7/25/16 · Health Sciences Studies

Stress is bad for your memory and sport helps keep it in shape

Why do we lose memory when we get old? What can we do to prevent it? According to the UOC's Psychology professors, stress is a bad enemy and sport is a good ally. "Stress damages the neurons" and makes them more vulnerable, until they eventually die, explains the neuroscientist Diego Redolar. In contrast, "staying physically active", practising activities appropriate for the person's age, "may stimulate attention and memory functions", says Modesta Pousada, a psychologist specialized in this area.
The UOC's Psychology professors give some tips to help the elderly keep their minds young and spry.<br />Photo: Flickr / ANSES (CC)

The UOC's Psychology professors give some tips to help the elderly keep their minds young and spry.
Photo: Flickr / ANSES (CC)

"All of the stressful events that have taken place in our lives may increase the likelihood of suffering memory problems when we get older", says Redolar. How? Scientific studies have found that "the stress hormones damage the neurons and this makes them extremely vulnerable". During ageing, it is fairly common for there to be "changes in the quantity of blood flow reaching the brain, since the vascular system also ages. When these changes take place with healthy neurons, they may go unnoticed; however, if the neurons are already vulnerable, the effects may be lethal", warns the UOC professor.


Parlour games and reading, among the recommended activities

There are many daily activities we can practise to "stimulate attention and memory functions: playing a parlour game (cards, domino...), reading, starting a new challenge (such as learning to use the Internet, learning a new language or growing a vegetable garden), keeping oneself physically active –adapting the type of activity to our condition and age – and nurturing social relationships", explains Modesta Pousada. They all help keep our mind and body "in shape".

Redolar adds: "Exercise is not only good for the formation of new neurons; it also helps maintain balance and an optimal environment in our brain".


Level of education and other factors that condition memory

There are a series of factors that are related with how our memory performs: "our level of education, our general state of health or our mood", Pousada explains. There are scientific studies that show that "people with a lower level of education tend to experience a greater decline in memory than those with a higher level of education", the UOC psychologist observes.


The memories that old people share are not always how they happened

They can't remember what they had for lunch but they can explain past experiences in great detail. How does that happen? Pousada says that these personal memories of the past have some very special features: "On one hand, they are very selective and usually involve events that are highly emotionally charged and, on the other hand, they have been reprocessed and altered over time, so that the current memory only has a vague similarity with the original event".


ICTs, a strong incentive

"ICTs may provide the elderly with a very useful tool", Pousada says. She gives some examples: "a grandfather can learn to speak with his grandchildren via Skype if they live far away, or organize a trip from the information he finds on the Internet or sign up with the UOC because he loves history and has never been able to study it."


How does the mind age?

"We keep our memories in our brain store, in the cortex, while to form them, consolidate them and file them in this store, we need a structure, the hippocampus", Redolar explains. As we age, "the hippocampus undergoes a significant degree of degeneration". And he adds: "Memory loss associated with ageing is due to loss of neurons in this structure. Accordingly, the ability to consolidate and store the new memories in the cortex gradually diminishes, while we retain the ability to access the memories that have been fixed for many years in our store", the neuroscientist concludes.

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