If those 'senior moments' are happening more often, don't get too upset: it's probably just natural age-related memory loss. In such cases, treatment can be as easy as exercise classes, nutritional supplements or a simple change in your diet.
What is happening
Most age-related memory loss is normal. Still, it's hard not to be a bit concerned when you suddenly have trouble remembering your best friend's first name or you can't find your house keys for the umpteenth time. So what is really going on upstairs? Why isn't your brain as sharp as it used to be? One theory is that there's a slowdown in the production of neurotransmitters--the chemicals that relay signals between the approximately 100 billion nerve cells (nuerones) in your brain. Another suggests that as you age, blood flow to your brain is reduced--up to 20 percent by the time you are 70. However, much more mundane causes or probably responsible for why you have no remembrance of things past. Inadequate nutrition, lack of sleep or exercise, hormone imbalances, you medication mix, blood pressure problems and stress are all factors that can contribute to reduced recall. Depression is also a mind-muddler.
But while forgetting where you left your keys is nothing to worry about, not knowing what your keys are used for should be cause for concern. Persistent inability to recall familiar facts, failure to navigate known surroundings or asking the same question repeatedly and forgetting the answer would all signal the onset of what's called mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Individuals with MCI (which doesn't seem to affect perception, abstract reasoning or language) are 10 times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease that the general population. The good news
is that if you're still with-it enough to be concerned about your memory, it is unlikely that you are in the first stages of Alzhemer's (see Alzhemer's disease).
Another bit of good news is that scientists now believe that your brain cells are simply shrinking, not dying off, as was previously thought. And amazingly enough, recent research shows that even if you're older, you may still be generating some healthy new cells in your hippocampus, the seahorse-shaped part of your brain that acts as the chief executive officer for your memories.
LIKELY FIRST STEPS
- Rule out underlying ailments. And have your thyroid hormone levels checked.
- Adopt lifestyle changes--improve diet, get more exercise, challenge your brain.
- Drugs may be necessary for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or hormonal problems.
- Can you tell if my memory problem is early Alzheimer's?
- Could my memory loss be related to depression?
>EAT MORE BLUEBERRIES (MAY BE). A study conducted at Tufts University found that blueberries reversed mental decline in elderly rats. The animal were better able to remember the correct path through a maze after having their diets supplemented with blueberry extract for two months. Although there are plenty of good reasons to eat blueberries whenever you can, keep in mind that what smartens up lab rats may not have the same effect in humans.
Treatments
If your memory problems are the natural result of ageing, there's plenty you can do to keep yourself on the ball well into your 70s and 80s. In fact, evidence strongly suggests that making some basic lifestyle changes can go a long way towards preserving and even boosting your mental capacity. Today studies show that the old 'use it or lose it' adage really holds true. your doctor probably won't need to prescribe drugs unless you have memory problem related to hormone deficiences or MCI.
Treatment Options
LIFESTYLE CHANGES
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Healthy diet Low in fat, high in B vitamins and antioxidants.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exercise Stimulates neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NSAIDs May work to prevent brain inflammation
MEDICATIONS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HRT If brain fog is attributed to menopause.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Galantamin Stimulates neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NSAIDs May work to prevent brain inflammation.
NATURAL METHODS-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Supplements Stimulate various brain function.
TAKING CONTROL
LIFESTYLE CHANGES
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Healthy diet Low in fat, high in B vitamins and antioxidants.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exercise Stimulates neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NSAIDs May work to prevent brain inflammation
MEDICATIONS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HRT If brain fog is attributed to menopause.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Galantamin Stimulates neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NSAIDs May work to prevent brain inflammation.
NATURAL METHODS-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Supplements Stimulate various brain function.
TAKING CONTROL
- Systematise your life. Getting organised can do wonders for your memory. Hang up a key rack, keep a journal or appointment book and scrupulously maintain checklists of things to do.
- keep your brain agile. This means regularly challenging yourself. Take up a foreign language, play word games, do complicated jigsaw puzzles of learn to play the tuba. It doesn't so much matter what you do as long as you set out to actively participate in some mentally invigorating activities.
- Learn a few tricks to stimulate recall. Try saying what you're doing out loud while you're doing it ('I' m unplugging the electric toaster!'). Or come up with good associations (think of a whirling eddy when you're introduced to someone named 'Eddie'). Interestingly, elderly people who are taught to use some memory-enhancing tricks have been shown via MRI scans to recruit more parts of their brains during word memorisation tests.
- Decrease your use of non-prescription medications. Overuse of nonprescription drugs may be the single biggest cause of memory loss or confusion in older adults.
- Try meditation. This age-old technique has been found to heighten a person's ability to focus and concentrate, and to improve creativity and problem solving.
- Break with routine. Simply brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand or using a map to find a location instead of asking directions can stimulate new neurones.
Lifestyle changes
One good way to boost your brain power is to eat a well-balanced, low-fat diet (with only 20 percent of your daily kilojoules from fat). An analysis of 19 studies on the effect of diet on memory loss found that a high kilojoule consumption in addition to a high fat intake was a risk factor for cognitive decline. In addition to diet, exercise can do wonders for your mental agility. Because your brain requires more oxygen than any other organ (it uses 25 percent of all the oxygen taken in by the lungs), brain cells need a continuous supply of oxygen-laden blood. Regular, vigorous aerobic exercise (a brisk 30-minute walk, for example, at least three times per week minimum) not only gets blood heading to your brain, it also increases levels of naturally occuring proteins, called trophic factors, that are necessary for healthy brain functioning. But if you really want to stay on the ball, you must exercise the brain itself, too. (See Taking Control at right, for some key ways to do this.)
Medications
Although there are no 'official' drug remedies for mild age-related memory lapses, some doctors do prescribe useful drugs that were originally approved for other diseases. This 'off-label' use means that it's fine for your doctor to prescribe a particular drug for memory, but that the manufacturing company isn't allowed to advertise it for this purpose. In addition, your doctor may prescribe drugs if your brain fog is due to an underlying condition, such as an under-active thyroid. Keep in mind that the side effects of certain drugs may prove more problematic than your loss of memory.
One good way to boost your brain power is to eat a well-balanced, low-fat diet (with only 20 percent of your daily kilojoules from fat). An analysis of 19 studies on the effect of diet on memory loss found that a high kilojoule consumption in addition to a high fat intake was a risk factor for cognitive decline. In addition to diet, exercise can do wonders for your mental agility. Because your brain requires more oxygen than any other organ (it uses 25 percent of all the oxygen taken in by the lungs), brain cells need a continuous supply of oxygen-laden blood. Regular, vigorous aerobic exercise (a brisk 30-minute walk, for example, at least three times per week minimum) not only gets blood heading to your brain, it also increases levels of naturally occuring proteins, called trophic factors, that are necessary for healthy brain functioning. But if you really want to stay on the ball, you must exercise the brain itself, too. (See Taking Control at right, for some key ways to do this.)
Medications
Although there are no 'official' drug remedies for mild age-related memory lapses, some doctors do prescribe useful drugs that were originally approved for other diseases. This 'off-label' use means that it's fine for your doctor to prescribe a particular drug for memory, but that the manufacturing company isn't allowed to advertise it for this purpose. In addition, your doctor may prescribe drugs if your brain fog is due to an underlying condition, such as an under-active thyroid. Keep in mind that the side effects of certain drugs may prove more problematic than your loss of memory.
No comments:
Post a Comment