Local Columns - Senior Lines
About memory and attention
By Rose Safran
Sometimes even the best resources don't seem to get it exactly right.Recently, in an undated Harvard Medical School published brochure entitled, "Preserving and Boosting Your Memory" I read the following lead paragraph:
"Do you often find yourself searching for your wallet, struggling to recall a name or realizing that the word you're looking for just won't get any further than the tip of your tongue? Relax. As long as your forgetfulness doesn't jump from 'Where did I leave my glasses?' to 'I have no memory at all of having put my glasses there,' you're probably just experiencing some normal age-related memory loss - not anything as serious as Alzheimer's disease.'"
While I agreed with the "relax" recommendation and general thrust of the brochure, I'm afraid that I found issue with the last quote - the final one referring to the recall of the placement the glasses. I think actions frequently relate to the attention or thoughtfulness behind them. I don't think failing to recall where the glasses, keys, gloves or whatever were last left, flung or just dropped matters when very little thought was given to the action as it happened; however, if it happens all the time and with everything, that is probably a difference of kind.
As we all know, habit patterns vary among people; some people are very systematic and have designated places for everything while others are chaotic and operate in a helter-skelter fashion. A senior who has been careless all his or her life is not necessarily deteriorating mentally because things are lost or misplaced. However, if the person was essentially systematic and either the keys were not placed in their regular designated resting place or the keys were placed there but the whereabouts of that regular place has been lost or forgotten, that is a different matter.
Here's a situation that may sound familiar. One enters the house carrying bundles; the phone is ringing; mail has been picked up; a form of multi-operating is occurring in which returnee addresses are being noted on envelopes, bundles are landing in the kitchen, the telephone's voice mail is operating loudly, while the keys and maybe gloves on top of them wind up on the most convenient something - chair, table, desk, floor, sofa. The most conscious thoughts at that minute may apply to noting the bills and junk mail while, at the same time, there is a wish to get to the telephone. The keys served their purpose in entering the house, weren't needed any more. Occupied with several other thoughts and actions, the brain, or perhaps the connections to it, didn't pay any attention to the keys' placement. They could be anywhere. Later, a hunt for them will probably take place.
There is a book entitled, "The Seven Sins of Memory" in which one specified "sin" involves not-registering the action in the first place. If someone simply flings the keys (or purse, gloves, hat, glasses or other object) somewhere while not paying attention to that "where," and especially in doing so while preoccupied, the action most probably remains unregistered. How, then, can the memory be expected to recall it?
Certainly those seniors who developed a system for everything when they were young, who are relatively methodical and are used to paying attention when moving or placing things are at an advantage over those who are not so structured.
However, concerning Harvard's illustration for assessing age-related deterioration, in my opinion, the Harvard "experts" would have better served their newsletter subscribers had they picked a more clear-cut illustration for indication of evidence of Alzheimer's disease. One such more appropriate example might be that of a person unfortunate enough to have no memory of a need to use keys to enter a house or no recollection of wearing glasses.
On the other hand, this same brochure did have solid advice about keeping the memory at its highest possible level. The advice includes certain givens: maintaining an active mind throughout life, staying in as good physical condition as possible, avoiding stressful situations - or at least controlling them, and getting good sleep. This last can be a problem for the elderly who tend to have more sleep problems than younger people; it was pointed out that seeming age-related memory loss can be the result of poor sleep. As for "the memory pill," the jury did not seem to be out yet and offered no firm conclusion, although various studies and products have received attention.
In any case, the conclusion appears to be that, in general, seniors experiencing recent memory lapses including some misplacing of items such as glasses and keys should not consider such behavior - in and of itself - alarming.
