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| Where is my camera? |
I waste too much time looking for things in my house. I know I had it yesterday. Now where did I put it? I think I left it on the desk. No, I can't find it in all this mess. I must have left it in the bedroom.
Did I take it downstairs? Wait!
Hey, it was in my pocket all the time.
After the age of fifty they say we begin to lose some memory, but I heard recently that the average woman spends about 30 - 40 minutes each day looking for misplaced items.
And -- from women I talk with, this problem is not just for women over fifty. I don't know about men. Barry said I lost things, but he seemed to always be asking me questions like, "Where is that little hammer that used to be in this drawer?"
Or, "What happened to that shirt I wore yesterday?"
Now that I think on it, I spent lots of time looking for things he couldn't find.
Brain exercises to help prevent memory loss
Physical exercise can make and keep your body stronger. Same holds true for mental exercise for your mind.
• Play games that involve strategy, like chess or bridge, and word games like Scrabble.
• Try crossword and other word puzzles, or number puzzles such as Sudoku.
• Read newspapers, magazines, and books that challenge you.
• Get in the habit of learning new things: games, recipes, driving routes, a musical instrument, a foreign language. (Why not take a writing class?)
• Take a course in an unfamiliar subject that interests you. The more interested and engaged your brain, the more likely you’ll be to continue learning and the greater the benefits you’ll experience.(Try a writing class.)
• Take on a project that involves design and planning, such as a quilt, a vegetable garden, or a workshop in your garage. (Put together a book of your life stories)
Memory loss is not an inevitable result of aging nor is it a warning sign of serious mental deterioration or the onset of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
The brain is capable of producing new brain cells at any age, so significant memory loss is not an inevitable result of aging. But just as it is with muscle strength, you have to use it or lose it. Your lifestyle, health habits, and daily activities have a huge impact on the health of your brain. As you can see from the above techniques, there are many ways you can improve your cognitive skills, prevent memory loss, and protect your gray matter.
This was excerpted from Letlifein.com, an article by
By Gary Geyer
Italics are mine.
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Just read your blog post. While that’s all true, I believe some of our “memory problems” are due to not always concentrating specifically on what we’re doing when we put things away or hear something. We’re sort of in automatic mode, especially when things don’t actually require our full attention. Do I misplace things? Of course I do now and then. But I also know I’m sometimes not fully “present” mentally when I lay something down or hear or read something I will need to recall later. My mind is just somewhere else. The other day, a young man in the Publix seafood department mentioned how forgetful he is…said he’s going to college and it’s annoying when he can’t recall something or can’t locate something when he wants to. We talked about being constantly exposed to information and the need, sometimes, to filter what we ‘store’ in our memory. So – the truth is that ‘forgetfulness’ is not only caused by getting older (younger people just don’t dwell on it or have it brought to their attention as often). Some is simply the times in which we’re living and “information overload.” That’s my belief and I’m sticking to it! (Surely sounds a lot better than saying it’s all because I’m getting older…) J
ReplyDeleteI took up the fiddle several years ago, just for the very reason you wrote about-trying to exercise my brain. Of course I've forgotten most of what I learned by now, but I still try to read challenging books and magazines as much as I can. I also think that being mindful of what you are doing is a great help for you memory. Multi-tasking is no longer considered to be a wonderful thing for anyone anymore. Concentrate on doing one thing well, or focusing on what you're doing, even if it's enjoying the perfect french fry!
ReplyDeleteBoth of you have good points which I also find is true. I know I've had problems with focus for the past couple of years. I think that is why I misplace so many things(like my Kindle and my camera). But I did some back-tracking today and found my camera. I knew it was in my car somewhere. Now if I could just find the Kindle.
ReplyDeleteI try to keep my brain working by continuing to learn new things on the computer. I bought a program which is supposed to allow me to speak to my computer instead of using the keyboard. William Reynolds writes all of his books that way. But I haven't found the time to learn how to use it. That is next on my list.