Just what is Memory anyway?
We use the word “memory” without understanding what it is. Our memory is a complex system that can dictate our day-to-day behavior.
Memory can be defined in several ways, including:
- the process by which the brain stores and remembers information.
- remembered from the past.
- the remembering of a deceased person as “in memory of.”
- the length of time a person or event is remembered.
- the part of a computer where data is stored and retrieved.
3 stages of memory: Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval.
During the encoding process, we absorb information. The storage phase is when our memory creates a permanent record of the information. The retrieval process is when we remember or retrieve the stored information.
During the retrieval process, our brain sorts through 3 memory “data banks”…sensory memory, short term memory, and long term memory. Sensory memory identifies and holds information for just a few seconds. When we look at something for just a second and can still remember details, this is our sensory memory in action. Short term memory allows us to recall items for anywhere from a few seconds up to one minute without rehearsing.
Most people can remember chunks of information that have approximately 4 to 5 components. An example of this is the way in which most people learn to remember a phone number. You simply break it into chunks that include the area code, then the next 3 numbers and then the final numbers. Long term memory is capable of storing information for long… almost unlimited… periods of time. If you remember those same phone numbers years later, they’ve migrated from short term memory to long term memory. Information that is repeated ends up in long term memory, allowing us to retrieve it automatically.
Tips to maintain memory function
Here are a few ways to keep your memory sharp:
- Get enough sleep.
- Exercise regularly.
- Have an active social life
- Laugh… it activates the learning and creative centers of your brain.
- Avoid stress… it destroys brain cells.
- Exercise your brain… read, do crossword puzzles, keep a journal.
Keep Your Memory Sharp….with Shaklee supplements that can keep your brain functioning optimally:
- B-Complex. For glucose oxidation, neuronal membrane functions, nerve impulse generation, the biosynthesis of several neurotransmitters, and the metabolism of fatty acids and amino acids in the brain.
- Sustained Release Vita-C. is required for the enzymatic reaction that synthesizes the neurotransmitter norepinephrine from dopamine. Vitamin C may also be able to regenerate vitamin E, an important lipid-soluble antioxidant.
- Vita-D . is known to be important for normal brain development and cognitive function in older adults.
- Vitamin E has a key role in preventing oxidant-induced lipid destruction and is vital in maintaining the integrity of cell membranes.
- Lecithinis a fatty compound found in all cells, but particularly in our nerves, glands and the brain. 40 % of our brain is lecithin. Lecithin dissolves cholesterol, and holds our cells together! It’s vital for the brain.
- OsteoMatrix. Calcium ions are important intracellular signals that regulate a number of physiological processes, including neuronal gene expression, neuronal secretion of neurotransmitters into synapses, and synaptic plasticity.
- Iron plus Vitamin C. is needed for development of oligodendro-cytes (the brain cells that produce myelin), and is a required cofactor for several en-zymes to synthesize neurotransmitters.
- Zinc Complex. Zinc is present at high levels in the brain where it has catalytic, structural, and regulatory roles in cellular metabolism.
- OmegaGuard. The nervous system has a great concentration of lipids (omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, phospholipids, triglycerides, and cholesterol). These lipids serve structural roles in cell membranes of the nervous system, and affect membrane fluidity, flexibility, permeability, and play important roles in vision and nervous system function.
- Mental Acuity Plus is a Shaklee exclusive formula that contains ginkgo, bilberry, hawthorn, and B vitamins to enhance memory and decision making. It helps maintain normal metabolic activity in the brain and also lowers homocysteine levels. (Homocysteine is an amino acid and breakdown product of protein metabolism that, when present in high concentrations, has been linked to an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. Evidence suggests that people with elevated homocysteine levels have twice the normal risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.)