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We have often heard and read about the short term memory loss but do you know someone who is actually suffering from it? If that is the case, know that coping with short term memory loss isn’t the easiest.
The lack of consciousness of certain events occurring and even the kind of mental stress it brings along isn’t something one does favour. In order to keep things aligned for yourself, it is best suggested to ensure that you find better ways of mitigation.
To help you out with some of the best ways to improve short term memory loss, we have cumulated a list of ways that does come in handy.
What causes short term memory loss?
When it comes down to the causes behind the condition of short term memory loss, the possibilities are quite diverse and extensive.
If you have been having a hard time recalling things that have happened within a short time frame, it is possible that the same is happening because of a wide range of possibilities which is why it is important that you find better ways to combat this.
To help you get a better idea about the possible causes, let us take a look at some of the most common ones, shall we?
1.Brain aneurysm
Brain aneurysm is a condition which is characterized by the bulging structures around in the brain arteries.
While these can often cause pressure in the brain’s blood flow, they don’t always rupture. But, the problem arises when it ruptures and ends up causing blood flow out of the vessels and ends up causing clots in the brain.
This is one of the markers that can lead to the short term as well as long term memory loss as well.
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2.Amnesia
People who suffer from amnesia, which is a type of memory loss, are often affected with short term memory loss which ends up getting permanent at times too.
The condition of amnesia can be triggered either because of brain conditions, or even because of any kind of accidents or injuries that have been inflicted on the brain.
Brain infection or emotional shock also often contributes to such conditions altogether.
Read: Links Between Pleasure Centre In Brain And Biological Clock Established
3.Brain tumor
Our brain is enclosed is a specific space and any kind of change in the pressure around in the cavity can prove fatal for one’s life.
For the most part, any kind of presence of brain tumour in the pre-frontal cortex has been found to have negative impacts on the brain function and can contribute to short term memory loss as well.
The removal of the tumour from the spot can help bring back the memories but even those aren’t decided in stone.
4.Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a medical condition which is characterized by the sudden stopping in the breathing during your sleeping cycles.
The condition has been found to have impacts on one’s condition of short term memory loss. The main reason behind the same is because of the lack of sleep one gets with this condition.
Since your sleeping cycles are improper, the same ends up hampering the process of memory consolidation as well.
Read: What Sleeping Position Says About Personality? 10 Astonishing Results!
5.Alzheimer’s or Dementia
Even though the condition of alzheimer’s and dementia are more prevalent in the old age, the same has been regarded as a possible marker in the condition of short term memory loss.
Given that the brain doesn’t function at its best, the same ends up contributing to the condition even more so. It is best suggested to ensure that you take out a look on this possible cause and seek medical attention, if required.
Read: Illiterate people are at higher risks of developing dementia, new study reveals
6.Medications
The side effects of medications aren’t a new thing. There are a number of types of medicines which have been found to have negative impacts on the body and mind, especially impacting your memory.
Some of the medicines which can contribute to such similar conditions include medications for inducing sleep, to treat depression and anxiety and even a number of painkillers and opiods.
Read: 16 Everyday Habits That Are Bad For Your Health
7.Nutritional deficiency
Vitamin B12 deficiency in the body is one of the most important markers when it comes to the condition of short term memory loss. Even though it is often hard to deduce why the same happens, studies have found several possible implications of the lack of Vitamin B12 with the affected brain function.
It can lead to not just the condition of short term memory loss but also cause confusion and dementia in one’s mind as well.
For the most part, it has been found to have negative impacts in the brain functioning and firing of the necessary neurons that are often associated with the memory.
Consuming animal protein is important for this specific vitamin. If you are vegetarian, supplement with Vitamin B12.
Read: Did You Know That Diet Plays A Key Role In Anemia?
8.Mental health disorder
Several of the mental health disorders like anxiety and depression are regarded as some of the possible causes that can cause the short term memory loss.
Given that people suffering from such conditions tend to not have proper sleeping cycles, the same does have impacts on one’s overall health and can end up inflicting issues with your memory consolidation.
Read: 16 Natural Treatment For Bipolar Disorder – Know The Ways!
9.Aging
Much like your entire body, your brain ages too and the same can be a possible cause behind the condition of aging. If you have been struggling to keep things aligned for yourself and losing the short term memory, chances are that your brain is aging.
It is not an impossible occurrence and can be treated medically for which you need to keep in touch with your doctor.
Read: Experiments on Humans To Test Out Anti-aging Cures To Shortly Commence
10.Alcohol or substance abuse
Last but not the least on the list of the possible causes behind this condition definitely has to be the reason of alcohol or even substance abuse.
If you are finding yourself indulging way more in alcohol and depending your existence on it, chances are that the same is going to come around at you and cause negative impacts on the body and that too for the worse.
How to know if you have short term memory loss?
When it comes to finding the cure for short term memory loss, you need to first ensure that you actually do suffer from this condition.
As crude as it does sound, it can actually help better the overall impacts that you have no possible recollection of.
Knowing the signs and symptoms of this condition can help you get a better chance at recovery that you had no idea about.
Some of the best signs and symptoms of short term memory loss include:
- Finding yourself asking similar questions persistently
- Memory lapses
- Forgetting things in different places
- No recollection of recent events
How to improve short term memory loss?
When it comes to the ways for coping with short term memory loss, the possibilities around the same are quite extensive.
The last thing you want is to suffer from the condition on a permanent basis which is why opting for the effective brain training mechanisms can actually help keep things aligned for you.
There are a number of natural ways to get your life back on track and we are going to help you with just that.
1.Get proper sleep
The first and possibly the most important cure for short term memory loss definitely has to be quality sleep.
If you didn’t know better, sleeping is the time where the brain consolidates all the memory (R) it has acquired over the course of the entire day or even the recent events that have occurred in your life.
The lack of sleep can end up hampering this process, thus making it quite harder for you to remember even the simplest of the events that have been happening in your life.
If you want to get rid of short term memory loss, it is necessary that you opt for ways that will promote better sleeping cycles and get rid of the risks associated with the insomnia.
Read: Lack Of Sleep In Women Enhance Risks Of Obesity And Heart Disease, New Study
2.Indulge in crossword puzzles
In order for coping with short term memory loss, you need to always keep your memory sharp and brain well functioning.
It is very important that you do find extensive ways to help yourself in boosting the internal networking in the brain.
The more the networking, the better is your memory.
This is why doing crossword puzzles or mentally challenging your brain with tasks come in handy in treating the condition for the better.
Crossword puzzles, playing a musical instrument or even playing scrabble can help in keeping your neural brain connections active, thus helping in better memory.
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3.Chew gum while you are acquiring knowledge
One of the most unusual ways to get rid of short term memory loss is to indulge in chewing gum while you are learning.
This might sound absurd but it does help a lot in the process of recovery, better than what you would have expected.
Studies have found that chewing gum helps in improving the functions of the hippocampus, which is one of the crucial parts in the brain which is associated with memory consolidation.
Even several of the other studies have found that there is a significant rise in the memory recollection and immediate word recall in the participants who chew gum in comparison to the ones who don’t.
4.Indulge in more caffeine
Caffeine is considered as one of the best ways for coping with short term memory loss.
While it is hard to deduce while it might be helping with this condition, it is believed that caffeine helps with keeping the brain alert and active which further helps with the condition of restoring the short term memory loss.
Even studies (R) have found this beneficial and impactful in not just enhancing the overall condition of the memory consolidation and retention but also on the concentration of an individual.
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5.Get exercising
Your brain functions are dependent on your physical capabilities. If you are someone who consistently indulges in a sedentary lifestyle, chances are that the same will catch up with your brain functions and cause impacts on your memory retention.
The best way to keep that in check is to ensure that you lead an active lifestyle and exercise regularly. It isn’t necessary for you to indulge in something very hectic. Even the low intensity workout or the cardio exercises can have beneficial impacts on your overall body.
It is very important to ensure that you do keep the possible side effects in mind and train under someone professional to not end up in a pickle.
Read: 8 Bodyweight Exercises For Strength – Do They Make You Stronger?
6.Go out and socialize
As we did mention before, mental health disorders are one of the possible causes behind the condition of short term memory loss.
If you want to get used to coping with short term memory loss, it is important that you do go out and socialize more often. This can actually help in boosting the overall health of an individual and get rid of the depressive episodes that you have been experiencing.
Spending more time with family and friends does help in keeping your health in check and even promote better memory because it keeps your mind distracted from things that have been bothering you extensively over a long period of time.
Read:15 Ways To Overcome Social Anxiety – Fight Your Way Through!
7.Move your eyes either side
Yet another one of the unusual but effective ways to cure for short term memory loss is by moving your eyes from side to side.
It is believed to help in stimulating one’s memory but enhancing the connection between the two hemispheres of the brain.
In a conducted study, it was found that the participants who did indulge in moving their eyes back and forth experienced better memory consolidation by 10%.
8.Brain training
Brain training for short term memory loss is quite effective, mainly because of the kind of implications they bring along.
If you have been struggling to keep your memory in check and forgetting important events, brain training activities can help.
One of the best activities that you can indulge to train your brain includes memory game. Put a variety of things on a table. Stare at it for 30 seconds and then remove them from the table. Write down all the things that you remember.
Doing this helps improve your recalling power of the brain and gets rid of the problems associated with short term memory loss.
Read: Connected Brain Networks Can Spread Dementia, New Study Suggests
9.Medical procedures
If the condition of the short term memory loss is very persistent in you and you have been having a hard time keeping your memories in check, it is best suggested that you talk to a doctor and get an idea about the possible medical procedures that can help in improving the condition.
There are a number of medical procedures that have been found to have beneficial impacts on the recovery of the process.
Some of the most noticeable ones include Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (R) and Neurofeedback training. In the first one, the patient is charged with a low charge of electricity through the scalp to help stimulate certain parts of the brain cortex.
Additionally, in the Neurofeedback training, the patients are hooked up to a number of devices and their brain activity is recorded. Following this, they are trained to have a way with their memory for better impacts in recovery of the memory loss that they have been experiencing.
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10.Enhance your diet
Yet another one of the best ways for coping with short term memory loss is to focus on the diet that you are consuming. As weird as it sounds, it does play a very crucial role in the same.
Given that we mentioned before, the lack of certain nutrients in the body can end up contributing to memory loss which is one of the primary reasons why it is best suggested that you focus on eating a diet that is balanced with all the necessary nutrients.
If possible, consume more fruits and vegetables and ensure that you consume more of the lean meats instead of the fattier version of the same.
Switch the refined grains with the whole grains because of the kind of beneficial impacts it has on the body and the overall brain functions.
If you are into plant based diets solely, ensure that you supplement your body with the Vitamin B12 supplements which can only be derived from the animal proteins.
Read: Blue Zones Diet Can Help Improve Your Life Span
11.Align your focus
If you want to get rid of short term memory loss, it is important that you align your focus on the task at hand. Try and get rid of all the possible distractions from around you because that is what ends up making it hard for you to recall things.
Try and limit the distractions from around you and instead focus on ensuring that you have your sole attention on what you are doing or learning at the moment.
The better the focus, the more likely you are going to have it stabilized in your brain, thus further helping with the condition.
12.Do doodles
How often have we been scolded for doodling in the middle of the class because it hampers our attention? Happened quite often, didn’t it?
Well, new studies suggest that doodling can actually prove beneficial in helping improve the overall attention span and concentration in an individual, thus further helping with the condition of the short term memory loss that you have been struggling.
It is believed to also help grasp new concepts better and retain the same information for a longer period of time which is what you need for better memory consolidation.
Start with a clean and white page and then start with anything you feel like doodling. It can be fonts or even drawings, whatever floats your boat.
13.Remove the clutter from around
Yet another one of the important cure for short term memory loss is to remove the clutter around from your home because the more clutter you have in your home, the more likely you are going to have a clogged mind that makes it harder for you to keep things in mind.
Having a clean and clear house around can also help in keeping the distractions at bay and helping you get a better outlook on the work that you are trying to focus on.
14.Indulge in mindfulness
Mindfulness is one of the best ways to keep your short term memory loss in check.
Not only does it help in boosting the overall concentration and focus, it has also been found to help in keeping the mental health disorders in check as well which further manages the symptoms effectively.
Meditation and even yoga, to an extent, has been found to help improve one’s concentration which can further help boost your overall health and brain function.
It is one of those factors that not many pay heed to but pans out well for one’s overall mental health.
Read: 10 Efficient Ways to Avoid Depression For Better Mental Peace
15.Laugh out loud
Laughter is the best medicine.
Whoever said this knew what they were talking about.
Recent studies have found that laughing can actually prove beneficial for one’s overall mental stability and brain function as well.
The main reason behind the same is because of the lowering of the cortisol levels in the patients which manages the stress and hence ensures better memory retention.
Indulge in a regular 30 minutes of laughing in natural ways by watching a funny skit or even with the other methods that come up to your mind.
How to help someone with short term memory loss?
When it comes to the ways to help someone with short term memory loss, the possibilities are quite extensive.
If you have someone you know who is suffering from this condition, it is important that you do your part to help them in this hard journey.
It isn’t the easiest for someone to have no recollection of an event that happened just the day before.
Some of the best ways in which you can help include:
- Talk to them about lend away your support
- Assure them that it’s okay even if they don’t remember certain things
- Don’t pressurize them into remembering certain events
- Know their strengths and weaknesses
- Do brain training with them to keep them company
- Don’t treat their condition like a liability, empower them instead
How long does short term memory loss last?
When it comes to the time period of short term memory loss, nothing is set in stone.
One can experience memory loss for a few days, weeks or even months, for that matter.
Everyone’s brain physiology is different and there is no two ways about it. The kind of brain functions you have might not be same in someone else.
This is why it is hard to pinpoint exactly the time frame that one would need to recover from the condition of short term memory loss.
It is very important that you look out for the coping with short term memory loss with its mechanisms and implement them to make the recovery faster.
When it comes to coping with short term memory loss, the possibilities are quite extensive. Apart from the medical procedures, there are several natural ways that you can look into. The only thing that you need to ensure is the fact that you do things the right way. Don’t rush through and instead, take it slow and one step at a time.
