Has this ever happened to you?

Misplacing your reading glasses, almost daily? Forgetting names, even of good friends and colleagues? Puzzling over why you just walked into the kitchen? Spending a big part of each day working on puzzles and games, with the idea of exercising your aging brain?

If any of these ring true, you are likely one of the many aging baby boomers now preoccupied with memory and its preservation. And maybe you’re worried that these memory lapses might be adding up to something serious. Sometimes it is, but sometimes it’s just natural aging. Let’s dive into what the experts know and recommend about memory and how we can keep it tuned up.

Memories are made in complex ways

Because computers dominate modern lives so completely for so many, they’ve given us insights into the mechanical aspects of memory.

In brief, researchers consider this crucial human function to include at least three basic parts: encoding, storage, and recall. The brain is the central player in the process. Its memory aspect is far more complicated in people than in machines. And that is saying a lot, knowing as so many do nowadays how machines can process and store mammoth amounts of information.

Humans, studies show, take note of situations and events in the world that whirls around them in multilayered ways. The brain must encode how things look, sound, and feel, potentially also noting their taste and smell. The sensations may be taken in separately. But they also must be apprehended as a coherent whole. It all occurs in a flash as the brain reacts to the world speeding by. This gets complicated, because it involves myriad specialized cells, such as neurons, and electrical-biochemical passing of signals. Further, studies show that sensory information — sight and sound, for example — gets stored in different parts of the brain.

Our master computer also decides — in ways that researchers are still digging into — whether information is needed for short-term, long-term, or immediate working purposes. Bits and pieces of people’s lives move from working and short- to long-term. As one study reported:

“When it comes to acquiring data out of storage, the process of retrieval comes into the picture. Unable to remember information can be due to the inability to retrieve that piece of information. Retrieval helps us understand the dissimilarities among [short-term memory or STM] and [long-term memory or LTM]. STM is stored and retrieved chronologically. The storage and [retrieval] of LTM on the other hand occur[s] via association. Thus, the organization of information can facilitate the process of retrieval.”

Again, because many users have become familiar with computers and their jargon, they analogize the broader categories of human memory to machines’ RAM (random access memory) and ROM (read only memory). In brief, RAM is “volatile” and involves materials the computer stores temporarily, uses in faster processes, and may experience losses when the power is off; ROM, on the other hand, is slower, less often modified and less subject to change, even when the power goes off. RAM is more for processing, while ROM is for storing.

In humans, studies have led experts to characterize memory, too, by types. These include, for example, categories for sensory memory: echoic or hearing; haptic or touch, also known as somatosensory; gustatory or taste; iconic or vision; and olfactory or smell.

Besides sensory memory, Psychology Today reports, these are some of the other major types researchers have identified:

episodic or recall of an event (or “episode”). It is closely related to autobiographical memory, the memory of information, including facts and dates, that form part of a person’s life story.

semantic is the individual’s long-term knowledge. It deals with information, including facts learned in school, what concepts mean and how they are related, or specific word definitions. This info can correspond to other memory forms, notably sensory recollections of events tied to their factual elements. This type of memory also includes facts and meanings about people, places, or things to which individuals have no direct relation.

procedural, which is the long-term recall for how to do physical and mental things. It is involved in learning skills, from basics often taken for granted to those that require a lot of practice. It is related to kinesthetic memory, the recall for physical behaviors.

prospective or forward-thinking memory that involves recalling a past intention to do a thing in the future. This is essential to daily function, ensuring that individuals tie the past (especially the immediate) to the future and execute plans and meet obligations. This is especially true when behaviors can’t be carried out immediate

Lapses in recall trace to many causes

Like all human capacities, memory can falter with age. But before folks panic about their forgetfulness, they should examine factors that cause mental mischief.

As the National Institutes of Health has reported (in a handy publication that can be downloaded by clicking here):

“It’s possible for memory problems to result from factors unrelated to dementia or normal aging. For example, medical conditions, such as depression or blood clots, can cause memory problems. These problems usually go away once the condition is successfully treated.”

The federal experts caution, too that, recall problems may be caused by head injuries like concussions. Or they may be related to tumors or infections in the brain. They may stem from thyroid, kidney, or liver problems.

Patients should examine if they are experiencing medication side effects or mental health conditions, like depression and anxiety, the NIH says. Alcohol or drug misuse, as well as sleep problems, can throw normal memory off kilter, as can low levels of important nutrients, like vitamin B12. Failing to eat enough of the right foods can cause memory issues.

Aging experts also say that:

“Major, traumatic, or stressful life events can also cause memory problems. For example, someone who has recently experienced the death of a loved one may experience strong negative emotions that leave them confused or forgetful. These memory problems from negative emotions are usually temporary and will improve as the stress and emotions fade.”

Researchers say too many people develop unhelpful practices that hinder the best function of their brains and memory. They allow themselves, for example, to be distracted and to lose focus. They need, instead, to pay attention.

(Creative kudos, by the way, to the New York Times for helping its audiences better appreciate great art with its series on learning to take the time focus on a specific work of art for many minutes.)

Computer users have experienced the maddening loss of their work because their haste causes them to skip the vital step of saving their work. Similarly, folks often fail to give their brains the best chance to create memories by muddying them with distractions. It’s easy to lose key information shared in a noisy room with lots of visual activity like flashing lights or a jumble of things to look at.

The online world is filled with memes about what cats, husbands, or wives hear versus what is said. But it is true that the way to remember a conversation well is to listen and participate in it — fully and without disruption. Negotiators know that this may become as basic as repeating or paraphrasing key points to ensure all parties have heard, have comprehended, and will remember them.

The computer savvy recognize that their machines have limits on their RAM or active memory — and humans do, too. Cruel bosses may stay up late at night trying to imagine the harshest ways to squeeze workers for maximum productivity. But increasing amounts of medical-psychological research is building a negative view of practices like purportedly hyper-efficient multi-tasking. As an editorial in the Annals of Medicine and Surgery reported:

“[D]igital multi-tasking can have a harmful long-term influence on cognitive health. Prolonged multi-tasking has been linked to decreased working memory capacity and poor executive function, which is essential for tasks requiring planning, problem-solving, and sustained focus. Cognitive impairments can have an impact on both academic and professional performance, as well as overall quality of life.”

Multi-tasking has become a ubiquitous part of life in what many are terming the digital “attention economy.” Here’s how one commentator described it for Forbes online:

“Consider this: every moment of your day, from the minute you wake up to the second you drift off to sleep, is a series of decisions about where to allocate your attention. Whether it’s opting to binge-watch a new series instead of calling a friend, scrolling through news feeds instead of engaging in a hobby, or checking work emails during family time. When we direct our focus towards one activity, we inherently dismiss countless others. These choices delineate the contours of our lives, shaping our relationships, knowledge, health, and happiness. The value of attention has never been more apparent than in the staggering $853 billion in global net advertising revenue generated in 2023 alone. The equation is simple — if they have your attention, they have your pocket book.”

With advertising, marketing, broadcasting, and online sources blaring at consumers 24/7, how do they focus and pay attention to broad, important matters like preserving democracy and protecting the planet while also getting milk and eggs on the grocery list for tomorrow’s breakfast?

When little slips add up to bigger worries

Memory loss can be more than annoying. It should be discussed with a doctor when it makes ordinary daily activities a struggle.

As the National Institute on Aging advises:

“Signs that it might be time to talk with a doctor include: Asking the same questions over and over again. Getting lost in places you used to know well. Having trouble following recipes or directions. Becoming more confused about time, people, and places. Not taking care of yourself — eating poorly, not bathing, or behaving unsafely. Talk with a doctor if you are experiencing noticeable changes in your memory. A doctor can perform tests and assessments to help determine the source of memory problems. Your health care provider may also recommend that you see a neurologist, a doctor who specializes in treating diseases of the brain and nervous system.”

Doctors and aging advocates are paying more attention to the diagnosis of the condition known as mild cognitive impairment, about which the Alzheimer’s Association has reported this:

“Mild cognitive impairment causes cognitive changes that are serious enough to be noticed by the person affected and by family members and friends but do not affect the individual’s ability to carry out everyday activities. MCI can develop for multiple reasons, and individuals living with MCI may go on to develop dementia; others will not. For neurodegenerative diseases, MCI can be an early stage of the disease continuum including for Alzheimer’s if the hallmark changes in the brain are present. In some individuals, MCI reverts to normal cognition or remains stable. In other cases, such as when a medication causes cognitive impairment, MCI is mistakenly diagnosed. It is important that people experiencing cognitive changes seek help as soon as possible for diagnosis and possible treatment.”

While major efforts are underway to improve treatments for various forms of extreme memory loss and cognitive decline — notably the feared conditions of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia — much work remains to be done. Indeed, journalist Charles Piller has raised important questions about problems in fundamental Alzheimer’s research and whether it may have mainstream medical research on a problematic track.

Researchers are coming up with diverging ideas on how grievous the toll will be from dementia-related conditions in a globally graying population. AARP reported in January on one study’s disturbing findings:

“As the population ages, the number of Americans affected by dementia — both as patients and caregivers — will rise. The study projects that the number of U.S. adults who develop dementia each year, estimated at about 514,000 in 2020, will increase to about 1 million in 2060. The risk is most pronounced in black adults. Dementia risk rose sharply with age in the study. It remained low from age 55 to 75, at 4%, rising to 10% at 80, says Michael Fang, the study’s first author and an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.”

Still, researchers at the RAND Corp. think tank in Santa Monica, Calif., revisited their projections on dementia’s potentially formidable burdens in the days ahead, finding in 2022 that:

“The prevalence of dementia in the United States is declining among people over age 65, dropping 3.7 percentage points from 2000 to 2016, according to a new RAND Corporation study. The age-adjusted prevalence of dementia declined from 12.2% of people over age 65 in 2000 to 8.5% of people over age 65 in 2016—a nearly one-third drop from the 2000 level. The prevalence of dementia decreased over the entire period, but the rate of decline was more rapid between 2000 and 2004.”

RAND researchers also have zoomed in on available data on those most likely to be affected by dementia and ideas that might be gleaned from their lives as to why they develop the condition. Their data, as reported in 2024, suggest that key factors may be in place as early as two decades before:

“An individual’s baseline cognitive abilities, health, and functional limitations are the strongest predictors of dementia, whereas parental health, family size, marital history, and demographics are the weakest ones. Having poor physical health, a stroke, lower cognitive abilities, functional limitations, and particular genes strongly predict future incidence and prevalence of cognitive impairment and dementia. Individuals born in the Southern United States face higher chances of developing cognitive impairment and dementia, even when controlling for an expanded set of factors. Other factors associated with a higher chance of developing cognitive impairment or dementia are not having a private health insurance plan at age 60, never having worked or having worked only a few years, having diabetes or a body mass index of 35 or more at age 60, never drinking alcohol or drinking excessively, never exercising, scoring low on various physical tests, being less conscientious, and having low engagement in hobbies and novel information activities.”

And let’s not forget memory’s relationship to overall wellness, brain health, and cognitive well-being. As the New York Times reported:

“In 2024, the Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention and care, a group of experts who periodically review evidence and make recommendations for preventing and managing dementia, estimated that 45% of dementia cases are potentially preventable through treating 14 key risk factors. These factors include physical inactivity, obesity, high blood pressure, hearing loss, social isolation, and depression. Because so many aspects of your lifestyle shape the risk of memory loss, experts typically don’t recommend a singular brain-boosting approach. Instead, try to combine them with different approaches, ‘such as physical exercise, social engagement, and a healthy diet, said Dr. Greg Cooper, a neurologist and the director of the Memory Center at the Norton Neuroscience Institute in Louisville, Ky.”

Don’t forget savvy work-arounds

Misinformation abounds about ways to support memory, so this is another instance of caveat emptor, let the buyer beware.

Despite the barrage of advertisements, over-the-counter nostrums lack rigorous evidence for consumers, experts say. As an online posting from Harvard’s medical school reported:

“A recent survey found that about 25% of adults over age 50 take a supplement to improve their brain health with the promise of enhanced memory and sharper attention and focus. The problem? There’s no solid proof any of them work. The main issue with all over-the-counter supplements is lack of regulation. The FDA doesn’t oversee product testing or ingredient accuracy — they just look out for supplements that make health claims related to the treatment of specific diseases. In terms of brain health, this means a supplement manufacturer can claim a product helps with mental alertness or memory loss — but not that it protects against or improves dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. This way manufacturers don’t have to back up any claim that their product is effective.”

Medical doctors, it should be noted, may examine and test patients and recommend vitamins or supplements for demonstrated deficiencies, giving patients a boost in feeling sharper and recalling better.

What about the stampede by the fretful to engage in daily regimens of online and print puzzles and games for the purported goal of boosting their memory? Well, if only it were so … This activity, experts say, isn’t harmful. Its benefits are tough to prove, so this almost ritualistic practice lacks a rousing expert endorsement. The New York Times — a near-shrine for brain games — has reported this:

“When Jennifer O’Brien, a psychologist who studies Alzheimer’s disease prevention at the University of South Florida, gives public lectures, she says she’s frequently asked if activities like crossword puzzles or word games will stave off age-related cognitive decline. ‘It’s the No. 1 question,’ she said. ‘There’s this very pervasive, common belief that if I do these types of games, it’s going to help me as I age.’ The truth, she and other experts said, is more complicated. The science on whether specific brain activities are helpful, or if some are more effective than others, is limited and hard to evaluate and other aspects of your life may be more important …Very little research has been done on whether a specific brain stimulating activity, like a puzzle or a word game on its own, can affect memory loss. And the studies we do have are difficult to interpret.”

Simply focusing on keeping memory sharp is an important step, and there are other strategies and practices that experts say have proven helpful:

Yes, it works to keep lists and notes to support recall of needed information. Don’t let them get out of hand. Keep them short and clear. They can be a key part of staying organized and allowing the brain’s processing and active-memory aspects to function optimally. Those who write a lot and must do so quickly learn the “hack” of jotting down key points and creating rough outlines. This ensures that important ideas or data don’t get lost and it frees the brain to concentrate on other tasks besides juggling and recalling large amounts of information. If confronted with large amounts of stuff to learn and memorize, break it into chunks and take frequent breaks from studying. By the way, those who missed it can take a second look at the New York Times’ laudable efforts to get folks to exercise their recall powers and appreciate the beauty of words by learning and memorizing poetry.

Stuck on a name or a word? It’s tantalizing because it’s on the tip of the tongue, right? Take a second, because stressing about forgetfulness only worsens the problem. Instead, “think around” the missing info, recalling how it fits into groups or categories that offer clues. Can’t recall, say, a modern musical work and its composer? Remember that it’s an opera. It’s about an Egyptian pharaoh. Um, the monarch’s name started with an A. Maybe the first time anyone suggested seeing it, just the thought of it caused the thought, “Oh, Ack.” Ah, the work was Akhnanten. And its composer’s signature thrumming, repeating elements, well, anyone who hammered on a wall with a window like that surely would break the — oh, Philip Glass.

The previous example helps to illustrate the value of mnemonics to enhance memory. People find that associating information with clues enhances recall. These could be sounds, sights, smells, people, situations, or locations. National Geographic reported that fans are growing around an ancient mnemonic system called loci, attributed to the Greek poet Simonides of Ceos. He “escaped a collapsing building in the fifth century B.C.E. As victims were pulled from rubble, Simonides identified them by remembering where each had sat around a banquet table.” The loci system, the magazine says, gets enthusiasts to associate items they want to recall — sometimes big numbers of things — to visual maps of places they walk through. Outlandish links can be more memorable, To recall the grocery list, for example, imagine strolling a casino. There’s a table for black, um, jack cheese. A few steps away is a game with a spinning wheel and a round ball … so don’t forget the hamburger. That game with thrown dice — it’s obvious that the association there is to bring home toilet paper …

Expert concern is rising about human memory and the rise of smart devices and artificial intelligence. People sharpen their recall with use. The more they engage in reading, calculating, studying, learning, and talking with others — well, this all benefits their memory. Experts fear that excessive reliance on smartphones, laptops, computers, and search engines, notably Google, saps human brain functions, including memory. Who hasn’t sat at a grownups’ dinner where guests spent big chunks of the evening grabbing devices to search for historic or factual information. As the online site Medium has reported: “The Google Effect impacts our thinking and memory. By acting as an external memory, search engines make us focus more on finding information rather than truly understanding it. This shift can harm our critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity. Relying heavily on digital tools may reduce our ability to remember information deeply, affecting our overall cognitive abilities … As technology advances, the Google Effect will likely grow stronger. With improvements in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, search engines will become smarter and more intuitive, changing how we interact with information. It’s important to stay aware of these changes and balance our use of digital tools with our own thinking skills.”

Recent Health Care Developments of Interest

Here are some recent health- and medical-related news articles that might interest you:

§Although the president and congressional Republicans have denied that their recently passed, whopping budget and policy bill will harm consumers and their medical care, analysts say it and other factors will cause millions of patients to face double-digit premium increases for their health insurance, USA Today and other media organizations have reported. The Wall Street Journal said some Obamacare premiums would increase by 20% or more. USA Today reported this: “Insurers plan a median premium increase of 15% for 2026 plans, which would be the largest ACA insurance price hike since 2018, according to a Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker analysis … And many working-age consumers who get their health insurance through the workplace won’t be spared, either. Benefits consultant Mercer said more than half of big employers expect to shift a larger share of insurance costs to employees and their families next year by raising deductibles, copays, or out-of-pocket requirements.” Insurers are blaming the planned hikes on “medical cost inflation, the expiration of tax credits instituted during former President Joe Biden‘s administration that made plans cheaper, and tariffs on prescription drugs and medical device imports.” Republicans repeatedly refused to extend the Obamacare support. Further, the administration will no longer fund outreach efforts to enroll the eligible in Affordable Care Act coverages. Those who get Obamacare will face new requirements to verify income and other information. The Journal and USA Today both reported that major instability is forecast for the U.S. health care system, with uncertainty due not only to tariffs but also as much $1 trillion in Medicaid funding cuts ahead.

Insurers may face further fire about how they insert themselves between doctors and patients with financial interventions in medical care, chiefly through denial of claims. The New York Times reported that it tapped private analytics firm Komodo Health to scrutinize databases with private data from “pharmacies, insurers, and intermediaries” on claims, finding: “Prescription drug denials by private insurers in the United States jumped 25% from 2016 to 2023, according to a new analysis of more than four billion claims, a practice that has contributed to rising public outrage about the nation’s private health insurance system. The report [by] Komodo Health, shows that denial rates rose from 18.3% to 22.9%. The rejections went up across many major health plans, including the country’s largest private insurer, UnitedHealthcare.” The newspaper said experts blamed the coverage rejections mostly on patients seeking to renew prescriptions too soon, though “the skyrocketing costs of popular new weight loss medications and greater automation of the claims process with artificial intelligence may have contributed to the rising rejection rates.” The analysis “does not show what happens to patients after claims are denied. Often, insurance industry officials said, replacement claims for the same drug are eventually approved. It is unclear how many people end up forgoing their medicine altogether.” The newspaper reported that doctors, patients, hospitals, clinics, and others in the medical system have grown increasingly frustrated and angry with insurers taking a prominent role in medical care. The furor has been most notable with insurers’ rising demand for preauthorization for prescription medications, tests, and procedures.

The United States has recorded more than 1,300 measles cases already this year — the highest number since the country in 2000 declared the highly infectious and preventable disease to be eradicated, the New York Times and other media organizations have reported. The numbers and spread of this outbreak — with cases in more than 38 states — has raised alarms among doctors and public health experts. Except for top administration health officials. They have, and continue, to downplay the significance of the illness’ rise and return, as well as undercutting a vital tool to battle not only this but other serious contagious illnesses: vaccinations. Why has a medical consensus long prevailed in favor of vaccines and their use in battling measles and other preventable disease. As the newspaper explained: “While measles symptoms typically resolve in a few weeks, the virus can cause pneumonia, making it difficult for patients, especially children, to get oxygen into their lungs. It may also lead to brain swelling, which can cause lasting damage, including blindness, deafness and intellectual disabilities. For every 1,000 children who get measles, one or two will die, according to the [federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]. Two unvaccinated children and one adult have died this year, the first such deaths in the country in a decade. The outbreak’s full effect on public health may not be apparent for years.The virus causes ‘immune amnesia,’ making the body unable to defend itself against other illnesses it has already been exposed to and leaving patients more susceptible to future infections. And very rarely, the virus can cause a degenerative and almost always deadly neurological condition that may appear a decade after the original infection.”

Six leading medical societies have sued Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the federal Health and Human Services department, asserting that federal officials will harm patients and the nation’s health by ignoring rigorous science and restricting vaccines, the New York Times and other media organizations have reported. The groups have assailed RFK Jr.’s decision to remove the recommendation that allows pregnant women and health children to be vaccinated against Covid-19. He said he does not believe studies showing sufficient benefit to continue the recommendation, which also allows the shots to be part of health coverages. That is incorrect and a harmful decision, say the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American College of Physicians, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and the Massachusetts Public Health Alliance. The secretary’s decision, which he took without the usual consultation with experts in the field, the newspaper reported, “contravenes years of evidence showing that pregnant women are at higher risk of severe illness, miscarriage and stillbirth if they contract Covid, public health experts said.

HERE’S TO A HEALTHY 2025 — AND BEYOND!

Sincerely,

Patrick Malone
Patrick Malone & Associates