WE eavesdrop on two male friends, inside a famous coffee shop, having a conversation:
-Di ba nag-kwan kayo ni kwan?
-A si kwan…
-Sinong kwan? Yung kapatid ni kwan?
-Ano nga ba pangalan?
– Sino nga ba yon. Mamaya maalala ko…
If you go closer, you will see they are not seniors—they appear to be in their 30s. This surprises you because you presume that only seniors or aged individuals are forgetful.
I have a colleague who is in his 80s. He complains to me that he has a staff in their mid-20s who are often so forgetful that he has to keep reminding them what he told them. “Don’t forget to remember to remind me…” is his daily mantra to them.
Nowadays, you don’t have to be a senior to sound like a 60-year-old or older. More and more people at relatively young age are losing their brain functions for various reasons. Memory loss is no longer the exclusive concern of the retired generation.
People who are losing their ability to remember are not to be laughed at. It can happen to the best of us, even young people on the way up.
I once saw a Japanese film, actually a heavy drama, about an advertising man in his late 30s who is losing his memory, as he is about to rise to the top of his company. He is making a presentation and suddenly he cannot remember what he is about to say. His agency loses the bid. Later on, after consulting a doctor, he learns he is beginning to suffer the symptoms of a deteriorating mental condition. He is told to take a vacation and he loses his job, affecting his family. People laugh behind his back. Others pity him.
That was just fiction, you say, but if you are still young and healthy and you keep forgetting things too often, perhaps you need to keep note of the recent findings of neuro scientists.
Over 35 million people around the world, young and old, are beginning to show signs of brain deterioration. The day will come and we will have to open a facility to care for people who are suffering from brain incapacity.
Some studies suggest that too much use of the Internet can lead to poorer recall of information, although this has to be strongly validated. There are other factors such as constant stress, anxiety, alcohol consumption, and lack of exercise and sleep. There may be occasions when technology, indeed, could be the culprit—by constantly distracting us or luring us into surfing the Web or binge TV watching instead of getting much-needed sleep.
And most neuro experts agree that in these situations it is not that memory becomes less effective, just that we neglect it. On the average, all human beings use only 20 percent of our brain’s functional capacity. But at the rate many of us neglect to exercise the brain, it is no wonder this small capacity is shrinking even further in many people. When you neglect to keep your brain in healthy condition, it slowly withers.
You can prevent brain deterioration by exercising it regularly. The earlier, the better. And as an added benefit, you stay sharp and focused—an edge in any job that entails thinking.
A lot of people are into physical fitness. They jog everyday but they neglect to jog an important part of the body…the brain. Brain weakness is now becoming widespread, leading to dementia even at an early age. Neuro science research shows that exercising the brain ensures healthy brain, even up to old age.
To ensure that the brain works as best as it can, the mind needs to be challenged every day. Chess is one way to jog your brain. Quick games like crosswords and Sudoku, that can be played anywhere and by anyone, can also exercise the mind. Even computer games seem to be mentally helpful. These and other mind games are not only interesting and entertaining, but can also improve memory, daily life skills, and overall mental health.
There is a diversity of brain-boosting games available online that can help to enhance memory and improve mental health.
You don’t even have to solve each puzzle. Simply trying to figure out the answer, putting in the effort is what makes the difference to brain health.
There are other options. If the object is to get yourself intellectually engaged to boost the brain, then you can probably engage in non-mentally taxing meaningful activities, like volunteering or hobbies. People who are into it say they feel happier and healthier. Learning new skills may improve your thinking ability, too. For example, one study found that adults who learned such skills as quilting or digital photography or model kit assembly had more memory improvement than those who did less mentally demanding activities.
But complement your mental exercises with physical exercise. Many studies have shown that the most powerful treatment for mild memory problems is cardiovascular exercise, which can slow the rate of memory loss and even improve memory. Exercise also increases the density of brain tissues in the core memory processing areas.
Yes, keeping the mind active while you are young is essential. But as I have observed among seniors (that includes me probably) the older you get, the less you are inclined to tax your brain. But, on the other hand, research warns us: use it or lose it too soon.