There is no doubt that memory is a wonderful part of man. It will be very painful to have a life without memory. But one thing is sure it does have a few impressions, though it is wonderful it is not always perfect. Sometimes it happens that you forget the name of some one familiar to you. You have at the tip of your tongue but you are not able to speak it out. How strange it is. At times you go all around your room or house in search of the keys or shoes. You just forget where you have put them. More amazingly, you have forgotten one answer! You studied it but…. It is also common to older people to forget more.
Therefore it is certain that there exists some memory problem. Though some of them are common, they can become serious and dangerous. The most serious one is Alzheimer’s disease. Another danger is stroke. A stroke is when blood does not reach all the parts of the brain. It can happen either because of a blockage or of the bursting of blood vessels. Some times such strokes can happen to one’s memory power.
An injury to the brain can also cause trouble with a person’s memory. In medical history there are many such cases. Sometimes, those who recover from brain injuries forget even the basic things. They may have to learn the simple things like talking, dressing etc. all over again. You might have noticed how persons involved in dangerous sports or works protect their head, bearing helmet. The intention is to avoid head injury that would be completely destructive. Now you understand why it is compulsory to bear seat belt while driving or helmet while riding a bike.
Amnesia is another problem that affects memory. When affected by this, one cannot remember things happen a little while ago. Traumatic brain injury is the major causes of amnesia. It happens when the head suffers a severe hit. Usually when a footballer receives a hit to the head, he is questioned by the doctor. The patient will be asked a few basic questions like what happened in the ground, where they are, for what team he was playing etc. If he fails to give the right answers, it would mean a head injury. Use of drugs and alcohols also can injure the brain and cause memory problems.
Conclusion: Most memory problems affect older people. But studies have proven that you can easily win over them. You may be young or old, but the easiest way to keep your memory fresh is to use the brain. Do some challenging activities, like reading and doing puzzles. They are exercises for your mind. If so, you will have fresh memories for many years to come.
HOW DO WE FORGET?
According to the fading theory, whatever one has in the memory slowly fades away. You might have seen many paths through the farms and forests being slowly formed and slowly dying out. When people continuously walk through a particular channel a path is formed. On the other hand, when people stop walking through that path, it gradually dies out. This is what happens with memory too. When we study something, we may have imprinted in the memory. But if we don’t review that, it will be slowly forgotten.
The psychologists of the Cambridge University recently conducted a study on forgetfulness. The outcome of the study clearly shows how lack of review or revision affects memory. The table below will tell how much as average student remembered after different intervals of time.
After 1 day - 55% was remembered
After 8 days - 44% was remembered
After 15 days - 35% was remembered
After 25 days - 25% was remembered
After 35 days - 18% was remembered
After 63 days - 17% was remembered
There are a number of things we need to notice here. The first point is that if one does not spend enough time for review or revision, most of what he has studied will be forgotten. Second point is that the best time to revise what is within one or two days of your effort to learn it. Thirdly, it also tells us something about the best way to prepare for a quiz or test. The best method will be to keep the matter always revised. It will keep the memory always refreshed. If you postpone the review, things will gradually fade away from your mind. Thus, it will become a very difficult task for you to remember them for the test.
