Do you ever have that moment where you went into a room to get something, and forgot why you went in there? If you ask yourself often, “Why do I forget things easily,” it is important to understand this is a very common occurrence. Anyone can easily forget the shopping list at home, misplace car keys, and forget appointments. The mind blanking out once in a while isn’t always a “senior moment” but a sign that you may need a break. This article will explain some of the reasons people forget things and easy ways to manage it.
Why Do I Forget Things Easily?
Habitual Causes
A “habitual cause” can worry some people that they are losing it, coming down with dementia or possibly even Alzheimer’s disease. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Common every day bouts of forgetting things is most likely just your busy and stressful habits in life. Here are a few of those habits:
Not using your memory enough. When you don’t exercise your memory it slows down a little.
You may be experiencing too much outside stimulation from noises, people talking, or even your television. This makes it hard to focus on what you need to remember.
Factors That Affect Memory and May Lead to Forgetfulness
Young and old alike suffer from occasional forgetfulness. There are times when you may be more forgetful than normal or that being forgetful is getting worse over time. If you do notice your forgetfulness is more than once in a while, the cause isn’t necessarily dementia or Alzheimer’s. Other causes of forgetting things include:
Nutrition
If you aren’t eating right, your brain may not be able to function correctly. You need to have a constant supply of energy to your brain in order for thought processes and memories to work right. Also if you are deficient in vitamin B12, your brain and nerve cells cannot work as they should. Anemia due to B12 deficiency can cause you to be forgetful and have trouble concentrating.
Alcohol and Drug Use
While a little bit of alcohol may have some health benefits, large amounts of alcohol may affect your memory. Alcohol over the long-term may shrink your brain size and affect nerve transmission that help you remember things.
There are certain drugs that will make you more forgetful. If you take sleeping pills, you may find yourself a little more scattered and forgetting things. Marijuana is another drug that
Sleep Problems and Stress
Stress can increase forgetfulness because you tend to focus on other issues, rather than day to day things you need to remember. Not getting enough sleep reduces your ability to remember things. In new mothers, the combination of the stress of caring for a new child and sleep deprivation can cause temporary memory issues.
What to Do to Improve Memory
Cut Down on Outside Stimulation
When you are at home doing tasks that require using your memory, try turning off the TV and silencing your cell phone. Think about the task you’re working on and try to focus.
Start Exercising Your Brain
It is a known fact that your memory improves with use. Try writing out your shopping list, memorize it and leave it at home while you shop. Some other things you can do are:
Make notes to yourself. Keep a calendar type organizer handy and note everything you need to do. Write down shopping lists, appointments, and things you need to do and try to remember them.
Use association. When you need to remember a name of a person you just met, associate their name with something visual in your mind. Anything you need to remember can be reinforced with a visual cue in your mind.
Try Getting Some Exercise
Exercise not only relieves stress, it can also improve blood flow to the brain and increase good brain chemicals. This can help increase your memory, help you sleep better, and keep you feeling calm. The following video shares more effective tips to improve your memory like making a habit of learning new things. You must check this out!
Medical Conditions that Cause Forgetfulness
Thyroid Disease
A low thyroid hormone level can increase forgetfulness. When you do not have enough thyroid hormone you will feel more tired and have trouble thinking.
Clinical Depression
If you feel sad and out of touch for more than a few weeks, you may have clinical depression. One common symptom is having trouble remembering things.
Brain Tumor
A brain tumor can cause memory loss of mild dementia.
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
Attention deficit disorder interferes with a person’s ability to focus on one thing long enough to remember. You may be so busy switching from one task to another that you don’t retain the information from anything you are doing. For example, you may be reading a good book and put it down to do something else. When you go back to read more, you realize you forgot what you read.
Head Injury
A head injury that is moderate to severe causes swelling in the brain. When this happens, blood supply is reduced and there can be issues with memory, thinking and changes in behavior. This condition may be either permanent or temporary.
Lyme Disease
Tick bites can sometimes cause an infection called, Lyme disease. Symptoms include fever, headache, “bulls-eye” rash around the bite, and joint pain. Chronic Lyme can include the above symptoms and cause forgetfulness and memory loss.
Age over 50
There is a normal amount of forgetfulness that comes with age. It may not necessarily be dementia or Alzheimer’s. If you are over 50 and notice occasional forgetfulness, it is usually nothing to worry about.
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