How does memory loss happen: The ways that age can affect your memory

What is it that they say about "You don't know what you have got till its gone?" See I can't even remember that properly.

All joking aside though most of us seem to worry about loss of memory, at some time or another. It may just be that you are under stress, working too hard, have no relaxation time or is it that you are getting old?

Memory loss is more often than not associated with aging but it can happen at any time. If you start to think of your brain as the hard drive of a computer, it is easy to see how efficiency problems can occur.

Let's face it, usually we regularly defrag our computers, check for errors and repair the problem and delete unwanted files. This is not so easy with your brain. I will give you an example. My Mum died in 1975. To this day, some 34 years later I can still remember her old telephone number, no prompting needed. Yet if I change my computer password at work, and take a couple of days leave, my mind is not so willing to retrieve the necessary information.

Of course, it could be that I am beginning with some form of dementia. Such aging diseases often leave the sufferer able to recall the far distant past in minor detail but not to be able to remember what they said two seconds earlier. I do not think I am though, and I certainly hope that this is not the case.

What I am trying to say is that, with age most thinking people's brains are too full. All of the now useless information, stored in the brains data-banks, needs a spring clean. We need to be able to let go of what is no longer relevant, useful or even valid, in order to make room for fresh, pertinent information. This would also no doubt increase our speed of thought.

So I have realised that the old adage, you can never get too much of a good thing is, in reality, bunkum.

Our memory is a great thing when you think about it.

Images, happenings, conversations and feelings are all nicely stored away for us to utilise when we want to. There are times of course when our memory plays trick on us. We remember that it was always hot and sunny in summer when we were kids. Of course, the winters always had deep, crisp, white snow and everyone laughed all of the time. I guess then that we also have selective memory.

However, scratch the surface and painful memories are often not far away.

The death of a loved one, an illness, an accident, a frightening experience will still be lurking in your memory but perhaps subconsciously, you will chose never to see it.

I guess it is a fact of life though that, with age our memories may fail us, somewhat.

Incorrect hormone balances for example can leave us forgetful. Whether it be an endocrine problem or female hormones, too few or too many, can certainly lead your memory a merry dance.

When we are young, say aged 10, we have lived such a short space of time. Of course we do not think that we have. However your experiences by the time your are 20 will be considerably more.

What about when you are 40, have raised a family, lost a loved one, trained for a career, followed an education, had children, travelled abroad, fought in a war, survived a disaster and so much more?

Now consider what you may have experienced by the time you are 60, 70, 80, 90 and more. Added to this mass of information, your memory like all of your other valuable tools, will be a little rusty. Nothing lasts forever and, with time, everything must age, wear and die, Fact.

You can try to eat a sensible diet, keep happy, try to keep your mind active with new experiences and look after yourself but some memory loss in inevitable.

I also think that some memories need to be regularly aired in order to keep them fresh and accurate. If you have a large family and meet regularly you may reminisce about when you were young. This joint sharing of past experiences helps to keep the memory alive. Once you have no siblings and the like to remember with, these distant memories will dim even more.

When you consider just what a huge library your memory is, there's no wonder really, is there? Now what was I going to do now. Hmm. I'm sure I did not come upstairs to write a Hub. Hmmm.