Short Term Memory Loss. Let Me Sleep On That.
I’ve just come back from the store where I spent nearly two hours trying to decide which skirt to buy. Would you believe it? I narrowed it down to two but then my brain seemed to go completely blank and I couldn’t remember all the items I already owned that would go with each skirt. So, I left the exasperated assistant with the items to put on hold for me until the next day. And, you know, that’s often the best way for those really big decisions! Read more…
I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard a lot a dumb things said about memory. Until I did a lot more study, I didn’t know what was true and what wasn’t – and, in truth, I didn’t really care! The other day, though, I was signing some checks when the phone rang. I chatted to my friend for a few minutes or so, arranged a time to meet for coffee, ended the call then promptly signed the next check with my friend’s name. I couldn’t believe it. What was I thinking of and where was my memory when I needed it? 
From birth through to death your brain will file away enormous amounts of information: facts, faces, sounds, names, and events along with the emotions that are tied to them. Your ability to create new memories, store them, and recall them when they are needed allows you to learn and interact with others.
It seems a long time since I was in grade school but I can remember having a science class where the teacher handed round a model of a human brain. It looked kind of creepy and I wasn’t keen to touch it. But I can still hear him talking about how we, at about eleven, had all the brain cells we’d ever have in our lives. Not only that but we’d lose about 10,000 of them every day. I had visions of me losing cells all over the classroom and my house! 
Have you had trouble remembering passwords or the time and location of an appointment you made a week ago?
