Discussing :: Memory loss as we get older

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After age 30, did you know the brain shrinks one quarter percent - 0.25% - in mass each year (found this in a magazine). Ha, l knew l had a problem with my memory but couldn't put my finger on it. OMG more problems for the elderly: Alzheimer's, loss of sight, loss of hearing, people thinking you are a dirty old man and now this, lol.

Your brain is a thinking organ that learns and grows by interacting with the world through perception and action. Mental stimulation improves brain function and actually protects against cognitive decline, as does physical exercise. Sharpening the needle of concentration requires practice, as everything else in life. Just like going to the gym we need to exercise our brain. Even ten minutes a day of concentration exercises will do you good. Example of exercise: - Take a book and count the words in any one paragraph, - Count backwards in your mind, from one hundred to one - Here’s a toughie - Count in your mind from one hundred to one, skipping each three numbers, that is 100, 97, 94, etc. - Crossword or Suduku. - Switch the hand you are using to control the computer mouse. Use the hand you normally do NOT use. If you are feeling uncomfortable and awkward don’t worry, your brain is learning a new skill. The secret of success is constant practice. The more time you devote to the exercises the faster your success arrives. Jogging, exercising at the gym or studying a foreign language, how difficult it was in the start. How many times you wanted to quit. Yet, after a while you started to like what you were doing. It became a habit, needing no effort to perform. So it is with developing the power of concentration. Losing mental acuity can be frightening. You've probably had the experience of walking purposefully into a room only to arrive and realize you have no idea what you came for. And admit it, your next thought was that was the first step toward Alzheimer's disease. Remember (if you can, lol) It’s never too late to start exercising your body or your brain

Sorry some of you may have already seen this, but it's a good place to start. This will test your ability to take control of your brain and make it do what you want it to do. Say out loud what the words are and not what the colours are. If you find that you flub on some of the words, it is just that there is an inner conflict going on between the left and right side of your brain. The right side tries to say what the colour is, but the left side insists on reading the word. TRY IT!

I think that we become more selective about what we choose to remember as we grow older. This is irrespective of whether we physically experience memory loss, which some of the population inevitably will through diseases such as dementia and alzheimers. Apart from these, our attitudes towards what we retain and what we want to retain changes. We become more specialised in the knowledge that we want and less inclined to maintain a general knowledge of anything and everything that we experience.

I think (hope) my fading memory is just a result of life getting busier as i get older. I often find myself walking into a room and forgetting what it was i was going there for, much to the amusement of the 'other half', or putting things that belong in the cupboard in the fridge and vice versa - i swear i can still manage to remember what house i live in though. Although accidentally wandering into the sister-in-law who was using our bed whilst we slept on the couch was not quite so funny - it was my failing memory HONEST

i seem to recall a study done not that long ago with people in a rest home, they found greatest mental function improvement with those that started learning a new language. which probably backs up the mental exercise argument. ...and alzheimer's disease far less in those that drunk coffee more regularly, so get grinding you old buggars...lol

There's a recent article (July 2011) about the human brain shrinking with age at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903999904576468224286877908.html It puts shrinkage at around 15% and advises stress, depression, diet and simple aging (decrease in repair mechanisms) as the cause. If you would like to read another article which describes the physical changes more comprehensively , take a look at http://www.healthandage.com/html/min/afar/content/other6_2.htm

....lol more like selective memory loss....work the mind constantly, find new and exciting ways and you should be fine.....

Couple of interesting facts about our brain: Your human brain is 80% water & has around 70,000 thoughts an average per day. When you were born your brain weighed about 350-400g and you had almost all the brain cells you will ever have. In fact, your brain was closer to its full adult size than any other organ in your body!

Up to my early 20's my memory was pretty good. It's rubbish now... and I haven't hit 30 yet. I'm doomed!