New Cause of Memory Loss Found

Health Wellness

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Speaking with a number of older people through the years, it seems that many of them fear losing their memory. It’s bad enough to just forget a name or the right word to use or what the name of that song or restaurant that you liked so well but forgetting more important things like loved ones and daily routine activities is downright frightening.

Quite often, memory loss as we get older is considered just a routine part of aging or the early stages of some form of dementia like senior senility or worse yet, Alzheimer’s.

As one source describes:

“Forgetfulness is a common complaint among older adults. You start to talk about a movie you saw recently when you realize you can’t remember the title. You’re giving directions to your house when you suddenly blank on a familiar street name. You find yourself standing in the middle of the kitchen wondering what you went in there for.”

“Memory lapses can be frustrating, but most of the time they aren’t cause for concern. Age-related memory changes are not the same thing as dementia.”

‘As we grow older, we experience physiological changes that can cause glitches in brain functions we’ve always taken for granted. It takes longer to learn and recall information. We’re not as quick as we used to be. In fact, we often mistake this slowing of our mental processes for true memory loss. But in most cases, if we give ourselves time, the information will come to mind.”

Some of the causes of memory loss can be attributed to drug or alcohol abuse. Excessive drinking over the years destroys brain cells which can and often do lead to memory loss.

Depression has also been found to increase the chances of memory loss in the elderly.

However, researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have found another cause of memory loss that affects adults from middle age to seniors:

“Specifically, the new study linked sedentary behavior to thinning of the medial temporal lobe, a brain region involved in the formation of new memories, the researchers said in the statement. Brain thinning can be a precursor to cognitive decline and dementia in middle-age and older adults, the researchers added…”

“The results showed that sitting for extended periods of time was closely associated with thinning in the medial temporal lobe, regardless of one’s physical activity level. In other words, the study suggests that ‘sedentary behavior is a significant predictor of thinning of the [medial temporal lobe] and that physical activity, even at high levels, is insufficient to offset the harmful effects of sitting for extended periods,’ the researchers said in the statement.”

The longer we sit at our desks at work every day or when we get home every night, it’s possible that we are allowing our medial temporal lobe to thin and therefore lead to memory loss as we age. If possible, you need to get up and move around more frequently, if your boss allows. If your boss doesn’t allow, then show him or her this report and explain you are trying to prevent memory loss which could interfere with your job performance.

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