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Every week we’ll feature a new question submitted to our experts by a Premium Member. Question: “Is my forgetfulness just stress, or an early sign of dementia?”Dr. Geen’s Answer:This is a great question, and one we get asked a lot. Stress can definitely impact our memory, but not necessarily in the same way that something like Alzheimer’s Disease does. Working Memory: Stress can affect what’s called our “working memory”, or the memory that manages what’s going on from 0 seconds to 5 minutes. This type of memory enables us to pay attention in a conversation, take in what someone is saying, or remember what we’re looking for in the cupboard. People feel like they just can’t pay attention long enough to take something in - and so of course they “forget”, because they never learned it in the first place! There are also other things that can cause similar problems, like poor sleep and certain medications. Short Term Memory: This is the memory of what happened after about 5 minutes to a few days ago. This is the type of memory that is impacted first in conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, and can look like asking the same question or telling the same story several times during the day because you’ve forgotten that you’ve already said it. In this case, you did take in the information during that moment, but you didn’t store the information after those first 5 minutes as a new memory. Similar to working memory, there are many other things that can affect short term memory other than Alzheimer’s disease. What You Can Do: Whether you’re experiencing changes to your working memory or short term memory, reducing stress levels can help to improve your overall brain health. Take our 2-minute Lifestyle Quiz and find out how to optimize your daily habits for better brain health. It’s not necessarily dementia - there are lots of things you can do to take control, protect, and even improve your brain. Aldora is here to guide you every step of the way. Have a question for our experts?
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