Anyone, no matter how young, can present the so-called “benign forgetfulness”, which is related to small accidents that occur in daily life, such as forgetting the keys in the car or forgetting the name of someone whom you greet.
However, when these become more frequent and begin to significantly interfere with daily activities, the best thing to do is consult a neurologist, psychiatrist or internist, who after an interview and a physical examination, considers whether the symptoms referred are important and specific imaging tests or neuropsychological evaluation would be justified.
The latter is a procedure that allows knowing the state of psychological functions, degree of alteration and even identifying the possible compromised areas of the brain, according to the characteristics of said alteration. “The importance of reaching a clear diagnosis is being able to offer an effective treatment, since there are etiologies that can be reversible,” says the doctor. Angela Maria Perezneuropsychologist, from Medical Center.
With the increase in life expectancy, memory loss has an increasingly high social impact, in Colombia and in the world. It is estimated that by the year 2020, some 343,000 Colombians, over the age of 60, will suffer from some type of dementia, of which some 260,000 will suffer from Alzheimer’s disease.
There are many scientific initiatives that encourage mental and physical exercises to balance this medical problem, to which no human being is exempt from suffering in the medium and long term.
Previously, older people were resigned to memory loss, considering that it was a normal process due to age. “It is true that over the years people can begin to experience failures in visual acuity, difficulties in retaining new information and in maintaining directed attention, which are correlated with a series of progressive changes in the nervous system.” says Dr. Pérez.
However, according to the specialist, these changes do not occur in a similar way in all people and it is known that they may be associated with lifestyle, heredity, intellectual capacity, activity, affective states and diseases. . For this reason, in many cases they can be prevented, we can take care of our memory, prevent its deterioration, just by making small changes to our lifestyles.
It is known, from scientific studies, that reading keeps the brain active and there are simple activities and readings that exercise our mind, such as the newspaper, magazines or learning a new hobby and even solving crossword puzzles.
The physical and the mind go hand in hand: it is estimated that those who practice daily exercise maintain their mental acuity until they are 80 years old. Physical exercise improves lung function, related to the proper functioning of the brain, due to proper oxygenation.
Physical activity increases the production of neurotrophins, substances that nourish the brain and protect it against damage that may be caused. It is not about doing extreme exercise, but that it is on a regular basis. Those who move a little every day, stay mentally sharp and are less likely to get Alzheimer’s.
Regular physical activity also prevents diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension and stroke, also related as factors that can influence memory.
A healthy diet, rich in fruits and vegetables, which leads to the prevention of overweight and obesity, is ideal for maintaining brain health. Sleeping well favors good health and a correct memory. The ideal is between 6 and 8 hours of good sleep. However, the most important thing, without a doubt, is to have a good quality of sleep: maintain a routine, avoid exercise at night and caffeine. Napping during the day is a good brain booster.
According to Dr. Pérez, the causes of memory loss or alteration are diverse, some psychological, such as depression and anxiety, which are increasingly frequent.
“Other physical, such as head trauma, thrombosis, cerebral hemorrhage or multiple microthrombi in patients with a history of arterial hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol, deficiency states such as thiamine and vitamin B12 deficiency, excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in cases of hydrocephalus and pathological aging processes of the brain or dementia, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, Lewy Bodies or frontotemporal dementia”, points out the specialist from the Medical Center.