Is Your Memory Normal?
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Before you diagnose
yourself with Alzheimer's disease, take heart: Experts
say some memory lapses are actually normal.
By Cherie Berkley,
MS
WebMD Feature
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Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD
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They say that memory is the second thing to go as you
get older. So what's the first? Umm, I forgot! And
actually, by the time you reach the end of this story,
you may remember only a fraction of it. Not to worry,
you're not alone.
Experts say that mild memory loss is perfectly normal --
especially as we age. That's right, if you sometimes
forget simple things, you're not necessarily developing
Alzheimer's disease. There is a gang of people walking
around just like you who occasionally misplace their
keys, have that deer-in-headlights look as they search
for their cars in parking lots, and can't recall the
name of one new person they met at their last office
party -- yes, the one from last night. And there's a
reason for those character-themed floors coupled with
the happy-go-lucky music in Disney amusement park
parking garages.
"If we have forgotten an appointment, we begin thinking,
'Uh oh, is this the first sign of Alzheimer's disease?'
and we become much more conscious, and it gets kind of a
disproportionate amount of attention when it really may
be something quite benign," Stuart Zola, PhD, professor
of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Emory
School of Medicine and director of Yerkes National
Primate Facility in Atlanta tells WebMD.
Memory is the ability to normally recall the facts and
events of our lives, and this takes place in three
stages:
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Stage 1: Encoding. This is when a person takes
information in.
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Stage 2: Consolidation. This is when the brain
takes the information it encodes and processes it so
that it gets stored in certain areas of the brain.
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Stage 3: Retrieval. When a person recalls
stored information in the brain.
But differentiating between normal memory loss and
Alzheimer's disease can be puzzling for a layman; the
kind of memory that is affected in day-to-day situations
is also the kind affected in the early stages of
Alzheimer's disease.
Time: Memory's Worst Enemy
Fear not, memory loss and brain aging are a natural part
of getting older. "It is often the case that people will
start to report in their 50s that they think their
memories are slipping," says Zola, a research career
scientist who has dedicated his work to memory function.
"They seem to be consciously aware of that because they
have to use more kinds of reminders or more kinds of
strategies to remember things."
But memory loss can happen even before we hit our 50s.
Many people even in their 20s and 30s have forgotten a
name or an appointment date or some fact that was on the
"tip of their tongue." Memory is tricky, and time is its
worst enemy, says Zola. In fact, shortly after taking in
information, memory traces begin to deteriorate, he
explains. "
Some things begin to fade right away, other
things fade less quickly, and they're a bunch of
different forgetting curves with different rates of
forgetting depending the nature of the material,
depending on how important it is for you, depending on
your stress level, depending on ... all of the things
that can affect memory."
If you've ever gotten into heated debate with someone
about how a past event or experience transpired, there's
a likely reason. You may think you have a vivid
memory of an experience, but studies show that after
awhile, people probably don't remember events as they
actually happened. Memory distortion -- also a side
effect of father time -- explains this.
This is the
phenomenon where as time passes our ability to
accurately recall events becomes diminished -- and the
longer the period of time that passes between the event
and trying to recall it, the greater the chance we're
going to have some memory distortions and forgetting.
Sometimes time distortion causes us to forget the event
totally, Zola explains.
Other Causes of Memory Loss
But even if you think your slips of the old
noggin aren't normal, there could be other reasons for
it short of Alzheimer's disease, including:
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Stress and anxiety
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ADHD
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Depression
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Metabolic diseases such as thyroid gland diseases,
diabetes, and lung, liver, or kidney failure
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Alcoholism
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Vitamin B-12 deficiency
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Infections
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Drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter
The good news is, causes of memory loss from many of
these conditions are normally reversible. Zola says
depression and stress are the most common reasons for
temporary memory problems.
"If your encoding isn't good, you're not going to get
the information in properly, and so you're going to have
difficulty retrieving it because it isn't there in good
form to retrieve. So that's the kind of memory problem
associated with depression, or with attention deficit
disorder, as its name implies, you have trouble paying
attention and focusing."
Stress affects the way the brain processes memory, Zola
tells WebMD. "So it's not so surprising that you have
memory problems often during very stressful states
because part of the brain is not engaged in the way it
needs to ordinarily be in order to have good memory."
Use It or Lose It
No matter how "normal" memory lapses may be, let's face
it, that doesn't make them any less frustrating. Experts
agree that the best way to keep your brain fit is to
keep using it.
"People should realize that they have more control than
they think, that one-third [of memory loss] is genetics,
that means we have the potential to influence a large
component of our brain aging," Gary Small, MD, author of
The Memory Bible: An innovative Strategy for Keeping
Your Brain Young, and director of the Memory and
Aging Research Center at the UCLA psychiatric institute
tells WebMD. "The sooner we get started, the sooner
we're going to benefit from it."
Small emphasizes four things in his books to slow down
brain aging: mental activity, physical fitness, stress
reduction, and healthy diet. "People who eat too much
are at risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol,
diabetes, and other conditions that increase their risk
for small strokes in the brain. Secondly, you want to
have a diet that's rich in antioxidants." Small says
antioxidants help protect brain cells and exercise helps
with overall health.
Staying intellectually and socially engaged are "probably the most important things you can do to
help extend and maintain your cognitive abilities for a
longer period of time in life," Zola says. Challenging
oneself by learning new things, reading, and taking up
hobbies keep the brain active and strong for the long
haul.
Some other things you can do to improve memory include:
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Focus your attention. Forgetfulness may
indicate that you have too much on your mind. Slow
down and focus on the task at hand. Small says
multitasking and not paying attention are some of the
biggest causes of forgetfulness, especially in younger
people.
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Reduce stress. Stress can endanger the brain
areas involved with memory processing and impair
memory.
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Choose to snooze. Zola says sleep is important
because fatigue can affect memory and concentration in
any age group.
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Structure your environment. Use calendars and
clocks, lists and notes, and write down daily
activities on a planner or use an electric organizer.
Store easy-to-lose items in the same place each time
after using them. Park your car in the same place at
the office each day.
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Try memory tricks. To remember a person's name,
repeat it several times after being introduced. Use
the same personal identification number (PIN) for all
of your accounts if necessary.
When to See a Doctor
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive condition that
damages areas of the brain involved in memory,
intelligence, judgment, language, and behavior. While
there is no definitive way to pinpoint an Alzheimer's
brain -- short of autopsy -- there are some diagnostic
ways doctors distinguish normal memory loss from that
which should raise concern. Normal forgetfulness
includes:
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Forgetting parts of an experience
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Forgetting where you park the car
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Forgetting events from the distant past
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Forgetting a person's name, but remembering it later
While research shows that up to half of people over age
50 have mild forgetfulness linked to age-associated
memory impairment, there are signs when more serious
memory conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease, are
happening, including:
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Forgetting an experience
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Forgetting how to drive a car or read a clock
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Forgetting recent events
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Forgetting ever having known a particular person
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Loss of function, confusion, or decreasing alertness
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Symptoms become more frequent or severe
Still confused? Zola sums it up. "The kind of rule of
thumb that's kind of whimsical in a sense but clinicians
often use is, if you're worried about [your memory],
it's probably not that serious, but if your friends and
relatives are worried about it, then it probably is more
serious."
Originally published March 3, 2004.
Medically
updated July 2006.
Tim
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