memory - blog - Sister to Sister

April 17, 2019, Forgetting may not be a sign of dementia

How often do we go to another room to do something and do not remember what it was we were supposed to be doing? No, it is not necessarily a sign of dementia. It happens even to young people. We are just more aware of it as we age because we fear we are losing our memory. But why do we forget something so quickly when we are in the next room?

I know it doesn't seem to make sense, but forgetting is a very important survival action. Suppose you are in a forest and you see a pond. You plan to tell Fred about that promising fishing spot. You walk through the forest as your mind is observing details in your environment.

Then you are out of the forest and on a plain. You walk for awhile and remind yourself not to forget to tell Fred - - - -. What was it you were going to tell Fred? It was important.

Oops, you almost stepped on a rattle snake. You back up and go around the snake, still trying to remember what you wanted to tell Fred. You step around a cactus with three inch thorns. This is a dangerous terrain, you have to be more careful and attentive and forget about Fred.

Later, when you get home you remember you wanted to tell Fred something. You tell him you have something important to tell him but you forgot what it was.  

Fred says, “Was it something you saw? Where was it?”

“I was in the forest”, you tell Fred Then you remember the pond and you say, “Fred, I find a great fishing pond you should try.”

Memories are tied to location. The reason for that is your brain needs to focus only on the location you are in when you are in a dangerous environment. You need to temporarily forget facts about other locations and focus on where you are. So when you leave one place to go into a new one, you temporarily forget memories relating to where you were and pull up memories of the new location. Your life may depend on it. And that trait exists even today.

If you walk into another room and forget what you were going to do in that room, imagine yourself where you were when you were thinking that forgotten memory and it will pop back into your mind. Just thinking about the location you were in when you were thinking that forgotten thought will usually bring it up. If it is stubborn, walk back in that room and stand were you were when you were thinking what you were going to do and you will remember.

Relax, Forgetting when you change locations is not a sign of dementia. It is just an interesting, but annoying, survival technique.

Note: I have to give credit for this blog to my daughter. She does a lot of reasearch and reads a lot. She is home schooling twin boys that, like her, are gifted. She is the smartist and best educated person I know and I learn a lot from her.