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H E A LT H Y S P I R I T S U M M E R 2 015 w w w. s a m c . c o m
T
here's one thing that's crucial to remember
about memory loss: It doesn't have to
happen to you.
Experts agree that just because you
hit a certain age—60, 65, even 85—
doesn't mean you are going to lose your ability to
remember things, especially if you continue to maintain
a healthy and active lifestyle.
"Our culture now has become so incredibly
sensitized to the issue of memory loss, so as people
get older, they think they're cognitively doomed, which
is not the case at all," says Dr. Bill Burke, director of the
Stead Family Memory Center at Banner Alzheimer's
Institute in Phoenix. Memory recall does peak in
your 20s, he says, and the speed with which you
can perform certain mental operations will gradually
decline. But on the flip side, many mental abilities like
vocabulary and social judgment will stay the same or
even improve with age.
KEEPING IT ALL TOGETHER
There's no magic formula for maintaining your memory
in peak form, says Dr. Burke, who is affiliated with
Banner Health Arizona in Phoenix. But eating a
healthy diet, not smoking, keeping your brain active,
socializing and exercising all work together to aid
memory recall as you age.
MEMORY
By Stephanie Thompson
after 60
:
LOSS
f t 0
?
Is it really
inevitable?
Memory is like muscle strength
in that if you keep exercising it,
it gets stronger.
"
~ Dr. Vaishali Saini,
Parkview Medical Center,
Pueblo, Colo.
"
M E N T A L H E A L T H