Insomnia and Depression Trigger Alzheimer's

Due to stress experienced throughout the day, we sometimes forget names, numbers, or tasks that need to be done. Stress and heavy communication traffic cause excessive strain on the brain's short-term memory center. In this intense flow of information, new information—even if very important—cannot be recorded, and therefore learning does not occur. The brain does not forget old information but also does not accept new information. This situation is different from forgetfulness and is often mistaken for the beginning of Alzheimer's disease. Prof. Dr. Türker Şahiner from the Neurology Department at Memorial Şişli Hospital shared important information about the causes of forgetfulness and when it reaches dangerous levels.

Forgetfulness Reduces Quality of Life

Objects forgotten in strange places and constantly misplaced items can indicate the extent of forgetfulness. A person may forget their glasses in a different place every day. But if they forget their glasses inside the refrigerator, the situation has taken on a different dimension. Failing to notice forgetfulness, denying it, or adopting an indifferent attitude toward it begins to affect social relationships. One of the most important findings in dementia is how much forgetfulness reflects on social life and affects quality of life. Additionally, the patient's often being unaware of this condition or denying it is an important characteristic that distinguishes dementia from other innocent forms of forgetfulness.

Genetic Factors Are Effective in Alzheimer's Disease

Forgetfulness complaints can occur in people of all ages, but the 40 to 60 age group is the most affected. Many people who think they are forgetful do not know which hospital department to visit or what to do about their forgetfulness. Not every instance of forgetfulness seen especially in the 40-60 age group is a sign of Alzheimer's disease, and the rate of Alzheimer's in the 40-year-old group is below one in a thousand unless there are high-risk genetic factors. Some people in the 40-60 age group forget names and numbers, while others experience emotional or visual problems. Conditions that cause forgetfulness of a single type are often not risky, and determining the type of forgetfulness is very important—only through this can forgetfulness concerns be reduced. Hospitals can easily determine whether a person has Alzheimer's through a short-term memory examination conducted over a short period, but the question being sought is often different. The person seeking help questions how their forgetfulness will progress and what their future will be. Today, memory performance monitoring programs available online are quite valuable in early detection. Through long-term online monitoring programs such as BEYNEX, software developed in Turkey, a person's forgetfulness condition is determined and the status is reported to the patient and attending physician.

Excessive Information Overload Strains the Memory Center

Smartphones, which have become an indispensable part of life, have many disadvantages for brain health. Being able to easily access information from a phone or tablet leads to not needing to remember that information. Short-term memory subjected to excessive information input becomes highly strained and these pieces of information have no chance of being repeated. In this case, the short-term memory center, the hippocampus, becomes lazy. Again, due to smartphones and social media, it becomes difficult to focus on the task at hand. This focus problem creates psychological stress and impairs quality of life. Reading messages on a smartphone while engaged in a task is a situation that strains short-term memory. People's messaging time decreases as social networks expand. Checking messages every 30 seconds while performing a task and doing this continuously throughout the day is another reason that strains the short-term memory center.

Every Piece of Information Has an Emotional Component

When the brain records information, the emotional aspect and weight of that information matter. Depending on whether an experience is painful, pleasant, enjoyable, or frightening, the impressions it leaves can be remembered easily or with great difficulty. The act of remembering—the recording of information—actually occurs through the organism's natural instinct of self-preservation. The brain records information more strongly so that if it is important for survival, it can be recalled in risky situations. In the information age, people are bombarded with information that contains no emotional component whatsoever. This leads to difficulty in recording the details of information and difficulty in recall. Information that is often thought to be forgotten may actually never have been recorded at all.