Jo Longstaffe gives her advice on forgetfulness
By Effective Communication
I’ve noticed that I’ve become a little absent-minded recently and seem to be forgetting things I really shouldn’t – like whether I’ve put the washing out before work for example. I also seem to have a complete blank when it comes to remembering the names of new acquaintances.
I’ve only just turned 40 so I wouldn’t have thought age should be the problem and with all the publicity surrounding Alzheimer’s, it’s made me worry even more. I just wondered if there may be another explanation?
Forty isn’t old by any stretch of the imagination but when it comes to things like memory, it’s actually downhill from our twenties onwards as we start losing brain cells a few at a time from then on.
The body also begins making less of the chemicals that the brain cells need to function at their very best and the older you get, the more likely these changes are to affect your memory. It’s a natural process and one that will affect us all to some degree.
In general, there are a whole host of things that could be causing this mild memory loss and it’s likely to be a combination of lifestyle and sorry to say, ageing, that is at the root of it rather than anything more serious.
If you lead a busy life and have a tendency to suffer from stress, this can impact on your general memory function. Work, family, relationships and worries over money all combine to put us under pressure – over time this raises the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, in the blood, which has been proven to affect the memory. Even short term stress can lead to memory loss and juggling too many balls at the same time is bound to lead to one of them being dropped at some point. If this is the case, do try and take a step back and relax and delegate what you can to others. You’ll find that you’re far more likely to remember what it is you’re meant to be doing if you’re focussing on three tasks instead of ten.
A basic lack of sleep has also been associated with memory loss as sleep is needed to support effective memory storage and retrieval. Again this can often be a symptom of stress and lifestyle but try to establish a sleep routine and avoid food and drinks prior to bedtime that may affect this – examples would be caffeine and alcohol.
It’s a well known fact that heavy drinkers suffer from memory loss but there’s an increasing view that binge drinking can also have an impact so try not to overdo it say on a weekend or on holiday.
Another cause could be an underactive thyroid. This is more common in older people and women but symptoms to look out for would be unexplained weight gain, fatigue and constipation.
Again more common in older people but can occur at any age is B12 deficiency where the body doesn’t absorb it properly from foods. B12 is required for the production of red blood cells and to maintain a healthy nervous system and those lacking tend to suffer from anaemia and also memory loss.
Even certain regularly prescribed prescription drugs can have an impact on the memory so bear this in mind if you are on regular medication and seek advice from your pharmacist or GP.
You mention concerns over Alzheimer’s and while it’s good to be aware and alert to the signs, it’s more likely that small scale annoying memory loss is just that.
Randomly forgetting names is quite common and easily done – with a memory problem, you need to worry if it begins heavily impacting on your daily life. So have you forgotten how to do certain things that you’ve always done easily, are you getting lost because you can’t remember how to get somewhere familiar, do you have trouble learning simple new tasks for example?
General memory loss will normally get slightly but not dramatically worse over time – with a condition such as Alzheimer’s, the process is heightened and deterioration far quicker. If you think it could be something this serious, you must visit your GP and share your concerns.
If you think any of the other factors could be contributing, there are general things you can do to help yourself and to help train your memory.
Keep lists and a detailed calendar so you always know where you should be and when and keep items that you know you’ll regularly need in the same place every time. Everyone misplaces their car keys at some point so make it easy on yourself and form a habit.
Don’t be afraid to ask people to repeat their names – it’s far better to try and get it right the first or second time you meet rather than six months down the line!
And try not to worry too much as this could be making things worse. It’s frustrating when you can’t recall something but it will probably come back to you when you’re least expecting it.
Tags: forgetfulness, jo longstaffe, The Independent General Practice
