Causes of Memory Loss - How to Prevent It

Do you ever forget things? Your Key? Names of people you've just met? New vocabulary? phone numbers? If so, you probably think you have a bad memory. The truth is, your brain is extraordinary.

In fact, you could fill it up with all the information in the world, if you use it the right way.

Read: Neurons in The Brain - Long and Short Term Memory

For many elderly people, this situation becomes frightening because it increases the chance of suffering from Alzheimer's. However, this disease isn't the only health problem that can make you forget something and contrary to what many imagined people of any age can be affected.

Causes of Memory Loss

There are three types of dementia you can develop in your lifetime there's classical Alzheimer's disease where you lose the memory chemical and beta-amyloid plaque builds up and strangles the nerve cells and on the inside of the nerves you build up these neurofibrillary tangles which is very serious.

There's also vascular dementia where you clog your arteries up through usually if you poor dietary and lifestyle behaviours and our blood and oxygen and nutrients can't get to certain parts of the brain because you clog the arteries in your brain. Then there's a mixed kind of dementia which sort of a combination of Alzheimer's.

The most common ways that you end up with memory loss as you get older there are other some things that can lead to memory loss. Parkinson's disease there's a memory loss component a vitamin b12 deficiency can lead to memory loss and of course just clogging up your arteries.

The other thing to know is that after the age of 55 the brain has trouble making in the optimal amount of the brain chemical called acetylcholine. That leads to some cognitive impairment at almost all of us even if we don't get Alzheimer's disease, but there are some dietary and lifestyle things you can do to maintain those levels of acetylcholine.

All the Alzheimer's memory loss is particularly devastating because all Alzheimer's disease as a type of dementia that really is usually terminal and even though the progression of the disease varies from person to person you know usually you know within seven years on average the person's life has become to an end as a result of it.

With progression the classic science confusion disorientation mood changes irritability aggression trouble with the language then of course long term memory loss sets in you stop recognizing even family members and this is where it becomes really heartbreaking.

Gradually bodily functions start to shut down and usually, it leads to the person's demise how common is the problem Alzheimer's disease is the sixth leading cause of death in this part of the world. One in eight people over the age of 65 have Alzheimer's disease nearly 50 per cent at least 45% of people over the age of five or over the age of 85 have Alzheimer's disease.

At some level of those with Alzheimer's disease only 4% are under the age of 65 about 6% of between 65 and 74 then there's a huge jump from 74 to 85 forty-five per cent of people have Alzheimer's disease.

People over the age of eight over the age of 85 another forty-five per cent of those people have Alzheimer's disease but in just in people over the age of 65 ten to twenty per cent already have what's called mild cognitive impairment they're already losing some other faculties even to a mild level.

On a macroscopic look at the brain in Alzheimer's disease you see nerve cells are dying parts of the brain are shrinking nerve transmission electrical impulses are being shut down at what are called the synapse sites so you get a shrinking of really key brain areas it's visible even on a CT Scan or MRI.

On a microscopic level, it's very fascinating the nerve cells themselves are unable to make optimal amounts of the memory chemical called acetylcholine so memory drops off. Then you get a buildup of this weird protein plaque outside the nerve cells it's really strangling them called the beta-amyloid plaque.

In certain parts of the nerve cell architecture inside breaks down and things coalesce together forming what's called neurofibrillary tangles. Only one to two percent of people that get Alzheimer's disease is there a strong genetic inheritance so ageing and lifestyle factors really are the most important things.

Other causes of memory loss include Parkinson's disease vitamin b12 deficiency vascular dementia head injuries. As you get older the brain can't make enough of the memory chemical called acetylcholine especially after the age of 55 but we'll deal with how you can manage that.

If people will put into place a comprehensive lifestyle program well their brains are still reasonably healthy that the chance of having these brain changes decreases dramatically and the chance you're going to have a healthier brain as you get older increase significantly.

The comprehensive program that you should be putting into place is to have the right diet

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The diet that's not going to clog up your arteries in your brain as you get older and how to decrease inflammation in the brain as well. And you need supplements at a certain stage that will maintain the levels of the brain chemical called acetylcholine.

Prevent Memory Loss

The other thing is that 20%  of the oxygen in the body is used by the brain, oxygen has a has a negative effect in one sense that it generates free radicals that sort of causes corrosive effects on the brain causes. The brain to rust and these free radicals are intimate part are an integral part of Alzheimer's disease and even conditions like Parkinson's disease.

You need antioxidants have been shown to slow down the process of brain damage and you need nutrients that are going to preserve the transmission of impulses through the brain. You have to know how to slow the shrinking of the brain all certain nutrients have been have been proven to do that there are no drugs that can slow the atrophy of the brain after the age of 55 or 60.

There are nutrients that can do it and there are supplements that have been shown experimentally to stop the build-up of amyloid plaque. There are also lifestyle things that kept mental and physical activities that maintain the nerve circuitry so that the brain doesn't age and you maintain your faculties much better.

It's not just waiting to get Alzheimer's disease and taking a drug that's going to cure you that's not happening and it's not happening anytime soon. You need a lifestyle program that's where the solid evidence is the problem is that most medical doctors don't study these lifestyle and natural interventions in medical school or even in continuing education programs they're not emphasized enough.

5 Things That Cause Memory Loss

1. Alcohol  Fan.

When people go to a party or a gathering with some friends it's normal to drink alcohol and have a good time. However, although it seems absurd to many this habit is fatal for the brain and the famous memory blackouts after all strong drunkenness are proof of this.

Drinking too much damages brain cells and although at first the idea for getting everything you did the night before seems fun over time this memory loss could be permanent.

2. Drug User.

Some of the most common drugs such as marijuana have medicinal properties and their use may not be as harmful as others but for those who use these types of substances daily the effect could be very harmful.

Although one of the many consequences for the ones who use this drug as death memory loss is also one of the most important side effects.

3.  Pill  Lover.

Are you a person who needs medication to fight anxiety have doctors prescribed antidepressant pills. Although some are completely harmless studies have shown that at the slightest sign of memory loss the medication must be adjusted.

Muscle relaxants sleeping pills and even painkillers have such powerful components that in more than one occasion they've influenced the instant memory loss. If you've been forgetting many important things lately it would be best if you talk to the doctor to change the medication.

4. Insomnia.

Has it happened to you that when you don't get a good night of sleep the next day you feel so fatigued that you have trouble retaining any information?. Well, lack of sleep is also one of the things that can cause instantaneous loss memory. When doctors suggest you should sleep at least eight hours a day it's for an important reason.

If you sleep little or wake up regularly during the night this could easily interfere with your daily routine making you feel so tired that you won't even remember the most insignificant thing.

5. The One Who Doesn't Eat.

Doctors say that good nutrition is important for the proper functioning of the brain. High-quality proteins and fats are necessary for better health as it is the daily ingestion of vitamins. However, even though it's ironic some people forget it and prefer to fill their stomach with junk food.

In the worst case due to eating disorders they even stop eating. If you're part of one of these two types of people you'll want to know that poor nutrition also affects memory loss.

Read: What Is Amygdala in Brain, and How It Works