Dont let your Memory slip away

How is it that we are able to remember some events in great detail whereas other memories seem to fade away over time? Our memory changes with age, so that we may have a memory slip on a trip to fetch something from the next room, but we’re still able to recall important events from history with great detail. But why?

One important aspect of memory formation and retention is the associations we build between the information we later try to remember and other details. For example, when and where the event took place, who was there, or the feelings we felt at the time. These details not only help us as clues to search our memory, but they also allow the mental time travel we all experience when we recall those detailed memories, so that it feels like we can relive an experience in our minds.

Scientists refer to this experience as recollection, and some distinguish it from familiarity, which refers to the general feeling that we have experienced something before, but are not quite able to put our finger on all of the details of the event. For example, you see someone at the supermarket or on public transport who instantly seems very familiar, but you cannot recall who they are.

How to stop memories from slipping

So what can be done to deter or reverse these changes in older age? While there is no magical pill or super food that can protect us, research suggests a number of strategies that can help ameliorate some of the more difficult impacts of ageing on our memories.

One popular suggested solution is to do as many crosswords and sudoku puzzles as possible. It is a perfectly intuitive idea: if we think of the brain like a muscle, then we should exercise that muscle as much as possible to keep it sharp and fit. 

At best, you can expect to get very good at doing crosswords and sudoku, but the transfer of those skills to other kinds of abilities such as being better able to reason abstractly or remember more information, is less supported by research evidence. So, you should certainly keep doing crosswords if you enjoy doing them, but do not believe or buy into the hype that such brain training will ward off cognitive decline or dementia.

The method more likely to help is to simply engage in more physical exercise, particularly aerobic exercise. The research regarding the benefits of exercise not only to your physical health but also to your mental health and abilities is much more settled than that of brain training. This does not have to be strenuous exercise that involves running marathons. Something as simple as brisk walking, or anything that gets your heart pumping and causes you to break a sweat, shows strong benefits to your memory performance. Research has also indicated that areas of the brain such as the hippocampus which are
important for memory show increases in volume as a result of aerobic exercise.

So the best advice for improving your memory is to use that half hour you might have spent doing a sudoku puzzle to go for a nice walk with a friend instead.