New thinking about memory loss

Memory loss and dementia is a growing concern, but there is hope. New research shows that you can grow new brain cells—even in old age.

• It's never too late to train your brain. In study after study, researchers are discovering a wide variety of brain "fertilizers."
• Brain fertilizers are activities that promote the development of healthy, new connections between brain cells and even spur the growth of new brain cells.
• These stronger connections and fresh new neurons may prevent, or even reverse, age-related memory lapses. They also sharpen thinking skills. Keeping your brain well-fertilized may even lower your risk for major problems like dementia and Alzheimer's disease. The truth is that we all need this kind of "fertilizer" more and more with every passing decade.

Brain Fertilizers

• Exercise
• Good fats in your diet
• Brain-training exercises
• Socializing more often

• It's easy to blame memory lapses, concentration problems, and slowed-down thinking on a bad night's sleep or on stress—but aging itself does affect the human brain.
• Experts at the Keck Center for Integrative Neurosciences at the University of California, San Francisco, say that the changes start in your thirties and by age 60, your brain takes in information two to three times slower than a 20-year-old brain—so the information you store in memory is two to three times less sharp and detailed.
• By age 80, you may be five to eight times slower. If you're concerned about sudden changes in memory or thinking skills—or are worried that memory problems are interfering with your ability to live your everyday life—see your doctor.

• Other factors that can affect memory include medication side effects (especially from sleeping pills), medical problems such as thyroid disorders or depression, dehydration, a nutritional deficiency, or a head injury.
• For most people, gradual mental decline can be stopped and reversed.

Be sure to see your doctor if you have these warning signs of more serious memory loss.

• A sudden or significant decline in your ability to remember facts or assigned tasks
• Repeating phrases or stories in the same conversation
• Trouble making choices or handling money
• Not being able to keep track of what happens each day
• Asking the same questions over and over again
• Getting lost in places you know well
• Not being able to follow directions
• Getting very confused about time, people and places
• Not taking care of yourself: eating poorly, not bathing or being unsafe