With this article, we hope to emphasize some causes of memory loss and create awareness about certain bad habits that should be avoided. Memory can be defined as prospective or retrospective. The difference between them is the memory loss timespan.
Prospective memory is referred to as the short-time memory while retrospective as the long-time memory. Forgetting about where your keys or phone are, is not a reason to worry about if it happens regularly.
However, you should be careful in differentiating actions that may indicate a slight clumsiness or the start of a more serious issue. The most affected category of persons by the memory loss issue is adults close to retirement ages.
This is because as you get older, your body starts to produce less regenerative cells, and the organs are slowing down their functions. Researchers think that having a healthy adult life routine may drastically reduce the incidence of dementia or Alzheimer’s.
Drinking Too Much Alcohol
Alcohol consumption increases the risk of memory losses, usually affecting short-term memory. Alcohol obstructs the brain from transferring information from short to long-term storage. Studies suggest that heavy drinkers find it hard to remember if they completed a task, important events in their life, and missed appointments. People in their golden age diagnosed with neurodegenerative diseases should significantly reduce alcohol intake or quit altogether.
Head Injury
Head injuries affecting the brain are commonly known as traumatic brain injuries. They can disrupt the memory deposit, making it harder to recall certain information. Head injuries may be provoked by falls from different heights, vehicle collisions, sports, blasts, or violence. Even though this may cause complications for people over 50, mild to moderate events may be overcome through treatment and recovery sessions.
Thyroid Problems
The thyroid is a small gland that has a multitude of roles in our body, regulating the metabolism of every organ in our bodies. Many studies revealed that both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism may cause symptoms of certain types of dementia or slowing mental activity. When the thyroid is not functioning normally, the hippocampus volume is distorted, creating fog and lack of concentration.
Taking Certain Drugs
Taking certain type of drugs as treatment or supplements for different disorders may provoke a series of symptoms such as memory loss, affect concentration levels, and may lead eventually to dementia. It is important to note that certain medications can be harmless for young people while for people in their golden years the same drugs can cause a series of unpleasant symptoms. This happens because vital organs like kidneys and liver are not the same efficient in eliminating toxic residuals as in a young person.
Some of the drugs that can cause memory issues include cardiac medications with anticholinergic properties, the medication used as treatment for insomnia or anxiety, corticosteroids, or some pain killers.
Memory loss problems are a sensitive topic for many of us and these issues shouldn’t be ignored because they will not go away on their own. Contact us today to meet a team member that can teach you how to overcome this situation and provide tools to get you better.
