The puzzle has formed: how to keep a phenomenal memory until old age
"Everyone complains about their memory, but no one complains about their mind," said French writer and philosopher Francois de La Rochefoucauld. Meanwhile, memory directly depends on mental activity and on how effectively our brain is resting. What promotes memorization, why it is impossible to prepare for the exam the night before the test and whether it is possible to sew on the memory — in the material of Izvestia.
What kind of memory is there
There are different classifications of memory types, but most often this function is evaluated by the duration of information storage. Sergey Tarasov, a psychiatrist at Dr. Isaev's Clinic, notes sensory, short-term, operational and long-term memory.
—The sensory system captures incoming information (visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile stimuli) for a fraction of a second before this memory becomes short—term," says Sergey Tarasov. — Short-term memory has a limited volume and stores information for only 20-30 seconds. It does not process the data, but simply "delays" it for a short time. For example, a person hears someone's phone number, but soon forgets it unless he writes it down or repeats it to memorize it.
Operational (working) memory is an active system that not only holds information, but also processes it, says the psychiatrist. It allows you to perform complex cognitive tasks such as analysis, comparison, and problem solving. For example, when a person multiplies 27 by 4 in his mind, he keeps the numbers in his head and performs calculations at the same time. And long-term memory stores knowledge, memories, and skills for years and decades. This type includes professional memory.
"There are also different ways of remembering,— Tarasov continues. — Associative memory connects new facts with already known ones. With the help of emotional memory, vivid events are remembered better due to the work of the amygdala, an area of the brain also called the amygdala. Motor memory helps us to clearly repeat dance moves and sports techniques.
What is amnesia?
An interesting fact is that short-term memory works more actively under stress, while long-term memory may suffer, notes Sergey Tarasov. In such cases, they say: the memory is gone. And if you analyze this expression literally, then the ability to remember often suffers from a blow to the head.
— With a traumatic brain injury, the nervous system experiences a traumatic stress situation, and a person may develop amnesia - memory loss. Retrograde amnesia is usually distinguished (when a person forgets what happened to him before the injury) and antegrade amnesia (the patient does not remember what happened at the time of the impact and for two or three days after it), says Associate professor of Osteopathy at I.I. Mechnikov Northwestern State Medical University neurologist Vladimir Belash.
Retrograde amnesia is familiar to most Russians only from TV series. The plots are based on the fact that the hero of the film forgets everything that happened to him before, does not even recognize close relatives. In everyday life, memory loss for a long period of time is rare. Usually, a person does not remember what happened an hour or a day before the injury.
With both types of amnesia, it happens that the memory is restored, but sometimes it is not possible to return it.
— In my practice, there were people who spent a week in a coma after a serious injury, received treatment, and when they woke up, it turned out that they had completely lost their memory of the events that preceded the injury. They didn't even remember who they were, they didn't recognize their relatives and friends. They had to start life from scratch," says the neurologist.
In the series, in this case, the memory still returns to the person under the influence of some emotional events. Such things happen in medical practice.
— A certain trigger that is relevant for a particular person can bring back memories. Sometimes the recovery mechanism is triggered by a melody, a smell, or an accidentally uttered phrase. The same is true of memory in general: we can recall a whole range of events from our lives under the influence of a single moment," says the neurologist.
Organic diseases also negatively affect memory: birth injuries, neuroinfections. In particular, the memorization process is disrupted by the coronavirus, which can affect the functioning of the central nervous system. According to the neurologist, the vast majority of patients who have undergone covid manage to regain satisfactory performance. But some people still have serious problems — they have difficulty learning new material, they constantly forget everything.
Sergey Tarasov also draws attention to the fact that age-related changes affect memory, since the effectiveness and number of neural connections naturally decrease over the years. And, of course, the ability to memorize and analyze information is affected by bad habits: alcohol abuse, smoking and drugs.
— Chronic overwork and emotional overstrain also negatively affect the processes of memorizing and reproducing information. Poor nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle harm memory, as a deficiency of important trace elements and lack of physical activity contribute to the deterioration of cognitive functions," Tarasov comments.
The neurologist emphasizes that if a person does not sleep enough, the process of memorizing, processing information and transferring it to long-term memory cells slows down.
— One of the most important recommendations for students and schoolchildren is not to sit all night before the exam, but to go to bed early. If you do not rest, the process of transferring this information into long-term memory becomes more difficult. Therefore, it will be more difficult to use knowledge in the exam," warns Vladimir Belash.
The processes of memorization
Age, of course, affects the processes of memorization. But it is impossible to sew a memory by sewing something on yourself - this is just a figurative expression from the category of superstition, the expert reassures. But the habit of tying a knot in memory helped our ancestors to remember the necessary information in time. For this purpose, modern people draw a cross on their hand, circle a number on a calendar, or set a signal on their smartphone.
"This is how we create an additional "anchor" for some short—term memory events, so that later, by looking at this sign, we can extract the event from short-term memory and transfer it to long—term memory," the neurologist comments.
Some people memorize information by counting rosaries, twirling a pencil or marbles: rhythmic movements help them focus on memorization. If you then pick up this very object, then the necessary information will pop up in your memory.
It happens that a certain event is accompanied by an outburst of joy or a negative reaction, and then a piece of short-term memory can be fixed and transferred to the long-term category. Sometimes the opposite happens: processes stored in long-term memory slowly begin to fade if they are not used. However, when you need to regain your old knowledge, it will be much easier to restore it than to re-learn something.
— For example, if a person rode a bicycle in childhood, and then forgot about this activity until the age of 40, then the forgotten motor memory will help him to master the forgotten skill faster than if he studied from scratch. If there are any clues left, the brain will overlay new information on the memories," comments Vladimir Belash.
How to save memory
Audials are better able to remember the data they have heard, visuals are more interested in "watching", and kinesthetics need to touch something to consolidate the information.
— Most often, people train those types of memory that are associated with their work and daily activities. If we take, for example, the training of osteopathic doctors, then in the first year the distribution between kinesthetics, audials and visuals is approximately equal. And by the fourth year of study, the absolute majority passes into the category of kinesthetics," comments Vladimir Belash.
On this basis, it can be concluded that memory is trained depending on professional request and daily actions, the expert emphasizes.
In order for memory to be good, doctors advise first of all to develop speech. In childhood, this is helped by the improvement of fine motor skills of the hands and the constant acquisition of new information.
— From an early age, the child's brain is extremely plastic, and it is during this period that the foundations of cognitive functions are laid. To stimulate memory development, it is useful to read and tell stories. An active acquaintance with literature helps to expand the vocabulary and improve the ability to memorize," adds Sergey Tarasov.
According to the psychiatrist, games and creative activities are important: puzzles, construction kits, musical games and drawing. And regular communication with parents and peers develops both emotional and working memory. Familiarity with a foreign language has a positive effect on the development of neural connections at an early stage.
— If a child spends all day "sitting on the computer," then the brain will not develop. You need to go to theaters, read books, listen to music, and then discuss all this with children, so that they can express their impressions in words. Then the brain turns on, remembers and analyzes the information," comments Vladimir Belash.
Brain exercises
Small memory lapses may be a normal reaction to fatigue or temporary stress. However, the psychiatrist recommends paying attention to signs that indicate serious problems.:
— constant and progressive difficulties with remembering even simple and familiar tasks;
— impaired ability to orient oneself in space and time;
— significant changes in behavior, mood, and social functioning;
— problems with speech, understanding, or performing previously learned skills.
If such symptoms occur, it is necessary to consult a neurologist or psychiatrist for diagnosis.
— Scientists compare the brain with muscles. If the muscles are not trained, they gradually become flabby. Accordingly, if we don't pump our brain, then it doesn't really develop either. The stress on the brain is something new, unusual for it, something that requires constant processing," explains Vladimir Belash.
To prevent the brain from aging longer and the memory from failing, it is necessary to read new literature, preferably complex, learn foreign languages, watch "difficult" films, communicate with strangers, try new dishes, listen to different music. From the point of view of a neurologist, it is good even to go to work in different ways, if possible.
— As soon as daily activities turn into a routine, the brain begins, figuratively speaking, to get sick. But when something new is introduced into this stagnant swamp, it turns on and starts working more actively," says Vladimir Belash.
The more we load the brain, the more information remains in it, summarizes the neurologist.
— Modern research in neuropsychology confirms that regular memory exercises really improve cognitive functions and even reduce the risk of dementia. However, it is important to train different types of memory: short—term, working, long-term, as well as spatial and associative," continues Sergey Tarasov.
Verbal memory is trained when a person learns poems, song lyrics, and foreign words by heart. But it is useful not only to memorize lines, but also to pronounce them out loud, to connect words with images.
— To train visual and spatial memory, memorize the location of objects in a room, and then reconstruct them in your imagination. In chess, play the games in your head, analyze the combinations. In card games (poker, bridge), keep an eye on the cards that come out. In "Memory" (the game of memorizing paired cards), visual memory develops, the psychiatrist suggests.
All these activities activate the brain, improving both short-term and long-term memory, and help maintain the activity of neural connections. To achieve the best effect, it is important to alternate tasks, because the brain likes novelty.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
