. Equally as exciting is how these positive gains in memory which allowed for those higher test scores for the children, was extended to their older siblings in college, the parents themselves, and the grandparents, all reporting gains in memory with the Focus program.
The gains in memory reported by adults are usually centered around quality of life. For example, Edward, a 64 yo retired attorney, was looking for better reading comprehension like he had when he was younger. You could hear the contentment, smile, and happiness in his voice as he reported that he could remember more of what he was reading and writing, and he was sleeping better at night. Better sleep allows for better processing of information, storage and retrieval the next day, so it makes sense that adults frequently report better cognition after getting a restorative sleep.
Susan's Brain Harmony Success Story
Susan, a retired politician who is still serving on nonprofit boards, started feeling the symptoms of growing old and became worried that she wasn't aging gracefully. As balance and focus became difficult, she reached out to Brain Harmony after seeing the amazing results in a friend's child. Within a very short amount of time, her symptoms greatly improved, and she felt relief from the anxiety of aging.
"One of the things that was amazing to me, and this has gone on most of my life, watching a movie or a tv series, I watched it and enjoyed it, but the next day I couldn't tell you a thing about it. Now I remember what I saw, because I'm more focused on it. Instead of staring at it I'm absorbing it, which is kind of cool. When I read things I retain them better, preparing for these meetings. It has really made a huge difference in the quality of my life and I'm just very grateful and thrilled about it."
Takeaway
Memory issues may develop as a normal part of aging, but that doesn't mean that you can't support your brain to mitigate forgetfulness. Just like any other muscle in your body, you gotta use it, or you'll lose it.
At Brain Harmony, we help you "use" your brain through integrated listening systems that stimulate new pathways and connections and help restore those that may have diminished from the natural aging process.
If you've been noticing more forgetfulness lately or even want to get ahead of potential memory loss due to aging, reach out today for a Free Consultation.
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