Memory Loss Contributors

We all suffer from some form of memory loss. Practically everyday we ask ourselves questions, such as: What did you just tell me? Why did I come in here? Where did I set that? Why can't I remember his/her name?! But, have you ever stopped to consider what causes us to do that? Is it something minor, like simply not paying attention because you didn't get enough sleep or weren't interested; you're under too much stress; or you're simply getting older? Or, could it be the initial signs of something more serious such as a health condition, depression, or Alzheimer's? We all would love to improve our memories and it's easy to find the games and herbal supplements that are geared to increase our memory skills, but before you hand over your wallet for some of these expensive tools, make sure you know (or at least have a good idea) why you're forgetting in the first place.

To begin with, let's look at some of the more easily fixable contributors to memory loss:
Consider how much stress you're under. Stress, as we all know, is a major contributor to many conditions that can cause adverse affects on our health, such as heart disease and obesity. Just a small amount of stress can cause you to forget mundane things, like where you set your keys, but depending upon your level of stress, you can begin to forget the more important things in your life. It's one thing to forget what you were about to say; it's something very different to forget the deadline of an important project at work or to pick your kids up from school.

Be honest with yourself and admit that you really weren't paying attention. This will be harder for some than others! For example, you heard in the meeting that some form had to be turned in on some particular date, but you just wanted to get out of there and now you can't remember the date. Or, you heard your sweetie ask you to pick up a doom-a-flitchy at the store and by the time you got there you couldn't remember what it was. Even if your reason for being inattentive was justified, your memory suffered from it.

Sleep deprivation causes a person to feel tired, of course, and easily fatigued. When you're tired, your mind is not working in a good productive condition and it lets go of information it would have normally held on to. Sleeping is our minds version of rebooting and will re-format our memory so we can store more.

Some of the more serious contributors to memory loss include; diet, injury, and disease. Although your diet can be an easy fix sometimes, a person needs to have a good idea of their general health condition in order to evaluate what could be causing their lack of memory. Eating a well-balance diet low in added fats, high in Omega-3 fats and fiber will automatically improve your health and to a certain degree, your memory. Even being thirsty, which we know is a symptom of dehydration, can affect cognition and, therefore, your memory.

Medications can, while improving one health condition, upset the normal rhythm of another affecting cognition. Ask your doctor or pharmacist or read the "Side Effects" information that comes with your prescriptions to see if the medicine you're taking can have an effect on your memory.

A vitamin B-12 deficiency can also have an affect on your cognitive state, but this is a somewhat rare condition and usually involves a disorder of the intestines or anemia that prevents the absorption of vitamin B-12.
Depression can be measured at various levels, but when someone is even a little "blue", there's a tendency for them to focus more on their problems and to forget things. The more severe the depression, the more severe the symptoms will be.

The most serious contributors to memory loss would be injury, such as a concussion or other head trauma; nerve damage; dementia, or Alzheimer's Disease. These contributors are acute and require a great deal of medical assistance. Dementia and Alzheimer's will often show the initial stages through the symptom of memory loss. The severity of a head trauma is not always easily recognized, so any head injury should be treated immediately at an emergency medical facility.

The next time you forget something, think about what may be causing your memory loss. Consider the most obvious and logical contributors first, taking the steps necessary to improve your memory. Then, if you (or someone you know) are still having memory loss symptoms and/or they are getting worse, do not hesitate to seek medical advice.

Resources: Kovacs, B. MedicineNet.com, Ask The Experts, http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=79871
The Office of Dietary Supplements, Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin B-12, http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheet/vitaminb12.asp#h1