Senior Moments at 45 – OMG!

by Linda Franklin

Where did I put my keys?  Why did I come into the kitchen?  Sound familiar?  We refer to this temporary memory loss as a senior moment, or at least I do.  And, scientists last week declared that our ability to remember everyday things such as names and numbers starts to go at the tender age of 45. OY!!!

But before you resign yourself to spending the second half of your life as a mental basket-case, there is positive scientific news, too. 

First the bad news….Last week’s study of more than 7,000 participants published online in the British Medical Journal, revealed how our power of recall starts to decline earlier than previously thought. Men and women suffered the same 3.6 per cent loss in memory power between the ages of 45 and 49. 

Processing speed in our brains slows down from our 20s onwards. ‘By mid-life, most of our brains show some fraying around the edges,’ says Barbara Strauch, author of The Secret Life Of The Grown-Up Brain.

Senior moment – or something worse?

In normal age-related memory loss, short-term recall is usually most affected. In moderation, this is quite healthy. It is also natural to worry that such mid-life forgetfulness is a harbinger of something more sinister, such as dementia.

The ‘aha!’ test can indicate if you should be concerned. If you forget a word temporarily, but feel that it is on the tip of your tongue, and finally recall it with a sense of ‘Aha! That’s it,’ then your reaction is healthy.

Growing older is not the only reason that our memory power may dwindle. Our ability to remember things can also be afflicted by our lifestyles. One common problem may be stress.  Isn’t it always?

Studies show that quick bursts of stressful excitement can actually benefit our memory — perhaps because our brains evolved to rally their best resources when faced with an immediate threat such as a tiger in the grass. But long-term chronic stress, the sort that can grind into us with the constant demands of busy modern life, can damage our brain’s ability form new memories. 

The good news…

Stresses and strains aside, modern life has good news for middle-aged brains. Neuroscientists have recently begun to discover how the mid-life brain, rather than giving up, instead reconfigures itself in order to cope.

As researchers at Duke University, North Carolina, and elsewhere have found, people in middle age begin to use two sides of their brains where previously only one might have been employed on a task. This is called bilateralisation.

How to protect your memory

Fortunately, health researchers believe there are ways in which we can significantly help to preserve our memory in later life.

Brain training: Just a little daily exercise,  could reduce the risk of the decline of your mental abilities, many studies have shown

Just taking a little more daily exercise could make a huge difference for millions of people. ‘More than 13 studies show that exercise can reduce risk by up to 45 per cent,’  ‘Evidence shows that the exercise does not have to be strenuous to have this benefit: it can involve active walking for around 30 minutes a day, three times a week.

And beware any claim about how any single food can boost your memory. Only last year, an important report in the Journal of the American Medical Association punctured the idea that the herbal supplement ginkgo biloba is a brain-saver. The study of more than 3,000 adults found that it made no difference at all.

 

This I find very interesting.  No matter how good we think our powers of memory are, they can all be fooled. Because, whatever our age, memory is a slippery thing that can be grossly misleading.

Researchers who study how people remember momentous events have discovered that although people will swear faithfully that they remember exactly what they were doing when they first heard news of the event, their memory is wrong in about a third of cases.

When we use our minds to recall a particular memory, we do not go back to the event itself, but rather to the last time we remembered it. Each recollection adds new flaws and reinforces previous flaws. Eventually, we settle on a version that we subsequently consider to be gospel truth.  So be careful about what you think you remember.  Memory, — including the false elements — solidifies and becomes your person’s constant ‘truth’.

The Real Cougar Woman is a 5-carat diamond who knows the importance of taking care of her health, beauty, relationships, finances and spirituality. Linda Franklin says,”there is no stopping a woman who has a strong belief system, passion and a dream. All things are possible”. Linda’s book, Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am helps women of all ages tap into their power and live life to the fullest.

The Real Cougar Woman and Suzanne Somers Agree

by Linda Franklin

The Real Cougar Woman and Suzanne Somers agree on the merits of Bioidentical Hormones. Almost four years ago Suzanne Somers appeared on  ABC’s 20/20 on a program they called ”Promises Promises”.  The purpose of this particular show was to warn the public to be careful.  They love to remind us that there are lots of bad people who are living to  take advantage of us poor schnooks.  They covered everything from buying fake handbags online to using bioidentical hormones. 

Since that show aired nothing much has changed.

Dr Lauren Streicher, an obstetrician and assistant professor at Northwestern University, pointed out that something that is natural doesn’t necessarily mean it’s safe”.  She was talking about the soybeans and yams used to make bioidentical hormones.

Somers believes that bioidentical hormones provide protection against cancer.  She said, “so is it a cure for cancer? No. But they do protect us.” Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman, an alternative medicine expert at Georgetown University, points out that there’s no scientific data to prove Somers’ disease-fighting claims.    

The question then and the question now is – what are women supposed to believe?  ABC asked Suzanne how she would feel if it turns out, in the long run, that she was wrong.  She replied “How will you feel if, in five years I’m right and these doctors are right, and I’m living this incredible life at 65, at 70 at 75?”  Well, four years later we know she is.

Until there is scientific proof that bioidenticals do more harm than good, I will continue to use them.  I feel great, and that’s what most important to me.  Every time I read an article or watch some TV program that talks only about the potential harm and nothing about the potential benefits, I do get a little nervous.  But, I do further research because I refuse to buy into the fear factor.  I trust myself to make the best decisions regarding my health, and I trust my doctor to guide me along that path.

Personally, I tired of hearing so much negative publicity on Hormone Replacement Therapy.  All the experts agree that there hasn’t been enough long term testing to come up with any definitive answers.  Until that time, would everybody please SHUT UP.

The Real Cougar Woman is a 5-carat diamond who knows the importance of taking care of her health, beauty, relationships, finances and spirituality.  Linda Franklin says,”there is no stopping a woman who has a strong belief system, passion and a dream. All things are possible”. Linda’s book, Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am helps women of all ages tap into their power and live life to the fullest.

Brain Health & B Vitamins

All women have concerns about aging, and one of the most common is a possible decline in our cognitive function.  Many of my patients are worried about Alzheimer’s disease and want to know how it can be prevented.  Approximately one in five people over the age of 70 in the United States have mild cognitive impairment in which they experience problems with memory, language  or other mental functions.  Around half of them will go on to develop dementia, mainly Alzheimer’s within five years of diagnosis.

The current research has been centered on the plaques and tangles in the brain which are thought to damage and kill nerve cells.  But a research team at the University of Oxford took a different approach—targeting the abnormal physical shrinkage of the brain.  They knew that a substance called homocysteine, an amino acid found in the blood, was associated with brain shrinkage.  The higher the level of homocysteine, the higher levels of brain shrinkage and increased risk of Alzheimer’s.  Folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 control the levels of homocysteine in the blood.

As we get older, the brain naturally shrinks in volume—as much as a half percent a year.  But in those with mild cognitive impairment, the brain can shrink by 1% per year and with Alzheimer’s by 2.5% per year.