Wait Don T Tell Me Boosting Memory For Midlife Women

Title:

Wait, Dont Tell Me: Boosting Memory for Midlife Women

Summary

For women in midlife, being forgetful is common: Studies show that one-half to two-thirds of people 50 and older notice memory changes. There are as many reasons for this as there are steps to remedy it.

midlife women, memory, forgetfulness

Article Body

Everyone has memory lapses. We blank on our long-time neighbors name, or we forget the cake in the oven until the smoke detector goes off. But being forgetful in midlife is particularly common: Studies show that one-half to two-thirds of people 50 and older notice memory changes. There are as many reasons for this as there are steps to remedy it.

Memory has three stages: learning, consolidation, and recall. If youre invited to a friends surprise 50th birthday party, for example, first you must learn the four Ws: where, when, what to wear, and whom to bring. Next, the party information needs to become stored in your memory, or consolidated. Finally, when the time comes, your brain must recall it. This sounds simple, but many factors influence whether you ever actually attend that party.

Learning: Youre more likely to learn the information in the first place if you pay close attention to it. But women are multitaskers, and as we listen we may also be loading the dishwasher and shooing the dog away from the cats food. As we get older, interruptions distract us more, which can interfere with this initial learning.

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Consolidation: Next, your brain is more likely to store a memory if it relates to a long-term memory you already have, such as attending this same friends surprise 40th birthday party. In addition, research shows that sleeping well is important to memory consolidation, and for many women in midlife, sleep is elusive.

Recall: Now your brain must retrieve this information. The stumbling block is that each memory gets stored in the brain as a unique pattern of nerve cells, but similar memories have partially overlapping patterns. So youre trying to remember the name of the restaurant where the partys being held, but what comes to mind is the burger joint you went to last weekend. This blocks out the information you need and leads to that its on the tip of my tongue feeling.

How can you increase the odds that youll remember your friends party, and give your memory an overall boost? Try the following:

Keep learning. Scientists believe that giving your brain a workout with challenging activitiesa class, reading, a hobby--fosters communication between brain cells that helps strengthen memory.

Making a few healthy lifestyle changes can reduce forgetfulness in midlife women. Try it, and help restore the edge to your mind and your memory.