I expected directions, a calm voice giving me some clues …….
isn’t that what husbands are for?

Is this your worst nightmare, too?
A crowded parking lot, cars as far as the eye can see, in every direction
And, NOT A CLUE where you left yours?

Don’t you HATE it when time is against you and you can’t find your keys or your wallet!
Why does it happen?

Well, it’s quite simple really – your just weren’t paying enough attention when you parked.

Everyday you are being bombarded with information – things you see, touch, taste, hear and smell.  If you remembered it all there your brain would explode! (Well, not really, but you get the idea.)  Contrary to media buzz that urges us to multi-task every day, the human brain can focus on only one thing at a time. Not everything needs to be remembered and your brain has it all worked out how to make sure you remember only what is important to you.

Probably when you were parking, you were thinking about the shop you needed to get to, how much time you had until you needed to be driving out again and how you were going to handle your teenager who flew out of the house this morning, slamming the door.

Until recently it was believed that by the age of 50, heaps of brain cells were lost every day and that they were gone for good.  It’s true it does become harder to remember where you parked, where keys were left, names, dates or what was done two days ago.  But science has established that it’s more likely your memory powers have dulled simply because your brain (and maybe your body!) is no longer in tip top shape.

Forgetting and mis-remembering are normal parts of everyday life – at all ages.  Scientists are just beginning to understand why people forget.  From the age of 40 or 50 most people notice some forgetting.  Without regular brain exercise, the number of synapses (meeting points between neurons) diminishes so less information can be transmitted. But research shows you have the power to improve your memory, regrow brain connections and sharpen your overall brain health, and that the normal degree of changes in memory, abstract thinking, reasoning, imagination and insight caused by ageing varies from person to person

Your brain will quickly ‘forget’ anything that you have not committed to long-term memory so, if you put down your keys or wallet – or even park your car – on autopilot, without thinking, then your memory will let you down. To remember where things are, you need to focus on the item, concentrate on where it is being placed. You need to create a ‘memory trace’. There are ways to help your memory, though. Try these tips for remembering where things are:

• Always remember where your car is parked:

  Look for the closest parking spot, keep track of the number and level of your parking spot, jot this down and look out for landmarks like stores, large signs or trees. You can even take a photo with your phone if you are really having trouble with this one!

• Always know where your keys, glasses and wallet are:

  Designate a dish as your official wallet and glasses holder, keep this dish (or simply your wallet) on a table you’ll see it on your way out. Say out loud: I am putting my wallet in this dish.

  Leave keys on a specific hook and always hang your keys up there. Make a point of it. You can attach a paging or remote locating device to your key-chain. Giving a trusted friend or family member a spare might save your sanity in an emergency.

You’ll find lots more tips like these in the great new book by Allison Lamont PhD and Gillian Eadie, Seven Second Memory. And if you are ready to start our free six-day Brain Tune course, sign up now.

Is this forgetfulness normal?

Many people over the age of 50 (and maybe even younger) experience mild forgetfulness.
Although these are a wake-up call to pay attention to your brain and memory, if the forgetfulness includes:
• Forgetting parts of an experience
• Forgetting where you park the car
• Forgetting events from the distant past
• Forgetting a person’s name, but remembering it later
Then, your memory loss is mild and would be regarded in the ‘normal’ range. It’s worrying though and, in the view of Dr. Allison Lamont, the Memory Doctor, “it’s time to take stock of your lifestyle and memory habits. Memory can be enhanced at this stage.”

When Should I Be Worried?

When you should be worried though, is when your memory loss is affecting your daily living. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive condition that damages areas of the brain involved in memory, intelligence, judgement, language, and behaviour. MRI scans are now able to determine what is happening in an Alzheimer’s but, prior to this, doctors have ways of identifying when the memory loss has become more serious.

When Should I Check With My Doctor?

It’s time to check with your doctor, if you, or someone close to you, is:

• Forgetting something you have just done, or an event you have just attended
• Forgetting how to do things that you’ve done many times before, like driving a car or telling the time
• Repeating phrases or stories in the same conversation
• Forgetting ever having known a particular person
• Frequently becoming confused, or seeming ‘far away’
• Having trouble making choices or handling money
• Noticing that forgetting like this has become more frequent over the past six months.

Never accept memory loss as normal – in mild cases, you can do something about it today – check out Seven Second Memory for a memory program that works.
In serious cases, then the sooner you have an accurate diagnosis, the sooner you can take the necessary steps.

For further information, read Nine Secrets of a Sharp Brain After 55 and Keep that Boomer Brain Growing

So, I’ve been taking my memory a bit more seriously of late and I’ve uncovered a lot of myths, fiction and old wives’ tales about memory and the brain, along with the scientific facts. Here are some of the questions I’ve been asked

Q. Is my brain like a database with a file to store each memory?

A. No. Memory has multiple systems that work together to encode, store, and retrieve your memories. Different parts of your brain specialize in particular types of memory. For example, the left temporal lobe is adapted to remember verbal information, one strip of the frontal lobe processes information about movement, and the occipital lobes process visual information.
The brain is far too complicated to store all your memories in one place!

Q. Can I lose my memory?

A. Memory is not an object you can lose. Rather, it is a set of abilities that can get out of shape or be sharpened. The more ways you can learn to help your memory store information, the easier it will be to remember later.

Q. Are my memories like a photograph, accurate in every detail?

A. Memories are not like a camera shot because everything that has happened to you during the time lapse since the experience will colour and change the memory. Even the mood you were in at the time will affect how you will remember the occasion. Our perspectives are always changing. Have you ever returned to a house you lived in when you were very small? When you return as an adult you’ll be surprised at how small the house is – when you were a child it seemed enormous! The house hasn’t changed, but your perspective has.

Q. I can’t remember being a very small child? Should I be worried?

A. Many people think there is something wrong with them because they can’t remember anything until they were about four years of age, and even then the memories are fragmented. Often your earliest memories are tiny fragments of a face, perhaps special clothing, or just feel like impressions. In early childhood the brain is just developing and being ‘wired’ to be able to formulate and store memories.

Because the first part of the brain to develop is associated with your senses, the first connections you made were linking the senses. The brain parts concerned with higher thinking take many years to develop and this process doesn’t finish until late adolescence. It is no surprise, then, that you can’t remember your first two or three years.

Q. Is it true that we will all lose our memory in old age?

A, Yes and no! The answer depends on you!
Ageing universally affects all organs so there are some changes in memory and the brain as you get older. It is true you lose neurons with age. It is true the risk of Alzheimer’s increases with age.

However, a well-trained memory is resilient and shows comparatively fewer functional signs of ageing than the heart, the joints and the vascular system. All older people do not show memory decline at the same rate.

Boomers who keep rich, active lives show much less decline in both memory and thinking abilities. Many older people outperform much younger people in mental abilities, including memory. The old adage “Use it or lose it” definitely applies to memory.

Q. Is it true I can learn in my sleep?

A. There have been many companies which sell audio CDs which are supposed to allow you to learn while you sleep. The idea is that you play the CD while you sleep and you will miraculously absorb the information. The truth is, when researched, the only way the sleepers learned was because the sounds woke them up! An important component of effective learning is paying attention. Reading or studying while you are awake will bring much better results.

Q. Am I too old at 60 or 70 to improve my memory?

They can because they think they can. Virgil

A. Definitely not – the success you experience will depend upon what you do. I love the quotation from Virgil that was repeated in Jonathan Livingston Seagull: “They can because they think they can”. Isn’t that a wonderful way to live your life? With a positive, can-do attitude, and your natural curiosity and enthusiasm for engaging in new experiences, you will restore your youthful memory and probably outperform yourself at 50!

For more free help and personal advice on how your brain works and improving your memory, please visit the Brain and Memory Foundation.