"It is from memory that experience is born in men". Aristotle When you forget some things in everyday life you may feel stupid but what you need to know is that it can happen to everyone and can be quite normal. Even better, according to some scientists this forgetfulness could be a sign of intelligence provided that it does not associate with a great loss of memory that can be a precursor to certain mental illnesses.
While some may be proud of their excellent memory, which is also essential when pursuing a school or professional course, others are worried about their daily forgetfulness for fear of developing, in the long run, mental illnesses, such as than "Alzheimer's".
Indeed, it has all happened to us at one time or another of life, to find ourselves in a supermarket, forgetting what we really need, not to remember the place where we left the keys, or to go to a room in the house and forget the reason for this move.
Also, we wonder about these small failures of our brain, which occur daily. However, according to scientific studies, these small omissions should not be the subject of any concern. Researchers Paul Frankland and Blake Richards of the University of Toronto have discovered that old memories are crushed to make room for new memories.
According to this study, a good memory is not always linked to great intelligence. In fact, it is rather the opposite that is true because it is more useful, according to researchers, to remember important things and forget some details that are futile. So forgetting the little things is not only normal but also a sign of intelligence.
By selecting the information, our memory allows for greater optimization of intelligent decision-making by storing only what is really important to us and giving up what is not.
How does it work?
Our brain has a small mechanism called "hippocampus" that stores memories. But its role is also to get rid of unimportant impressions to keep only the most important and thus free the place in our memory for intelligent and effective decision-making.
Thus, this mechanism is very useful because a brain overloaded with memories will become indecisive which will generate conflicts in its decisional capacity.
On the other hand, in the modern world in which we live and with technological advances, it would be more important to understand how the new technology works than to remember how to do unimportant tasks. As a result, we are allowed to omit details and free up our memory since we can easily find everything we need thanks to the advancement of technology.
Also, do not feel stupid if you forget some details of everyday life. Know that this is perfectly normal and your mind is working as it should. However, if these memory losses become recurrent and take on other aspects, this may indicate a more serious problem.
When should we worry?
When we are subject to common oversights, this may seem normal, but if we fail to do some important things, then we can talk about memory loss.
Several factors can be at the origin of this memory loss, namely:
- Chronic stress
- The Depression
- Menopause
- Abuse of drugs or alcohol
- Thyroid disorders
- hypertension
- Head trauma
However, it would be useful to worry when certain symptoms appear, such as:
- To get lost or to forget a path that we are used to
- Do not remember any places we visit frequently
- No longer able to decide certain things or solve problems
- No longer able to perform certain tasks, that before we did with much ease.
- No longer remember what we ate the day before or the name of the book we just read
Thus, some omissions of daily life can be classified as normal and generally not serious, however the above symptoms should attract our attention and encourage us to consult a specialist. A diagnosis will be necessary to know if we develop a degeneration at a primary stage or simply a loss of memory that will be cured by an adequate medical treatment.
Be that as it may, oxygenate your brain by exercising for 30 minutes a day, stimulate your brain with brain games and eat a balanced diet. Not to mention reduce the stress that remains predominant in everyday life.
