Losing your memory is certainly an alarming, scary and frustrating situation not only for yourself, but also for the people around you too. It can also be a symptom of the onset of Alzheimer's disease or Dementia which are brain degenerating conditions that will cause a slow but steady deterioration of your memory, thinking prowess, reasoning and cognitive skills thus negatively affecting your daily activities and the quality of your life.
 

It may be quite normal to be forgetful once in a while, but when you are forgetting things more and more regularly and this is beginning to form into a regular pattern, then the red flags must be raised and remedial actions are to be taken immediately before the problem takes on a bottomless downward spiral.

So do take notice when memory lapses are becoming more often such as that you have forgotten to bring your car keys out yet again, forgotten to take your pet dog out for its evening walk time and again or that you have already bought your groceries, but found yourself in the grocery store yet again or that people around you are always commenting that you have a bad memory. If this is happening to you, then you could jolly well be suffering from amnesia and it is about time you seek help from your medical professionals. Oh, have you even forgotten to see your doctor?
 

Some memory losses develop slowly over a period of time whereas others can and do happen very suddenly. Whereas some types of memory losses are reversible while for some others, the patients have to live with it for the rest of the person's life.

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Most people will develop some form of memory losses as they grow older with age. Our brain cells begin die off gradually as we get older with age and our bodies produce lesser and lesser amount of the chemicals which are vital for the preservation of a healthy memory system.

In most people, these minute but natural memory losses and these lapses do not usually affect their ability to carry on with the normal course of living. At least not at the moment just yet. So preventive action must be taken before the memory erosion becomes more acute and the brain begins to degenerate at a much faster rate. This will be the moment when potential trouble starts. You certainly wouldn't want that to happen to you, wouldn't you?

















                                           





















The good news is that there are ways in which you can prevent memory losses or at least retard the declining mental process and here are some ways in which you can arrest memory degeneration and make better improvements to it instead.






1) Get More Sleep - Do get enough sleep and more whenever possible. Continuous sleep deprivation will impair your cognitive abilities, brain function and memory retention ability. Numerous studies have shown that when you are sleeping, your brain is also sorting out and storing new memories and information, just like a computer software update. After all your brain is a super computer, isn't it?

Therefore when you are not getting enough sleep, your brain will have difficulties in storing and recalling information as effectively as you normally would have. To add to further woes, no amount of so called "catch up" sleep will be able to recall back those lost memories since they were already permanently deleted from your brain's trash folder and are no longer in the its filing cabinet.

2) Be Socially Active - Start mingling with more people more often and make more friends. Join social clubs and be engaged with their social activities regularly. Meet up and chat with your friends as often as you can. You can also meet up with people in a church or places of worship of your choice.

When I said meet more people, I certainly don't mean chatting by computer such as in Facebook or phone apps, but physically catching up with them. This is because when you are talking and interacting with people, your brain is managing several functions simultaneously.

 

This is because you will need to follow and understand what others are saying, logically decipher what was being said to you and then you formulate and articulate a logically cognitive response to the other person. You are actually exercising your brain functions and processes when you are doing these things unconsciously. In other words, your brain is hard at work in receiving inputs, analyzing them and then responding by presenting your outputs. 

As such your brain is being continuously trained in recalling the past experiences, observations, circumstances, facts, logic and going through the process of thinking and this will boost the recollection of thoughts immensely as your brain digs deep into its rich archives to bring out those memories in response. So you are constantly challenging your memory and exercising it and therefore keeping your brain cells active, nimble and sharp. 

3) Use Your Memory Actively - It is as simple as if you don't use it, you will lose it, isn't it? So play jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles or any problem solving puzzles often to stimulate the power of recollection and thought analysis. Take different routes to your usual destinations so as to make your brain recall which route and direction to take and the way to get there.

Learn how to play a musical instrument or learn a foreign language to force your brain to absorb new information and store them in its memory bank and then to retrieve the information efficiently when they are needed to be used like in a music performance or having a conversation in the new language. It can be fun, I assure you. 

 

4) Eat Healthily – Eat healthily with a well balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables so as to provide good nutrients to your brain as well as your entire body. Choose low-fat protein like fish and lean meat over the fatty meat. Drink plenty of water and avoid alcohol as alcohol affects your brain function negatively as it can kill off your brain cells. Heavy drinkers often suffer from brain degeneration conditions and some even severely.
However, you need not avoid alcoholic beverages totally unless you choose to.
 

5) Regular Exercise – Exercise improves blood circulation throughout your body and to the brain. Go for brisk walks, climb the stairs instead of taking the escalators or elevators and even do some weightlifting to build muscles.

Credible studies have shown that regular exercise can lead to a more robust memory and a much sharper cognitive function. It is a known fact that regular cardiovascular exercise can vastly increase the volume of your brain's hippocampus. The hippocampus is a component of your limbic system (paleomammalian cortex) and have an important role in the consolidation of information stored in your brain's archives. So exercise more to boost your brain power!

6) Remove Stress And Anxiety - Stress and anxiety can cause havoc and mayhem to your memory. One way to avoid stress is to laugh more often. Laughter not only reduces stress, but can also uplift your short-term memory. So watch more lighthearted funny comedies and start laughing. After all, laughter is the best medicine, isn't it?

Go for leisurely walks in your neighborhood parks and gardens, take in the fresh air and enjoy the nature. Take up yoga, Taichi or meditation classes to release stress. If you can afford it, go on pleasurable vacations to scenic or natural locations to take in the new refreshing sights, smells, and fresh air. The idea is to just let your hair down and do anything that can take away your stress and anxiety. In other words, just let go of yourself.

7) Take Supplements - Take health supplements to nourish and improve brain health such as omega-3 fish oil, Resveratrol (which can also be found in red wine), Ginkgo Biloba, Vitamin D, Creatine and so on. There is also an all natural brain nourishing supplement developed specifically memory retention and improvement known as the Brain Pill.
 

The Brain Pill is a potent blend of active ingredients scientifically formulated to intensify blood circulation to your brain. Vital nutrients are then transported to your brain in order to keep the flexibility and nimbleness of the mind and thought processes, so that you can have a sharper and cognitive mind. Consumers of the Brain Pill has reported having improved memory, sharper cognitive skills, quicker memory retrieval, clearer focus and more vigor in thinking.

Read how The Brain Pill can prevent memory loss and improve brain power now.






1) What are the types of memory losses? - There are many categories of amnesia. Here are just a few of them to consider.

a) Childhood amnesia or Infantile Amnesia - This is when patients are unable recall their early childhood days and experiences. This condition is usually as a result of aggressive child abuse when they were just kids. Their brains simply block out the tragic memories as a form of self defense. This theory was first proposed by Sigmund Freud.

In other cases, certain brain functions may still be undeveloped during their growing up years way back then and that may be why their childhood experiences were not registered. In fact most of us will have some form of childhood amnesia because we can hardly remember our experiences before the age of around 5, isn't it?

b) Transient Global Amnesia - This is when the patient forgets almost everything in his life, even events that occurred recently are also forgotten. However, the patient probably can remember who is he or she is and may also be able to recognize people he or she knows. This mental disorder usually happens to people in the middle age onward.

The good thing is that transient global amnesia is quite rare and is quite unlikely to recur once the memory is restored again. Since it is transient, the memory loss is only temporary in effect and most patients will get their memory back within a matter of days or even less. Although transient global amnesia is not a serious mental condition, but it can be rather scary since it can happen quite suddenly.

c) Anterograde Amnesia -  This occurs when the patient can remember situations and experiences from the distant past, but forgets things that happened recently. He or she may also have difficulties in learning new things and creating new memories and as such, will have difficulties working and socializing since the creation of new memories are impaired.

This disorder is caused by damage being done to the memory retention components of the brain. Sometimes the memory impairment may be only a temporary episode, but at other times it can be permanent. 

d) Psychogenic or Dissociative Amnesia - This condition is also sometimes known as functional amnesia. The patient completely forgets most or all information about himself or herself. The patient may even forget his or her own name, personal history, friends and may even take on an entirely new personality and identity believing and acting like he or her is indeed someone else.

This mind disorder usually derives from a reaction to severe stress or psychological trauma such as in a war, traumatic accidents or major disasters. The person may have suffered the stressful incidents himself or just simply being an eye-witness to the traumatic and tragic incidents that has occurred. Is this a real life case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde?

Thankfully, psychogenic amnesia patients usually respond quite positively to medical and psychological treatments and quite often even come to full recovery. The recovery rate will very much depends on the support the patient gets and whether or not the patient is able to resolve or come to grip with their emotions about the traumatic incidents that are causing the symptoms.

e) Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) - When a patient is diagnosed with MCI, it will mean that he or she is losing memory much more rapidly than the usual loss of memory due to the aging process. However, the patient will still be able go thru the daily routine as MCI is not grim enough to curtail the person from day to day activities as it is a gradual memory loss in several stages.

On the other hand, the patient may have his or her language ability compromised. Cognitive abilities such as the sense of judgement and logical reasoning may also be eroded. Sometimes the MCI condition will even degenerate into the Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

f) Dementia - This is a condition which usually affects adults especially the elderly causing severe memory loss and brain function degradation which can seriously affect a person's life. Having dementia is not part of the aging process as is commonly thought to be as it is an illness. Alzheimer's disease falls under dementia.

It is usually caused by the brain cells dying faster abnormally and thus the person's intellectual and mental ability is seriously curtailed. The condition can develop into a situation when the patient is like an invalid zombie unable to socialize or even taking care of himself or herself and as such, having a caregiver is a necessity. 


2) How do I prevent myself from losing my memory? - You can prevent or at least slow down the loss of memory by leading a healthy living lifestyle such as stopping smoking, avoidance of alcohol, drug abuse and at the same time reducing the risk factors that can lead to the development of amnesia such as cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, stroke and diabetes.
 

Being more physically active and having a regular exercise program helps your blood circulation to the brain more efficiently and keeping it healthy and sharp. Having a well balanced meals with plenty of leafy vegetables will supply enough nutrients to the brain.

Always keep the brain active like reading, playing thinking games like crossword and jigsaw puzzles, learning new skill sets such as learning to play a musical instrument or a new language etc in order to stimulate the brain cells and thus preventing it from degenerating.


3) What are the herbal supplements that can help me to boost my memory? - The herbal supplements that are about to be mentioned in the answer are recommended by Chris Kilham, often also referred to as The Medicine Hunter.

Schizandra is a speice of wild berries mostly found in northern part of China and certain regions of Russia and is being made into a supplement form which is available in most health supplement stores. There are quite a few clinical trials done showing that the schizandra berry supplement can help to enhance one's memory prowess, thought processes, thought formation and mind clarity. 

Besides having a positive effect on your mental health, the active ingredients in the berries are also said to have some positive effects on our cardiovascular health, immunity system and physical energy levels. There are even claims that the schizandra berry can even help to prevent certain types of cancers, however there are no conclusive evidence on this aspect.

Another natural herbal supplement that may improve your memory power is the humble American ginseng, which has proven to have memory enhancing properties. The main active ingredient in the American ginseng root are the ginsenosides which is useful in combating inflammation. The ginsenocides is said to be able to improve spatial learning and hippocampus related brain functions. The hippocampus is a part of your brain that manages learning, memory archives and clear cognition in the thinking process which will thus help to prevent erosion of the memory and even improving on it.

The Rhodiola Rosea herb which can be found in some mountain ranges across certain regions of Asia and Europe. It is sometimes also known as the Arctic root and is now consumed as a health supplement for many health benefits such as relieving stress, tiredness and improving certain brain functions. It may also help to strengthen the memory, thought sequences and processes as well as the ability to concentrate better on matters.

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