When struggling with poor memory

Most people suffer from occasional forgetfulness, especially in later life when slower brain processing may make it harder for them to store and remember information. However, absentmindedness is not an inevitable part of ageing, nor is it confined to the elderly. Poor memory can also be due to lack of sleep; an underlying condition such as depression; stress; a thyroid disorder; excessive use of alcohol; or prescribed drugs. In most cases, memory improves again when the underlying problem is treated. There are also techniques that help protect and sharpen memory skills at any age. When memory deterioration occurs with symptoms such as confusion, intellectual decline, and a change in personality, it may be a sign of dementia.
See your doctor if
•Your memory is deteriorating.
•You are taking medication that may be affecting your memory.
What you can do yourself
There are no instant cures for forgetfulness, but these techniques and lifestyle changes can help preserve and improve your memory.
•Get a good night’s sleep, get regular exercise, and include plenty of fresh fruits, green leafy vegetables, nuts, olives, wholegrain bread, and cereals in your diet.
•Try not to worry about your memory failures; anxiety and lack of confidence will only make them worse. Figure out why you forgot something and organise yourself.
•Try to improve your memory. Exercise your brain with word games. Read rather than watch TV.
•Note tasks and events in a journal that’s with you at all times.
• Be orderly: Keep essential articles in their own place, such as keys and glasses by the front door. Have fixed days and times for important tasks.
•Have your vision and hearing checked regularly. Seek further medical advice.
Practical techniques
•Pay attention, particularly in situations where you feel excited or under stress. Ask people to repeat information that doesn’t register immediately. Then repeat it in your own words. Note landmarks along your route in unfamiliar surroundings, such as a large building or driving through a new town.
•If you tend to forget a person’s name after you are introduced, repeat the name back, then try to make a picture from it incorporating the person in front of you.
•To remember a list, use a set of locations in your home and put an item from the list in each one. Make the mental images incongruous and exaggerated. For example, to remember a shopping list you could visualise a huge block of butter melting on your bed; a loaf of bread baking in the fireplace; or a giant tea bag in the sink. To recall the list in the supermarket, visualise walking through your home and finding each item in its strange location.
• Exercise your memory. Keep track of your money by remembering how and where you spent it since you last went to the bank.— [email protected]