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Are
"senior moments" inevitable?
Most of us experience annoying
slips of the mind and memories as we enter middle age. We
may joke about having "senior moments," yet medical
researchers now suggest that they may be completely avoidable.Each year,
one-third of Americans over age 65 fall*. Twenty to 30% of
those who fall suffer injuries that reduce their independence
and mobility. Falls also increase the risk of premature death.†
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Types of memory
Working memory is the type that holds information just
as long as it is being used (like remembering a phone number
you get from the operator just long enough to complete the
call.) Information that gets repeated or is important enough
to remember from a few hours to a few days is called short-term
memory. Examples would be where you parked your car for a
day of sopping or what you ate for breakfast this morning.
Important information like names and birthdays are stored
in long-term memory.
How memory works
According to research at the University of Berkeley, it
isn't entirely understood how knowledge moves from short-term
storage to long-term. What is known is that neurotransmitters
are the chemical messengers that send information between
nerve cells (neurons) in the brain. When this happens, memory
is laid down. The efficiency of memory, according to Catherine
Myers, PhD, of the Rutgers University Memory Disorders Project,
is determined by how well the neuron cells transmit data to
one another. When the number or speed of nerve connections
declines, memory problems can result.
It is generally believed that the number of neurotransmitters
begins to decrease at around age 40 or 50, thus decreasing
the speed and accuracy with which we retrieve information.
The ability to store information, however, does not change.
The first type of memory to show impairment is short-term
memory.
Memory loss need not be permanent
The University of Berkeley's Bart Rypma, PhD, explains
that the latest research challenges previous beliefs that
brain cells lost continuously through life could not be replaced.
More recent studies indicate that some brain cells do regenerate
at a slow but steady pace, evidence that Rypma calls "promising."
Similarly, Julian Whitaker, MD, author of The Memory Solution,
cites several ongoing studies that show "that mental
capacity can be surprisingly stable well into old age."
Further, he states "As long as there is no disease, such
as Alzheimer's or brain injury from either a stroke or accident,
our mental abilities remain pretty much intact throughout
life."
The medical director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Foundation,
Dr. Dharma Singh Khalsa, MD, has successfully treated patients
whose memory decline had formerly been deemed untreatable.
His conclusion is "Just because it's the average experience
does not mean it's normal."
Both Dr. Whitaker and Kr. Khalsa have had good results with
an approach combining nutrition, exercise, stress reduction,
and mental workouts such as brain teasers to help their patients
recover their memory capabilities.
Source:
Vegetarian Times, August
2000, Author Katy Koontz, reported by findarticles.com
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0820/is_2000_August/ai_63902653
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