Our human bodies are finite. Although humans can regenerate some body parts, like skin and blood cells, a person’s body slowly wears out over time. As we get older our memory declines as we age. Yet despite physical changes, scientists have found ways to keep our memory healthy and active.
The Body’s Physical Decline
Beginning at the age of 20 years old, human memory experiences normal losses due to physical changes.
In the hippocampus, the part of the brain that relates to learning and memory, nerve cells decrease by 5% for every decade a person ages.
Nerve cells are needed to maintain the nerves and synapses, which are the spaces where memory travels between nerves.
Healthy synapses allow humans to learn new information and remember past experiences.
Scientists also theorize that the brain produces less of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine as humans age.
Lower levels of acetylcholine make it harder for memories to move through the nerves, causing the memory to decline.
This may be another reason why people have a harder time remembering things as they get older.
Lifestyle can also affect memory. Damage done to the brain by a poor diet, harmful chemicals, diseases like depression and anxiety, and poor health can affect how the brain functions.
People need sleep, physical exercise, and proper nutrition to keep their bodies and minds healthy.
Use It or Lose It as the Saying Goes
As our memory declines as we age it is important to practice keeping the memory active.
A lifetime of experiences can lead people to believe they know so much they don’t need to pay close attention to new details.
However, if you don’t regularly challenge your brain to learn new things, then when you do want to remember something new, it can become a struggle.
When a person is young and in school, studying is a habit that trains their brain to be active. As a person ages, they can fall out of the practice of learning and find it hard to remember new things.
People also get comfortable with the routines of their lives. You have been exposed to hundreds of thousands of words, concepts, and ideas throughout your life.
But as you age, you may give up some areas of knowledge because they are no longer important to you.
What you cared about as a young person, like the name of the latest bands or the price of groceries, may no longer apply as you get older.
If you don’t listen to music as often as you age or now make enough money to buy things that aren’t on sale, the information you once remembered easily will be harder to remember now.
What You Can Do to Improve Memory
Despite the physical and mental changes to your memory as you age, there are things you can do to keep your memory active and healthy.
Researchers suggest these ways to sharpen your memory:
- Use Rewards and Challenges for Learning
- Physical Exercise
- Mental Stimulation
Train your brain to learn and remember by using rewards and challenges. Try learning how to cook a different type of food and reward yourself with making new meals.
Study history before taking a trip to a new state or country.
Stay relevant and work by participating in seminars or classes and learning new techniques or systems.
When something has meaning to you, through rewards and challenges, you are more likely to remember it.
Physical exercise is vital to your memory too. Regular exercise increases oxygen flow to your brain and raises the levels of stress-relieving hormones.
Exercise also reduces your risks of cardiovascular and other diseases. As well, exercise and physical health are key components of a healthy memory.
You can also help stop your memory from faltering as you age by getting enough mental stimulation.
You can create the best life possible by using brain games, taking a class, and trying something new helps keep your mind active and sharp.
Scientists have found that rats exposed to increased mental stimulation had larger brains than rats who weren’t exposed to increased mental stimulation.
Finding ways to challenge your brain and stimulate your mind has benefits for your memory.
Aging may create physical and lifestyle changes that can cause memory to decline, but you can also fight memory decline.
Although memory declines as we age, staying healthy, physically, and mentally, can improve your ability to remember.
Preserve Your Memory With These Tips
Does it seem like the older you get, the more you forget things? Even though memory declines as we age and occasional memory lapses are normal, we can still fight this issue.
Pay Attention
According to psychologists, distractions during learning make it harder for people to remember new information.
As you get older, you may have multiple distractions in your life.
A busy schedule full of children’s commitments, work obligations, and daily responsibilities can make it hard to concentrate on learning something new.
Researchers at the University of Florida state that your short-term memory can get overloaded with too many competing distractions, making it harder for your brain to capture new information into long-term memory storage.
Being mindful and staying in the moment can help to train your brain to accept and remember new information.
Meditation is an excellent way to practice mindfulness. You can learn to shut out external and internal distractions, like fear or low self-esteem, so the memories you need are preserved in your brain.
Structure Information
It’s easier to remember new information when you relate it to something you already know.
To preserve your memory, structure new information as additions to what you are already familiar with and understand.
If you’re trying to figure out how to make a new computer program work, reminding yourself of previous programs you’ve used that were similar can help you make a connection to the new information.
Do you have a new smart appliance? Think about how you operate your phone or computer and structure the instructions for the new machine into what you already understand.
Use Challenges and Rewards
Your brain needs stimulation to work effectively. Challenge yourself to learn something new every day, like a new word or a historical date.
You can also challenge your brain by exposing it to new information by reading a book or article on a subject you’re unfamiliar with or by watching a documentary or How To show.
Stretching your brain’s memory by trying new activities and finding new interests.
When you learn something new, preserve your memory with a reward.
Hang the certificate you earned for taking a seminar, plan a movie night after setting up your new home theater system, or invite friends to dinner when you learn to cook a new dish.
Rewards help preserve memory by making the new information meaningful and pleasant for you.
Exercise Your Body
Physical exercise offers many benefits to help preserve your memory. Exercise increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain.
It also releases stress-fighting hormones that keep your mind calm and ready to learn and remember new information.
A healthy body supports a healthy mind and a healthy memory.
Health experts have shown that there is a link between physical exercise, health, and disease.
By being healthy and active, you lower your risk of many illnesses, like heart attacks and diabetes.
Staying healthy physically gives you the strength and focus you need to learn and remember more.
Increase Your Mental Stimulation
Perhaps you’ve heard the adage; moss doesn’t grow on a rolling stone. Increasing your mental stimulation keeps your brain active and helps you preserve your memory.
Studies show that increased mental stimulation helps you make better information connections and keeps your memory stronger and more precise.
If your days always seem routine, you watch the same TV shows every week, and you rarely travel or attend events, you may not have enough mental stimulation to preserve your memory well.
If you don’t practice making mental connections, your memory will fade.
Add mental stimulation to your life by changing your routine and taking a new route to work.
Watch or read something about a subject you’re unfamiliar with now.
Adding fresh information helps keep your memory active.
Talk to new people or attend an event like an escape room or game night to put your knowledge and memory to use.
How Memories Form and How We Lose Them Video:
Yes, memory declines as we age but you can preserve your memory even as you age.
Pay close attention to new information and limit distractions. Structure new information with what you already know and use challenges and rewards to keep your memory sharp.
Make sure to include plenty of physical exercises as well as increase your mental stimulation by trying new things. It’s the best way to be able to life your best life.
