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.

Pay attention!
I don’t know about you, but I can see our teacher, old Mr. Howarth, saying sternly, ‘Pay attention! Your minds are wandering!’ As I visualize the classroom filled with hot, squirmy kids on a Friday afternoon, he was probably right. (And actually, he probably wasn’t all that old, either, but he seemed ancient to his 10-year-old pupils).

Amazing, isn’t it, how easily your mind can be diverted from one thing to another, without taking in anything much. And, believe me, the older you get, the easier it is to drift off task. I wonder what I’ll make for dinner …… ooops, there I go again!

Getting distracted is one of the bad habits that I’ve learned I have to fight against tooth and nail to keep my brain alert and alive.

All the experts say that paying attention is the secret to a youthful memory.

Here are some other really useful pointers I want to share with you:

1. Will yourself to remember; actively focus, focus, focus!
2. Take an interest in what you want to remember – anything that doesn’t interest you or arouse your emotions will probably not be remembered
3. Be aware of your environment – some people find some noise in the background helps them concentrate, while others need complete quiet.
4. Practice concentration – this allows you to focus your attention on selected information without becoming distracted.
5. Consider your personality – some people are more likely than others to be anxious, stressed, or have their ‘headspace’ racing with thoughts and distractions. Having an open-mind and an optimistic attitude will help you remember.
6. Take pleasure in what you are doing – you are much more likely to concentrate on something you are enjoying
7. Develop a motivated approach – this may be looking forward to achieving a goal, of succeeding, or bringing about your personal growth
8. Be curious – the more curious you are about life in general, the more your attention is stimulated.
9. Be aware of how you are feeling – when the information you have selected has an emotional content for you – if it makes you mad, or sad, or excited, then not only will you be very ready to focus, you’ll remember clearly

Look up other articles on keeping your brain alert – we Boomers have too much to lose to be careless about our memories.

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

Shocking headline UK, 2008

I don’t know about you but I had not given a nanosecond’s thought to dementia – in fact, I wasn’t even certain what dementia was, exactly. Something to do with being demented or crazy, maybe …..

So I wasn’t exactly ready for being told that some of the odd things my Mom was doing were actually the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease, a kind of dementia.

Like she was thinking it was night time and putting herself to bed in the afternoon. Or forgetting that she had just had lunch and wondering when lunch would be ready …. that sort of thing. What’s really scary, though, is that I’ve caught myself out being a bit forgetful as well and I’m just a baby-boomer. So, being anxious to make sure that I wasn’t on a fast-track to dementia, myself, I’ve done some research.

I was very relieved to find a report In ‘Critical Care Nurse”, 2004:24, which told me about four main ways you can delay, or even better, avoid dementia altogether.

These were written up for critical care nurses – but I reckon they are pretty important for you to know, too.

All of the following were seen to be of of vital importance to avoid or delay dementia:

1. Establishing and maintaining a BMI within the healthy range (19 to 25) – this is Body Mass Index and you can calculate it. A weight loss program was recommended for anyone with BMIs at both the obese (>30) and overweight (>25) levels.
2. Reducing elevated cholesterol and blood pressure levels to normal ranges
3. Regular and frequent eating of green, leafy and cruciferous vegetables known to be associated with decreased incidence of dementia
4. Regular and frequent participation in activities that are socially, intellectually, and physically engaging

So, all you Fellow Boomers:

* when it comes to eating vegetables, green it;

* when it comes to participating in activities, move it; and

* when it comes to carrying excess body weight, lose it.

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