Many of you who have written to the website have talked about problems with memory. Towards that end we will be having several blogs in the weeks to come to help improve memory performance.
Our first memory blog is called the great kitchen remodel. You may wonder what remodeling the kitchen has to do with memory, stay with me.
We are doing a complete kitchen remodel while still living in the house. What I didn’t realize is that remodeling that way is a major problem. The first problem I noticed was trying to take a shower. The craftsmen never told me they were turning off the water. Here I was in the shower all lathered up when suddenly the water went off. Not quite the warm cozy shower I expected, it became a double swipe deodorant day for sure.
That wasn’t the only issue. Pounding, ripping, buzzing and weird smells were part of the process. The dog running out the front door and down the street because the workers were not closing the door was no fun either. As the days progressed I began to notice more tiredness and some loss of short term memory. The memory problems were being caused by stress, which turned into anxiety, which turned into a massive release of cortisol to my brain.
A high release of coritsol to the brain caused by anxiety was ruining my memory!
Chronic high cortisol may damage the hippocampus, and reduce the brain function. Chronic high cortisol is a major risk factor associated with the development of dementia
Chronic high cortisol may damage the hippocampus, and reduce the brain function. Chronic high cortisol is a major risk factor associated with the development of dementia
in order to survive this time I had to go back to some of my old solid memory techniques.
Each person has their favorite learning style. Since I was a child with dyslexia I never favored using visual to remember things.
My “go to” sense was auditory and still is. In order to survive the kitchen remodel I had to start repeating to myself things I had to remember for that day. Often repeating out loud more than once was necessary. People with visual learning style can make pictures of things they want to remember and make vivid colors in the mind. Some people are kinesthetic, that is muscle memory. You can repeat something you are trying to remember and then clap your hands twice.
My “go to” sense was auditory and still is. In order to survive the kitchen remodel I had to start repeating to myself things I had to remember for that day. Often repeating out loud more than once was necessary. People with visual learning style can make pictures of things they want to remember and make vivid colors in the mind. Some people are kinesthetic, that is muscle memory. You can repeat something you are trying to remember and then clap your hands twice.
These methods sound like a great deal of work but it’s better than not remembering!
Try combining visual, auditory and kinesthetic together for real powerful process.
Yes, my memory will survive the kitchen remodel I think. The dog is safely closed in the bedroom or is she? Oh No!
