FITNESS ARTICLES

Aside from physical health, one of the seeming inevitabilities of aging is that we get to watch our minds deteriorate. Or at least those us around have the pleasure of witnessing it. The mind can leave us in a myriad of ways, from the seemingly innocuous—and often entertaining for those witnessing the event—small lapses (Where are those damn keys? What was I looking for? I was supposed to be where tonight?) to the scary and upsetting experience of the onset of dementia in conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.

The science of the mind is a growing field, but there are still so many unanswered questions when it comes to how our brain and its faculties work. It is therefore a marriage of two kinds of sciences, neuroscience and cognitive psychology that has, in more recent decades, provided us with some very basic ideas about how functions in the brain, such as the memory, work. Much of this research is aimed at finding ways in which we can prevent or reverse the deterioration of those capacities.

How Memory Works, And Doesn’t
A healthy mind uses three major stages to activate memory. The first stage is encoding, and it encompasses how the mind receives and processes information. The second stage is storage, and it involved how we create a record of the encoded information in our brain. The final stage is retrieval, and it involves how we call up stored information on demand or as cued by a particular activity or stimulus. These processes involve several parts of the brain in combination with each other. What combinations, and how exactly they interact, is still largely a mystery, but recent studies have provided some clues.

There are two primary types of memories that we access, the declarative (or explicit) and the non-declarative (or implicit). When we consciously call up a memory, one that we can describe verbally like facts, places, people, or things, we are retrieving explicit memories. Implicit memories are those we use to learn new skills and procedures. An example of implicit memory is the motor skills we access when we get on a bicycle.

The exact process of how our brains receive, store and retrieve memories is largely a mystery, as is why some memories are stored for long term usage and some for short term, or even strictly immediate use. More than just physiology, it is believed that long-term storage is affected by a host of emotional factors such as our emotional state, our stress levels, and how our brains have developed memories and perceptions in the past.

As we age, physical factors that influence the health of our brain include the loss of brain cells and changes in the brain’s white matter. Loss of brain cells is normal, but when the loss is in areas that produce neurotransmitters, which aid in firing messages around the brain, our mental processes can slow down. Changes in nerve cell fibres in the brain can also alter the usual paths that our brain cells use to communicate with each other.

Scientists have learned that there may be more to the old adage that “you can’t teach a dog new tricks” than we may suspect. While we assume that it is our ability to retrieve memories that we lose as we age, it is actually a change in our ability to learn new information that may be the culprit. This could explain why the first memories to go are the short term ones, while long term memories reaching all the way back into our youth stay sharp and crisp. It is not that we cannot remember new information, but rather that the way in which our minds encode information changes. Rather than worry about remembering things, we would be better served finding new strategies to learn.

Natural Boosters And Supplements
There are ways that we can be good to our brains in order to make them last, and in order to help us adapt to alternate ways of learning as we age. One of the major factors in good mental health as we age is good physical health. Aerobic activity especially has been shown to keep the mind sharp, or sharpen a dulling mind.

Just as important, however, is keeping your mind in good shape. A stimulated mind is one that is always finding new ways to learn and look at things. In fact, good memory in the later years has been linked to a longer formal education. Those who develop an attitude of being a lifelong learner will have an easier time keeping their mental faculties sharp. This does not mean that you have to go back to university to stave off senility. It does mean, however, that people who challenge themselves constantly throughout their lives with new stimuli will develop a brain that has varied strategies for learning and encoding information.

Even with these preventative measures, you might need to slow down and take memory a little more seriously as you age. If you are relaxed, well-rested and focussed, you are much more apt to absorb information. You may find that you need to be more organized if your memory isn’t working as it used to, writing things down, or applying memory-aiding techniques such as repetition (repeating someone’s name several times in order to retain it), note-taking (write it down!), or even visualizing a new fact or idea in order to provide yourself with a visual stimulus to help encoding and recall.

There are many supplements on the market these days that claim to help in boosting your memory. The most popular among these is ginko biloba, an herbal supplement that is said to boost memory, circulation and the elimination of free radicals in the body. While the active ingredient in this ancient species of Chinese tree is unknown, it is especially popular in Europe as a mind-booster. It is speculated that the manner in which it improves circulation helps the healthy flow through your brain. Its anti-oxidant properties work in the same way as omega-3 fatty acids (as found in fish, blueberries, and fish-oil capsules) work to support cellular energy, providing healthy building blocks for our mental wellness.

Other supplements that are touted as being mind-boosters (Huperzine A, PS Phosphatidyl Serine, Gotu Kola, COQ10, flax seed oil, and bee pollen royal jelly) are not as well-researched as ginko biloba, but all come with the caveat that any supplements you are taking should be supervised by a doctor or naturopath who can advise you as to side effects and interactions with each other and other drugs.

Memory can also be affected by factors other than a natural aging process. Drug or alcohol abuse, or simply long-term exposure to certain drugs, can damage your brain cells and affect your neurotransmitters at a different rate than those of people who do not use these substances.

Age will naturally have some effects on your memory and mind processes. Normal effects are those described here: lapses in explicit memory functions (forgetting words, names, where you put things), and can be managed with adjustments to the manner in which you organize your life. More serious effects on memory, pointing to the onset of dementia in the elderly, will include loss of implicit memories, including mood or personality changes, and a deterioration of implicit memory processes like motor skills and orientation. If these types of changes are occurring in someone you know, encourage them to go to the doctor for testing. New research and treatment is coming to the fore every day as we learn more about the brain and how it works.