Where Did I Put My….?

The other day, I was filming an Instagram post.  I had set my glasses down on the desk because I can’t see up close worth a dickens with my glasses on.  Isn’t aging great???? Anyways, I finished filming and walked out of the room. After a minute, I realized I didn’t have my glasses on.  Where did I put my glasses???? For the next five minutes,  I looked all over the house, turning it upside down, trying to find them.  I had totally forgotten that I had put them down in the office. What the heck?  It was such a short turn around time, how could I forget so quickly?

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Another time my glasses went missing, I wandered around trying to find them for several minutes before I realized I was wearing them. On. Top. Of. My. Head!!!!  

Does this happen to you? 

Do you ever walk into a room with the purpose of doing something?  But once you’re there, you have no idea what it was you were about to do.  You walk back to where you started to see if that triggers the thought back into your brain – and, nope, that doesn’t usually work.  It’s only when you’re asleep at 3:00am and suddenly wake up and sit straight up in bed remembering why you walked into that room earlier.  Then your mind wanders into the abyss of thoughts, ideas, conversations you had, blah, blah, blah.  And you’re awake for hours.  But it’s okay, because you’re relieved you remembered!!

Brain Overload

Is this the beginning of Alzheimer’s?  Dementia? Or is the brain overloaded with so much information that it can’t retain anything further?  And could it be a matter of mindfulness or lack thereof? 

As you age, you have 50+ years of information stored in your brain, filed into little compartments.  Some data is easily accessible, others you have to dig deeper. It’s no wonder aging humans can become forgetful and not pay attention to what they’re doing in the present moment because they’re too busy thinking about 50 years worth of other things.  Hence, they can’t find their glasses or remember why they entered a room.

Lack of Remembering Scientifically

What is the scientific reason for this lack of remembering, and is it normal?  According to NIH National Institute on Aging, your brain and the rest of your body changes as you age.  This change can cause you difficulty in remembering things and you may notice it takes longer to learn anything new.  I recommend you check out an excellent infographic NIH provides showing the difference between normal forgetfulness and more serious memory problems.  

After looking at the infographic, I was relieved to see that at this stage of my life, I am forgetful, and it is normal. Please share this information if you are concerned about yourself or a loved one.

Tips To Help Your Memory

So, what can you do to help your memory as you age?  Below are 6 tips that can help.

1. Always keep your keys, glasses, purse, etc. in the same place.  So, if you step out for the evening to whoop it up, when you return home, only put them down in the place you normally keep them. Don’t throw them on the couch thinking you’ll put them away later.  Just put them in the right spot immediately.  I keep my keys on a side table in a decorative ceramic bowl.   I learned that the hard way after placing them in my coat pocket numerous times.  And then forgetting.  So, put them in the same place each and every time. It definitely makes it easier to leave the house in a hurry if you need to find your keys quickly.  Time saver!

2. Exercise.  Get that blood pumping into all areas of your body.  So, enjoy a long walk paying special attention to all that surrounds you.  Name what you see as you walk.  Birds, trees, rocks, snake….yikes!!!  Avoid the snake!  Enjoy yoga or tai chi.  Lift weights.  I personally love to dance in the mornings, listening to my favorite tunes and pretending I’m a “Solid Gold” dancer from the 80’s.  I still got the moves, even at my age!

3. Have a support network and spend time with them.  Socialize with your family and friends, coworkers, neighbors.  Good quality time spent with other people enhances intellectual stimulation and keeps your mind sharp by having to communicate with others. Being with your friends and family also kicks depression in the rear, and can reduce stress. 

More Tips

4. Learn something new. It may take awhile to learn it since the brain is changing, but stick with it – perseverance is the key! Always been interested in basket weaving?  Take a course and learn how to do it.   Have you been intrigued by people who know how to speak 4 different languages fluently?  Learn Portuguese. You are never too old to learn new tricks!  And you might as well learn lots of them!  Maybe reinventing yourself along the way.  That’ll stimulate the brain.  And heck, any stimulation at this age is a good thing….sorry, not going there.

5. Helping others not only makes them feel good, it makes YOU feel good. So, volunteer.  Take time to help in your community, at your local shelter, at your place of worship or even the local fire department.  There are so many opportunities to assist.  It can be a long term commitment or something as simple as baking brownies for a fundraiser.

6. Challenge yourself with puzzles.  From jigsaw puzzles to crossword puzzles to Sudoku.  And I have to admit I enjoy some games online such as Spider and Mahjong, to name a few.  But I do limit my time online because, according to my mom, too much time on the TV (or fast forward to current times) on your gadget, will turn your brain to mush.  And I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound too appealing.

What About Mindfulness?

These tips should help keep your brain engaged and therefore, your memory in good shape. Which means, forgetting less. But what about the mindfulness thing, you ask? Well, being in the present moment makes you aware of what you’re doing at that time.  So, if you set your keys down on the couch and are mindful of doing it, of being aware, you will remember that’s where you set them down when you look for them later.  But let’s say in the same scenario, you were distracted by other thoughts as you threw your keys on the couch.  You won’t be able to find your keys later, at least, not right away.  You’ll have to send a search party out to help look for them.

How about when you’re brushing your teeth?  Are you paying attention to the minty fresh taste and the motion of moving your arm back and forth to create the brushing movement?  Or are you instead thinking about what you’ll make the family for dinner that evening or what you need to get done that day.  Stop. Just focus on brushing your teeth.  Then later in the day, when you wonder if you brushed that morning, you’ll remember you did.  All because you were in the present moment and being mindful of it. Such a simple idea, but it works! 

Let me know if these tips and tricks work for you, I’d love to hear your feedback.  Now, where did I put my glasses this time???   

Cheers!

Kathleen

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