Comment There is no mystery (Score 1) 684
Having your memory getting worse as an inevitable byproduct of aging is a myth. Unfortunately, it is one that has been perpetuated by a lot of bad pseudo science myths for one reason or another.
The first myth is that your brain cells die off and are not replaced. Not so. You brain follows the basic model as the rest of your physical body, "use it or lose it". Not what we are finding in modern biology. For most people, their memory gets bad because they don't use it. I am in my fifties and have found that my memory has gotten better over the last ten years as I task it more intensively.
The second myth is that the inevitable process of aging and decay is programmed into us at the genetic level and nothing can change it. Again, modern biology has shown that our DNA is actually adaptive and responds to your environment. In many cases. what are thought to be the symptoms of aging are really symptoms of lack of use.
It is true that memory mechanisms change as you get older, but then your whole cognitive system changes as well. I find that I see connections and patterns much more rapidly than my younger associates (the the point where I often wonder how they can miss something so obvious). The underlying mechanism for that is the accumulation of decades of information so that I am able to extract salient features much more quickly because of the mass of previous data I have that I can "mine".
However, the access time for specific details has also gotten a bit longer but I have noticed that my contemporaries assume they can't remember when all they are doing is not giving the recall process enough time to work. Often when I am lecturing, a name or term will elude me. I tell the students "I can't recall that person's name right now, but I'll have it for you a couple of moments." Sure enough, as I continue to lecture, a few moments later that person's name will suddenly pop into my mind.
The changes in your memory are not necessarily symptoms of deterioration, but rather adaptations your cognitive systems are making to manage large amounts of experience and make it available in different and novel ways.
As for supplements and all that stuff -- they help because they provide the raw materials for our body's constant regeneration and growth (and given the artificial nature of our food, we can't rely on getting them in our diet) BUT they are not the solution. Your memory is not going to get "fixed" by taking B12, a supplement may help rectify a deficiency but it won't help your memory. Kind of like your car won't run without gas, but putting gas in the tank is doesn't guarantee that the car will run.
Explore the work of Edward de Bono and Dr. Bruce Lipton. Interesting ideas.
The first myth is that your brain cells die off and are not replaced. Not so. You brain follows the basic model as the rest of your physical body, "use it or lose it". Not what we are finding in modern biology. For most people, their memory gets bad because they don't use it. I am in my fifties and have found that my memory has gotten better over the last ten years as I task it more intensively.
The second myth is that the inevitable process of aging and decay is programmed into us at the genetic level and nothing can change it. Again, modern biology has shown that our DNA is actually adaptive and responds to your environment. In many cases. what are thought to be the symptoms of aging are really symptoms of lack of use.
It is true that memory mechanisms change as you get older, but then your whole cognitive system changes as well. I find that I see connections and patterns much more rapidly than my younger associates (the the point where I often wonder how they can miss something so obvious). The underlying mechanism for that is the accumulation of decades of information so that I am able to extract salient features much more quickly because of the mass of previous data I have that I can "mine".
However, the access time for specific details has also gotten a bit longer but I have noticed that my contemporaries assume they can't remember when all they are doing is not giving the recall process enough time to work. Often when I am lecturing, a name or term will elude me. I tell the students "I can't recall that person's name right now, but I'll have it for you a couple of moments." Sure enough, as I continue to lecture, a few moments later that person's name will suddenly pop into my mind.
The changes in your memory are not necessarily symptoms of deterioration, but rather adaptations your cognitive systems are making to manage large amounts of experience and make it available in different and novel ways.
As for supplements and all that stuff -- they help because they provide the raw materials for our body's constant regeneration and growth (and given the artificial nature of our food, we can't rely on getting them in our diet) BUT they are not the solution. Your memory is not going to get "fixed" by taking B12, a supplement may help rectify a deficiency but it won't help your memory. Kind of like your car won't run without gas, but putting gas in the tank is doesn't guarantee that the car will run.
Explore the work of Edward de Bono and Dr. Bruce Lipton. Interesting ideas.
