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Mental Exercise

Posted on: Wednesday, 22 June 2005, 09:00 CDT

I can't remember other people's names, though I have a pretty firm grasp on my own. Which means I've forgotten my phone number.

Not remembering names can be tough, especially if you keep running into the same people all the time and suspect you gave birth to some of them. After a while, it becomes socially unacceptable to ask somebody's name because it implies they're totally forgettable.

"I tell people not to worry about their memories," says Dr. Barry Gordon, a neurologist and cognitive scientist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. "Forgetting is built into our memories. If we were to remember too much, things would get jammed up."

Steve Martin believes this is easy to understand if you realize you still remember the name of your third-grade teacher, as well as the lyrics to "Volare."

"One solution for older men is to take all the superfluous data swirling around in the brain and download it into the newly large stomach, where there is plenty of room," the comedian and writer has suggested.

Martin suggests simple games such as "Name That Wife" and "Who Am I?" to help keep the memory sharp. I'm hopeful those kinds of exercises will help me remember some of the things I tend to forget, such as not bumping into people whose names I can't remember.

Gordon says that's not really the memory I need. The memory that allows me to find my car keys and remember people's names -- is known as "ordinary memory."

Ordinary memory deteriorates as we age; by the time 50 rolls around, we have become lost balls in tall weeds. About 40 percent of Americans 65 or older -- that's 16 million people -- have age- associated memory impairment, according to Gary Small, director of the Aging and Memory Research Center at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute.

Gordon calls the what-my- keys-are-for memory "intelligent memory."

While ordinary memory is full of facts and holes for them to fall through, intelligent memory contains the connections and the meanings. And while our ordinary memories are getting worse by the minute, our intelligent memory can get stronger, he says.

Our intelligent memory makes connections, enhances focus, solves problems, works creatively and prevents mental mistakes, says Gordon, who has written two memorable books: "Memory: Forgetting and Remembering in Everyday Life" and "Intelligent Memory."

With use, your intelligent memory can grow exponentially, Gordon says.

His plan for an intelligent memory strength training program involves 15 to 30 minutes a day spent thinking, preferably in small bursts rather than one stretch.

He has lots of ideas for helping your intelligent memory, and I've added some examples of my own:

Scramble the elements or pieces of information you're using. Think backward through a process, eliminate an item, add something new or simplify. Break the problem into smaller problems and focus on one of those.

Expose yourself to new sources of ideas: unfamiliar TV or radio stations, new magazines or newspapers, random reading of reference material, Internet searches for items or people of interest. Find a person who knows a lot of things you don't want to know and force yourself to listen to him.

Do something new -- drive to work a different way, eat exotic food, talk to a stranger.

Aside from mind games, there are other things people can do to keep the most marbles for the longest time. No surprise -- it starts with exercise.

People who have been physically active between the ages of 20 and 60 have a lower risk for Alzheimer's disease later in life, research shows. A recent study of healthy adults between ages 60 and 75 found that mental tasks improved in a group taking aerobic exercise but not in a control group.

Diet matters, too. Lower-fat diets for adults may reduce Alzheimer's risk later, but certain fats are brain food, studies show. A recent investigation found that a Mediterranean diet high in olive oil is protective against age-related memory problems.

Antioxidants appear to protect gray matter, too. That means vitamins E and C and fruits such as blueberries, strawberries and tomatoes, as well as vegetables such as broccoli.

"Most of the time when people are concerned about their own memory loss, they're not actually having memory loss from the brain at all," Gordon says. "Most reasons for apparent memory loss are due to such reversible problems as anxiety, depression, overwork, stress, lack of sleep -- that kind of thing."

But when are those worries justified? Is there a connection between missing keys and Alzheimer's disease?

Nah.

If you can still make a connection between memory loss and Alzheimer's, that's a good sign you ain't got it. Gordon says most people experiencing disease-related neurological changes have no clue their memories are failing.

But he says if people around you start commenting on your crummy memory, you might have a problem.

"If you think you're having a memory problem, the odds are good that you're not. If you were really having a memory problem, you wouldn't remember that you had forgotten," Gordon says.

Don't forget to remember that.

Related quiz on Page 5B.

Text of fax box follows:

Maintaining one's memory skills

Here are 10 steps you can take to help keep your brain at the top of its game:

Step 1: Exercise your mind. Ideas include learning to play a musical instrument; playing Scrabble or working crossword puzzles; socializing; switching careers or starting a new one; starting a new hobby (crafts, painting, biking, bird-watching); learning a foreign language; volunteering; staying informed about world affairs; and reading.

Step 2: Stay physically active. Daily aerobic activity and stretching, plus alternate days of strength training, will keep you more alert and quicker on the mental draw. And chances are if you're exercising regularly, you'll sleep better, too.

Step 3: Eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. These contain antioxidants -- substances that protect and nourish brain cells. Be sure to drink plenty of water; dehydration can make it hard to concentrate.

Step 4: Develop a system of reminders and cues. Write it down. Keep a diary, use calendars, make lists. Establish a routine. Store easy-to-lose items in the same place. Complete tasks in the same order: Change is difficult and takes extra effort. Set up cues, such as putting your keys on the ironing board. Then you're more likely to remember to turn off the iron before walking out the door. Practice repetition. To help remember a person's name, work it into the conversation several times after being introduced.

Step 5: Take time to remember things. Normal aging changes the brain, which makes your mind slightly less efficient in processing new information. Forgetfulness may indicate nothing more than having too much on your mind. Slow down and pay full attention to the task at hand, whatever it is.

Step 6: Learn relaxation techniques. Stress and anxiety can interfere with concentration, so it's important to really relax.

Step 7: Keep a positive attitude. It will help keep you more alert. Research shows that people who score high on optimism have a 50 percent lower risk of premature death than do those who score more pessimistic.

Step 8: Talk to your doctor. Factors unrelated to aging or genetics can contribute to memory problems, including certain drugs, poor vision and hearing, vitamin deficiencies, fatigue, depression, stress and illnesses.

Step 9: Know your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Make sure your thyroid gland is functioning normally. These tests are easy to take, and good indicators of what's going on inside you. Older adults who keep their blood pressure in check -- and don't smoke -- reduce risk of stroke.

Step 10: Keep your perspective. You're not the only one who's driven away with a coffee cup on the roof of your car. It happens. Unless you feel it's unusually frequent, don't be concerned.

Source: Cincinnati Post

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