CHAPTER THREE
Let’s Talk About Your Lifestyle
Your memory issues can often be due to how you live, eat, and behave.
Your lifestyle can affect how you retain and recall memories, and if you are starting to become a bit forgetful, now is the time to take a look at the things that you could change to improve your memory.
Stress is a significant factor in memory loss because when you are emotional, it is difficult to recall information. And in this day and age, stress affects everyone. Sleep deprivation is another significant factor and can affect your memory and function just as much as if you were intoxicated, which leads us to alcohol and recreational drug use.
The use of substances has a significant effect on the memory of young adults more so than in older people. This is particularly true for students in college, who often drink too much alcohol, dabble in drugs, and sleep little. This combination is hugely detrimental to how your gray matter stores and retrieves memories. Ever had too much alcohol and forgotten what happened the night before? This is because when you are that intoxicated or have a blackout, your brain cannot create new long-term memories.
Today everyone is relying on electronic devices, especially cell phones.
Everywhere you go, you see people walking along, staring at their phone. They become multitaskers, which is not a good thing for the
mind.
To multitask, your brain needs to be able to go back and forth tasks leading to short-term memory disruption. Plus, when your attention is shared across multiple things, your ability to recall memories is much harder than if you were concentrating on just one thing.
Computers aren’t innocent either when it comes to the blue light that is emitted from them. Research has shown that if you spend two hours on your tablet or computer before you go to bed, your level of melatonin, the natural sleep hormone, is significantly reduced, leading to the inability to sleep or sleep well.
Following is more information on specific lifestyle factors that can affect your memory.
Sugar in Your Diet
Not only can too much sugar in your diet affect other aspects of your general health, scientists have discovered that it can also lead to failing memory. Sugar can reduce the amount of volume in the head where short-term memories are stored.
A study undertaken of 4,000 people who have a high sugary beverage intake showed more sad memories and lower brain volumes than those who consumed less sugar.
When the blood glucose levels are elevated, blood vessels are damaged. In diabetes, when the blood vessel damage occurs, it affects the mind and the eyes. Those who have had diabetes for a long time will often suffer from issues with memory, learning, and cognitive
ability. Higher levels of HbA1c (how blood glucose is measured) has been associated with a higher degree of shrinkage of the brain.
For those who don’t have diabetes, high sugar intake is still associated with low scores on cognitive function tests. It’s believed this is because of the combination of hypertension, hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol), and insulin resistance.
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a chemical in the head that is vital in learning and the formation of new memories. The higher the intake of sugar in the diet, the lower the level of the BDNF.
This has been associated with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
Fish Oil Supplements
Many people are scared off by supplements, but this one is nothing but good for your body and your memory. This is because it is rich in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which are omega-3 fatty acids. While some fat is bad for your health, these omega-3 fats are essential when it comes to your health.
Fish oil supplements can assist with stress relief, anxiety, inflammation, slow mental decline, and heart disease. There have been several studies done that have reported that fish oil supplements and consuming fish can improve your memory. One of these studies showed that taking fish oil supplements for one year greatly improved memory scores of the 36 older people that took part in the survey.
The omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA are essential for the health of the cerebrum and the function.
Relaxation and Meditation
As mentioned previously, stress is a significant factor in memory loss, and it also has a massive impact on your general health. By learning how to relax and even meditate, you can significantly reduce your stress and anxiety levels. You may think you don’t have time to relax, or you don’t know how to meditate, but you need to learn.
Meditation has been known to reduce stress, blood pressure, and pain and improve your memory. Some studies have shown an increase in the gray matter of the brain through meditation. As we get older, our gray matter starts to decline, significantly affecting cognitive function and memory storage and recall.
Relaxation and meditation can make short-term memory better in anyone, from the young to the old. Plus, it’s a great way to help with your general health. Best of all, you don’t have to meditate for long periods; just 15 minutes each day will have a tremendous benefit to your overall health. There are a lot of different forms of meditation and relaxation exercises, so if one doesn’t work for you, try another.
Keep Your Weight at a Healthy Range
We all know that being overweight can directly affect your health, but did you know that it can also have an impact on your memory? It has been shown that obesity can change the genes related to the mind in the brain, hurting memory. Being obese can cause insulin resistance and inflammation in the body, and both of these conditions can harm the head. When a group of overweight people was tested on their memory, they were worse than others quite significantly, with a much lower memory score. There has also been a link established between
Alzheimer’s disease and obesity.
Therefore, keeping your weight down to a healthy range will improve the function of your brain and your memory, and help to prevent other illnesses that could hurt your body and your mind. Interestingly, obesity has been associated with an increased chance of Alzheimer’s disease.
Sleep Well
For those who don’t sleep well, you will know that foggy head is feeling that stops you from concentrating, making decisions, and recalling memories. Sleep is vital for our bodies and our brains, and it is essential when it comes to consolidating memories. This process is the transformation of short-term memories to long-term memories.
It is recommended that an adult sleep for between seven and nine hours each night for a healthy mind and body. Here are some tips to help you sleep better:
Coffee, Nicotine, Alcohol, Tobacco
The caffeine in coffee is a stimulant, so it’s quite realistic that if you drink coffee close to bedtime, it will interfere with your ability to sleep.
It is recommended you steer clear of coffee or any other product that contains caffeine for at least four hours before you go to bed. It is also a good idea not to smoke too close to the time for bed.
Many people think that when they drink alcohol, they sleep well, but this is a myth. You may sleep for a few hours, but then the alcohol becomes a stimulant. You will wake up more often during the night,
and the sleep quality will be reduced. If you are having a quiet drink, stick to a couple of drinks per day. For those that are going out and plan to drink, stop consuming alcohol three hours before you plan to go to bed.
Sleeping Issues
A night of good quality sleep is vital to keep your body and mind running through the day. But a lot of people don’t sleep well at all, and this can become a recurring issue if it’s not dealt with it. Young adults have a terrible habit of staying up until the wee hours of the morning, whether because they are socializing or students trying to cram in the study before an exam. Eventually, that lack of sleep will catch up with them, and their brains will be functioning less effectively.
Adjust Your Environment
You need to create an atmosphere in your bedroom to stimulate sleep.
Your bedroom should be cold, dark, and quiet if you want to sleep well. Make sure you are comfortable, with bedding neat, because if you have a messy tangle of blankets and sheets, this will make you uncomfortable during the night and lead to disrupted sleep.
To reduce any noise, try a white noise device or use earplugs. If the light is coming in through your curtains, get blackout shades or a mask that covers your eyes. When the head is alerted by light, it naturally thinks it’s time to get up.
Keep electronic devices out of the bedroom, and if you have a pet that bothers you regularly during the night, shoo it out of the room and shut the door. By only doing regular bedroom activities in the room, it
will teach your brain the bedroom is the place where sleep happens.
Preparing for Bed
There are several things you can do to make the ideal transition to sleep. You could undertake some activities that are relaxing an hour before you go to bed. Many find that taking a bath can make them tired, which is due to the way the temperature of the body rises then falls. Others may find reading relaxing or doing a bit of meditation is very helpful.
