Trevor Ponder Human Memory

What is short term memory?

Short term memory is one of the two types of brain memory. The other one is called long term memory. Short term memory is also known as the primary memory and the active memory. Its process is to temporarily store and manage data which then transfers it to our long term memory or it simply discards it.

How Short Term Memory Loss Happens
Memory loss happens when our brain process failed to retrieve the information that you immediately needed. When we suffer from it, our learning ability decreases. People suffering from short term memory loss should be checked out by a specialist.

Prevention of Short Term Memory Loss
There are tons of ways to improve your short term memory. It is achieved through the food that we eat, our learning capabilities, our daily brain activities, and many more. Living a healthy lifestyle can really help in improving our memory.

Symptoms of Short Term Memory Loss
Short term memory loss is one of the symptoms when you have a mental disorder or disease, suffering or attained a head trauma, depression, alcohol and drug abuse, anxiety, side effects from a medication, and aging.

1. Mental disorder or diseases – one leading cause is having an Alzheimer’s disease. It is the most common form of dementia. It destroys brain cells and very fatal.
2. Head trauma – the causes of head trauma are: car accidents, sporting accident, home and occupational accidents, and assaults.
3. Depression – this occurs when there is an imbalance of neurotransmitters in our brain. It can be brought about by genetics, stress, personality, physical condition, and the social environment.
4. Alcohol and Drug abuse – this causes poor judgment, poor concentration, and other related brain function that is needed for our learning ability.
5. Anxiety – one cause of anxiety is stress. This disrupts the function of neurotransmitters.
6. Side effects from medication – some anti anxiety drugs and sleeping pills are known to cause memory loss.
7. Aging – the most common of all causes. As we age, we suffer from mild forgetfulness. Because this is a natural process, we can improve our memories so that we can avoid being forgetful.

When we know someone who is suffering from short term memory loss, we should not disregard them. Their loved ones and friends should support and help them.

Memory Loss short term memory

Noticed any difference in your kids’ grades if they sleep late? Teens that miss out on a full night’s sleep during the school week will most likely have degraded school performance due to low energy, poor memory, and will most likely gain weight. This is according to a study led by Professor Olds (University of South Australia) of more than 4000 children. You should be concerned because Adults are no different.

Experts agree that brain development is continuous but is only impeded or degraded by physical limitations, human evolution and sleep deprivation. According to them, your brain is like a muscle. Sleep plays a key role in its development. If Bodybuilders build lean muscle mass by working their bodies hard, followed by a period of restorative rest; the same is true for the brain. As muscles require periods of rest, so does your brain need some time off to process events and unwind. Neuroscientists now believe sleep is not only crucial to brain development, but is also necessary to help consolidate the effects of waking experience – by converting memory into more permanent and/or enhanced forms.

So what happens if we are sleep deprived?
Neurologists believe that as we grow older, our brain activity and memory retention slows down over time. By depriving sleep, we speed up this process. Adequate sleep is crucial to proper brain function – no less so than air, water, and food. Any amount of sleep deprivation will diminish mental performance, cautions Mark Mahowald, a professor of neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. “One complete night of sleep deprivation is as impairing in simulated driving tests as a legally intoxicating blood-alcohol level.”  Brain Tissue repairs and organ functions are slowed down when we don’t get enough sleep. When repairs are slowed, the cells itself may die. Since most of our memory processes are entirely dependent on these cells for storage, those who are sleep deprived will experience degraded memory.

Sleeping is also needed to restore body en energy and vigor.
If we don’t get enough rest, the brain doesn’t get enough energy to either store information or process it. In addition, sleeping problems are almost always involved in mental disorders, including depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, as well as head injury. Although sleep deprivation does not directly cause those mentioned, experts agree that not getting enough sleep increases the likelihood. Previous work by Dr. Van Cauter, a professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, found that “metabolic and endocrine changes resulting from a significant sleep debt mimic many of the hallmarks of aging. We suspect that chronic sleep loss may not only hasten the onset but could also increase the severity of age-related ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and memory loss.”

So, if ever you’re thinking of till-dawn-night out, ditch it and sleep!
Worried about getting fired from your job? The best thing you can do to make sure you stay sharp and increase your chances of keeping your job is to make getting enough sleep a top priority.
Not feeling sleepy? Exercise about 5 to 6 hours before going to bed. Daily exercise often helps people sleep. Lastly, eat right at the right time. Avoid drinks that contain caffeine, which acts as a stimulant and keeps people awake while Alcohol robs people of deep sleep. Self – discipline is the key for proper and balanced diet.

Lifestyle for Better Memory sleep

This is a continuation of http://trevorponder.com/2009/07/introduction-meditation/

How Meditation Might Work

Practicing meditation has been shown to induce some changes in the body. By learning more about what goes on in the body during meditation, researchers hope to be able to identify diseases or conditions for which meditation might be useful.

Some types of meditation might work by affecting the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system. This system regulates many organs and muscles, controlling functions such as the heartbeat, sweating, breathing, and digestion. It has two major parts:

• The sympathetic nervous system helps mobilize the body for action. When a person is under stress, it produces the “fight-or-flight response”: the heart rate and breathing rate go up and blood vessels narrow (restricting the flow of blood).
• The parasympathetic nervous system causes the heart rate and breathing rate to slow down, the blood vessels to dilate (improving blood flow), and digestive juices to increase.

It is thought that some types of meditation might work by reducing activity in the sympathetic nervous system and increasing activity in the parasympathetic nervous system.

In one area of research, scientists are using sophisticated tools to determine whether meditation is associated with significant changes in brain function. A number of researchers believe that these changes account for many of meditation’s effects.

It is also possible that practicing meditation may work by improving the mind’s ability to pay attention. Since attention is involved in performing everyday tasks and regulating mood, meditation might lead to other benefits.

A 2007 NCCAM-funded review of the scientific literature found some evidence suggesting that meditation is associated with potentially beneficial health effects. However, the overall evidence was inconclusive. The reviewers concluded that future research needs to be more rigorous before firm conclusions can be drawn.

Side Effects and Risks

Meditation is considered to be safe for healthy people. There have been rare reports that meditation could cause or worsen symptoms in people who have certain psychiatric problems, but this question has not been fully researched. People with physical limitations may not be able to participate in certain meditative practices involving physical movement. Individuals with existing mental or physical health conditions should speak with their health care providers prior to starting a meditative practice and make their meditation instructor aware of their condition.

If You Are Thinking About Using Meditation Practices

• Do not use meditation as a replacement for conventional care or as a reason to postpone seeing a doctor about a medical problem.
• Ask about the training and experience of the meditation instructor you are considering.
• Look for published research studies on meditation for the health condition in which you are interested.
• Tell your health care providers about any complementary and alternative practices you use. Give them a full picture of what you do to manage your health.

Lifestyle for Better Memory meditation