Who Can Suffer From Memory Loss?

We are all exposed to memory loss due to lifestyle conditions such as stress, depression, alcohol, B12 deficiency. It’s important to take good care of your brain to prevent memory loss!

Primary Key Points

Memory is complex. It is divided into short-term and long-term memories, with long-term memory further divided into procedural, semantic, and episodic memories.

Sleep aids memory retention: Proper sleep, particularly slow-wave and REM sleep, is crucial for memory consolidation and long-term memory formation.

Stress and depression impair memory: Depression and stress negatively affect prospective memory, increasing cortisol levels, which disrupts episodic memory.

Drug use affects memory: Regular use of recreational drugs, alcohol, and tobacco impairs both event-based and time-based prospective memory.

Vitamin B12 deficiency impacts memory: Severe B12 deficiency is strongly linked to memory loss, dementia, and cognitive decline.

Memory loss isn’t just age-related: Memory loss can affect anyone due to factors like sleep deprivation, stress, drug use, and nutritional deficiencies.

MCT oil and Gotu Kola: These supplements may improve memory by increasing ketone concentrations and enhancing plasticity-related proteins in the hippocampus.

Introduction

The truth is this: we’ve all forgotten something once or twice.

We’ve all had that experience of “Where did I put my keys?” or “What was I just saying?” or even “Where did I park my car?”

Annoying as these things might be, they are common, normal, and healthy.

Until they’re not.

When these situations become more frequent, they can become problematic.

Once your memory loss affects your daily life activities, it’s time to seek treatment.

Common signs of memory loss

We have short-term memory loss and long-term memory loss.

We have separate, distinct neurobiological stores of these types of memory.

Short-term memory is for previously unencountered information (1).

Long-term memory is divided into two different types: procedural and declarative.

Procedural memory involves activities that we learn by practicing and through repeated exposure.

Examples of procedural memory include riding a bike or driving a car.

Declarative memories are then broken down into two types: semantic and episodic.

Semantic memories are discrete facts. Examples of semantic memories include dates, word definitions, and learned concepts.

Episodic memories are explicit experiences that a person has lived through. Examples of episodic memories include a special birthday or your wedding day.

Long-term memory is consolidated from short-term memory in the hippocampus. These memories are then stored throughout the brain's cortex (2).

Is memory loss only related to aging?

Loss of memory and aging are certainly linked.

As we age, neural stem cells have reduced proliferation and neuron production.

This contributes to age-related memory loss and reduced brain plasticity, which is necessary for certain parts of the brain to repair (3).

However, aging is not the only way we experience cognitive decline and memory loss.

Main causes of memory loss

1. Sleep deprivation

More than a century’s worth of research has solidified the fact that sleep benefits memory retention.

Current scientific theories say that memories undergo a system consolidation process while we sleep.

Slow-wave sleep is most important for memory consolidation.

Essentially, sleep is a brain state that optimizes memory consolidation.

Slow-wave sleep, in particular, helps to transform memories into long-term memories.

REM sleep, which comes after slow-wave sleep, stabilizes these transformed memories (4).

2. Depression and stress

Research has demonstrated that prospective memory can be impaired in patients with psychiatric disorders, including depression.

One study, in particular, found that when compared with healthy controls, patients with depression had significant impairment in event-based prospective memory.

They also found that time-based prospective memory was significantly impaired in those with depression (5).

Stress and memory loss are also certainly linked.

Studies have shown that memory is impaired when stress occurs just before or during memory retrieval.

Stress consistently increases cortisol levels and can disrupt specific episodic memory processes (6).

3. Drug use

A study compared healthy controls to heavy drinkers and regular users of drugs (this included recreational drugs, alcohol, and tobacco).

The research showed that the drug-using group tended to perform worse than the control group on both event and time-based progressive memory tasks.

These impairments were moderate to severe in nature. This was likely due to brain cell damage in the drug and alcohol group of patients.

It’s also worth noting that the subjects were not under the influence of drugs or alcohol during the actual time of the study; they were simply affected by their regular use of drugs and alcohol (7).

4. B12 deficiency

B12 deficiency can lead to symptoms that are neurologic, cognitive, psychiatric, and mood-related in nature.

One study looked at 259 patients with vitamin B12 deficiency.

Out of these 259 patients, 41 of them had some form of dementia.

The first symptom that 33.9% of these patients presented with was memory loss.

Of those with severe B12 deficiency, 84.2% had memory loss.

Vitamin B12 increases the load of cognitive decline.

It accentuates vascular risk factors in neuropsychiatric illnesses.

It does this by increasing homocysteine levels, which have been linked to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (8).

So, who can suffer from memory loss?

Seniors may exhibit more symptoms of memory loss due to brain health degeneration that occurs naturally with aging.

However, we are all exposed to memory loss due to lifestyle conditions such as sleep deprivation, stress, depression, vitamin B12 deficiency, and the use of alcohol, drugs, and tobacco.

What can help?

MCT oil can improve memory by increasing serum ketone concentrations (9).

Gotu kola can help increase plasticity-related proteins in the hippocampus, enhancing memory capabilities (10).

Both MCT oil and Gotu Kola can be found in BrainTea.

Even if you’re not elderly, taking good care of your brain is important to prevent memory loss!

FAQ

What are the different types of memory?

Memory is categorized into short-term and long-term memory. Short-term memory handles new, unencountered information, while long-term memory is divided into procedural (e.g., riding a bike), semantic (e.g., knowledge of facts), and episodic memory (e.g., personal experiences).

Is memory loss only related to aging?

No, memory loss is not just related to aging. While age-related cognitive decline is standard, other factors like sleep deprivation, stress, depression, drug use, and vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause memory loss.

How does sleep impact memory?

Sleep, particularly slow-wave and REM sleep, is essential for memory consolidation. During slow-wave sleep, short-term memories are transformed into long-term memories, and REM sleep stabilizes these memories. Sleep deprivation can impair this process, leading to memory issues.

How do stress and depression affect memory?

Stress and depression can impair prospective memory, which is remembering to perform future tasks. Elevated cortisol levels due to stress disrupt episodic memory, and depression is associated with impairments in both event-based and time-based memory.

Can drug use lead to memory loss?

Yes, regular use of recreational drugs, alcohol, and tobacco can damage brain cells, resulting in impairments in both event-based and time-based memory. These effects can persist even when individuals are not under the influence during memory tasks.

How does vitamin B12 deficiency contribute to memory loss?

Vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to neurological and cognitive symptoms, including memory loss. Severe deficiency is linked to dementia and cognitive decline due to its effect on homocysteine levels, which have been associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Who is at risk for memory loss?

Anyone can experience memory loss due to factors such as sleep deprivation, stress, depression, drug use, or nutritional deficiencies like B12 deficiency. Although memory loss is more common in seniors due to brain degeneration, it can affect people of all ages.

How can MCT oil and Gotu Kola help with memory loss?

MCT oil may improve memory by increasing serum ketone concentrations, which provides an alternative energy source for brain cells. Gotu Kola helps enhance memory capabilities by increasing plasticity-related proteins in the hippocampus.