5 Factors that Negatively Affect Memory Function

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Memory is a significant aspect of anyone’s life. Whether it is to recall something from the must-buy list to reminiscing fond memories of the past, you need a functional memory to do it. However, as we grow older, this function tends to decline especially as a result of a disease, that is, Dementia and its kind. It is therefore a terrifying idea that our years’ worth of investments in our memory banks would suddenly just vanished out of thin air.

As such, the following are 5 factors that negatively affect your memory function:

  1. Menopause

This is an issue that is obviously women’s. Good thing, however, memory issues attributed to being menopause is temporary. The issue arose as a result of the hot flashes felt during this stage that causes discomfort to women. This significantly affects the person’s quality of sleep thereby affecting her brain functions, encoding and retrieving memories.

  1. Lack of Sleep

From this point, you are probably already aware that lack of sleep affects a person’s ability to form and recall memories. In fact, studies show that sleep is critical to the strengthening of connections between neurons. If such neurons were lacking some good connections possible with sleep, people find it difficult to recall small details when lacking sleep.

  1. Thyroid Issues

Hypothyroidism, specifically, among others. With some similarity to the issues attributed listed on item #1, people with hypothyroidism have disturbed sleep which cause depression. In turn, both lack of sleep and depression cause the person to have memory slips.

  1. Anxiety and Depression

When we are anxious, our bodies release the stress hormone, Cortisol. By being anxious, however, are brains’ cell connections are being impaired by losing synapses. This significantly affects a person’s ability to recall memories.

  1. Smoking
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Studies have shown that people who smoke have lesser memory function than people who do not. The issue is attributed to the way blood flow is impaired as it flows into the brain by smoking. This is in addition to the abnormal formation of proteins in the brain that affects information relay.

While being menopause is something that is inevitable in later years of life, others listed here can be remedied with with healthy lifestyle and medications. Unless you’re an insomniac and is trouble having a good quality of sleep, an agitated individual and clinically depressed, then those, too, require separate treatments.

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