Improving Your Memory (15 page)

Below you will find a column listing categories. Each category is followed by a letter. See if you can find a word that fits the category and begins with the corresponding letter.

Fruit with a P (for example, plum)

Animal with a D

Metal with an I

Bird with a B

Country with an F

Boy’s name with an H

Girl’s name with an A

Vegetable with a P

Weapon with an S

Flower with a P

Here is the same column of categories followed by letters, but this time, find a word that fits the category and ends with the corresponding letter.

Fruit with an H (for example, peach)

Animal with a W

Metal with an R

Bird with an N

Country with a Y

Boy’s name with a D

Girl’s name with an N

Vegetable with a T

Weapon with a W

Flower with a T

(Exercise adapted with permission from Alan Baddeley,
Your Memory: A User’s Guide
, New York, Macmillan, 1982.)

Review in Advance: Review in Advance What You May Be Called upon to Remember.

Everyone knows the feeling of forgetting familiar information, such as a friend’s name or a well-known author. When you have to recall this type of information on demand, it sometimes takes a few seconds to bring it to mind—just long enough to cause a mental block. This experience is especially likely if you are asked to recall something or someone you haven’t thought about for a while. When you know you will be called upon to remember certain names or information, reviewing ahead of time will optimize your chances of remembering.

This technique can be used to help you keep in mind

• The relationships of the family members you will be seeing at the reunion

• The history of your medical problems when you see your doctor

• The things you want to talk with your son about when you take him to lunch

• The names of people you will be seeing at the annual meeting of your condominium association

EXAMPLES

If you are afraid you will not remember people’s names at a family reunion or other gathering, prepare ahead of time by going over a list of everyone who might attend. Writing down the names and saying them out loud is more effective than simply reading through a list. As you say the name, visualize the person and something special about him or her, like red hair or a great laugh.

If you are going to a meeting of your book club, record the title of the book, the author, the names of characters, and your feelings about the book, and review your notes before you go. You might also find it helpful to read a review of the book online the day before the meeting.

If you are going to lunch with a friend, review the names of your friend’s children and what you know about them beforehand, so you can ask your friend about them easily.

ASSIGNMENT

Think of the next group meeting you will attend (exercise class, monthly poetry class, ski club, your partner’s work party), or try to think of the names of the people who live near you. List the names below and review them several times. If you have trouble listing all of them at one time, add to the list as the names come to you.

After you have completed this exercise, consider whether the review helped you remember the names more easily. Did this technique work for you?

20
General Tips for Remembering

I remember my childhood names for grasses and secret flowers. I remember where a toad may live and what time the birds awaken in the summer—and what trees and seasons smelled like—how people looked and walked and smelled even.

—John Steinbeck

1.
Believe in yourself.
Don’t let negative expectations defeat you. If you expect to fail, you won’t even try. If you find yourself thinking, “I can’t remember names,” substitute “I may forget some names, but by using memory improvement techniques I can do better.”

2.
Make conscious choices about what you want to remember.
No one can remember everything. So put effort and energy into the areas that are most important to you.

3.
Focus your attention on what you really want to remember.
Much of what is called “forgetting” is a lack of attention. Before you blame your memory, ask yourself if you were really paying attention.

4.
Cut out distractions.
You may find it difficult to pay attention to more than one thing at a time. Recognize the
limitations of working memory, and cut out distractions whenever possible.

5.
Give yourself plenty of time.
People of all ages forget more frequently when they are rushing. In general, if you have enough time to think about what you need to accomplish, you are less likely to forget something. You may also find that you need more time for learning new information and for recalling information from long-term memory. Give yourself a little additional time and see if it helps in encoding and retrieving information.

6.
Use all of your senses.
Use as many senses as possible when you want to remember something well. When you say something aloud, you hear the sound. When you write something down, you see the words and feel the pen or pencil moving on the paper. If you want to remember the size or shape of something, use your sense of touch. Smell and taste are very powerful in triggering memories from long ago.

7.
Be organized.
The old saying “A place for everything, and everything in its place” is good advice for memory improvement. Make a decision to improve your organizational skills in whatever ways are important to you. If you routinely put your bills, keys, glasses, and wallet in the same place, you will not waste time searching for them.

8.
Recognize and deal with the factors that may be negatively affecting your memory.
In this book, we have discussed factors that can affect the memory process for people of all ages. As you grow older, you may experience more of these negative influences. Think about which factors might be affecting your memory, and look for possible solutions or ways to compensate.

9.
Ask for clarification.
If you’re not sure you fully understand what someone says, ask for further details. When you misunderstand information, it is encoded incorrectly. Don’t be reluctant to admit that you don’t understand.

10. Relax.
Tension interferes with the memory process; relaxing often lets the memory come to the surface. When you feel anxious about the possibility of forgetting, you may become preoccupied with the anxiety and unable to concentrate on recalling the needed information. The solution is to take a deep breath and relax; frequently the information will come to you.

11.
Laugh.
Laughter breaks the tension of forgetting and keeps a memory lapse in perspective. When you start to tell a friend about a book you are reading and can’t remember the title or when you begin to introduce your niece and can’t come up with her name, admit that the word or name just escaped your mind, and laugh. Everyone has had that experience and can empathize.

12.
Enjoy past memories.
Recognize the richness of your storehouse of memories. You can experience great pleasure from recalling the events and people that have made up the fabric of your life. Life review can put the past and present into perspective. Take pride in your ability to remember the past and make it come alive for yourself and others.

Appendix
Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias

About Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s (AHLZ-high-merz) disease is a progressive brain disorder that gradually destroys a person’s memory and ability to learn, reason, make judgments, communicate, and carry out daily activities. As Alzheimer’s progresses, individuals may also experience changes in personality and behavior, such as anxiety, suspiciousness, or agitation, as well as delusions or hallucinations.

Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease

In the vast majority of cases, the cause of Alzheimer’s disease remains unknown. Most experts agree that Alzheimer’s, like other common and chronic conditions, likely develops as a result of multiple genetic and nongenetic factors rather than a single cause. Age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s. Most Americans with Alzheimer’s disease are age sixty-five or older.

A small percentage (about one percent) of Alzheimer’s cases is caused by rare, genetic variation. In these inherited forms of Alzheimer’s, the disease tends to strike younger individuals.
When Alzheimer’s is first recognized in a person under age sixty-five, this is referred to as “younger-onset Alzheimer’s.”

Age, family history, and genetics are all risk factors we can’t change. One promising line of research suggests that strategies for overall healthy aging may help keep the brain healthy and may even offer some protection against Alzheimer’s. These measures include eating a healthy diet, staying socially active, avoiding tobacco and excess alcohol, and exercising both body and mind. What is good for your heart is also good for your brain, so monitoring heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol is important.

What is the difference between Alzheimer’s disease and normal age-related memory difficulties?

How Does Alzheimer’s Disease Affect the Brain?