This is how the Irish writer Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) defined memory.
However, as we age, some of the pages in that record of our lives can become misplaced or lost. And this is not only disconcerting but painful.
Professor Charan Ranganath, director of the Dynamic Memory Laboratory at the University of California (United States) and one of the most important neuroscientists in the study of memory, assures that the risk of this occurring can be minimized.
In conversation with BBC Mundo, the author of the book “Why we remember: the new science of memory” identified Four bad habits that most of us fall into and which, according to him, affect our brain’s ability to remember things.
And he offered a roadmap to correct them.
1. Not getting enough rest
As humans age they tend to sleep fewer hours and, as if this were not enough, work, economic and health problems can affect the quality of sleep, a combination that can be very detrimental to health.
“We now know that the brain has a system that drains the toxins that accumulate in it, including the amyloid protein, which is involved in the onset of Alzheimer’s. This system is activated during the night.“said Ranganath.
The neuroscientist, who has spent 25 years studying how the brain works, explained that sleep also has a restorative function.
“If a person does not get enough sleep, the frontal function of the brain is reduced, as is their level of tolerance to stress; and, therefore, is not able to focus properly,” she pointed out.
But, during the night, the brain not only expels harmful elements and recharges its batteries, it also organizes our memories.
“During sleep, memory is reactivated and that is what many attribute the origin of dreams to (…) Sleep makes it easier to retain information we have learned“added the specialist.
Not using phones and computers, avoiding heavy meals and drinks with alcohol and caffeine before going to bed were some of the recommendations that Ranganath made to try to have a restful sleep.
And for those people who, for one reason or another, have trouble sleeping at night, the expert said that A nap during the day can also be very beneficial.
“The benefits [de dormir] for memory can also be obtained during the day,” he indicated.
2. Multitask
In today’s competitive and busy world, the ability to multitask is seen as a positive. However, Ranganath cautioned that this may be “very bad” for memory.
The reason? “The prefrontal cortex helps us focus on what we need to do to achieve our goals, but that wonderful ability gets bogged down if we continually jump from one goal to another,” he said.
He explained that in our brain there is a competition between the sets of neurons that participate in different tasks and that competition is what makes it difficult for us to multitask correctly and efficiently.
Next, the neuroscientist assured that checking email while listening to a lecture or class will only lead to one thing: not remembering what you were listening to in the first place.
“When you change objectives (start checking email) the neurons are distracted and record fragmented memories of the conference, because you are using many executive functions to manage the change between one activity and another and that makes it difficult to form a lasting memory“, he pointed out.
However, as with every rule, there is -at least- one exception: tasks that are associated or related.
“If you’re baking a cake you have to preheat the oven and then make the dough once more or something like that. But if you unite all those tasks into one big task you will be able to do it,” he illustrated.
To eradicate multitasking, Ranganath not only recommended trying to finish one activity before starting another, but also avoiding what can distract us from the objective.
So he suggested put the phone on silentparticularly email and message notifications, while an action is running.
He also recommended taking breaks to daydream or stretch your legs.
The issue of the time we spend checking the smartphone also opened another question: what effects will this have for today’s youth?
“Possibly there will be some positive and other negative consequences, but the important thing is that They are developing habits that are not good for their memories“said the expert.
A study published in 2023 revealed that American teenagers and children spend between five and eight hours a day glued to their cell phones.
3. Fall into monotony
Contrary to what you might imagine, the human brain is not programmed to remember everything. On the contrary, it is selective.
“Most of the experiences we live or the information we have been exposed to will be forgotten”Ranganath explained.
Only those events or experiences associated with fear, anger, desire, happiness, surprise or other emotions that are capable of releasing chemicals such as adrenaline, serotonin, dopamine or cortisol in our brain will end up fixed in our neurons.
These chemicals help brain plasticity, which is essential for memory.
“Plasticity in the brain helps us perform tasksespecially those that are repetitive, more efficiently,” explained the University of California professor, who indicated that this capacity decreases with age.
And, therefore, actions such as remembering the password we just changed to access our bank account, cell phone or email become more difficult as time goes by.
“Once you change the password you will have the neurons that had the old password saved fighting with the ones that have the new one,” he said.
Break up with monotony and routine It is, according to the expert, the best way to try to preserve plasticity.
4. Be overconfident
“People think their memory is very good until at some point in their lives they realize that’s not the case,” Ranganath said.
And it is no wonder, because according to the expert, the brain is not designed to remember literally everything we experience, something that would be a very arduous task.
“It is estimated that the average American is exposed to 34 gigabytes (or equivalent: 11.8 hours) of information per day”indicated the teacher.
“The purpose of memory is not to remember the past, although it can do so, but to take the important information from the past that we need to understand the present and prepare for the future,” he explained, while recommending Do not resort solely to memorization to learn something.
“The most effective learning occurs in circumstances in which we strive to evoke a memory and then obtain the response we seek,” he noted.
“For example, a few minutes following you are introduced to a person, challenge yourself and try to say their name. And as the conversation continues he does it once more. The more spaced these attempts are, the better,” she explained.
Other recommendations
In addition to fighting the four habits mentioned above, Ranganath assured that there are other ways to protect our memories and enjoy good mental health.
“There are many obvious things people can do to care for their memory.but they don’t do them because they are waiting for a pill or a vaccine, because it is easier and you don’t have to change your lifestyle,” he lamented.
But what are those obvious things?
“In the short term: seek to sleep better, learn to deal with stress (or try to reduce the causes that cause it) and adopt mindfulness practices, which serve to detect when you are distracted,” he said.
In the long term the list is a little longer.
“Food can do a lot, the Mediterranean diet has proven to have very good results when it comes to promoting mental health,” he explained.
And then he went on to list: “Physical exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, is good because it increases the secretion of substances that increase plasticity and improve the vasculature of the brain.”
“Good dental and hearing health are also important, because studies have found that people with dental hygiene problems or who do not take care of their ears tend to suffer from cognitive problems. And finally, Social relationships and exposure to new things stimulate brain plasticity“, he concluded.
Finally, the expert stated that studies have revealed that these good practices have allowed some people to retain their memory until an advanced age and reduce the risks of dementia by a third.
The data is encouraging, especially considering that 40% of people may have some type of memory problem once they turn 65, according to the Canadian Alzheimer Society.
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