The Memory Book: Everyday Habits for a Healthy Memory
Author: Judith Wiles and Janet Wiles
2005
Pages: 212
Paperback
Cover price: Rs. 195
ISBN: 81-7476-55-0
As we age, it can become harder to retain the everyday pieces of information that make life liveable.The Memory Bookoffers practical strategies for overcoming forgetfulness and dispels common concerns about memory lapses and memory loss.
This indispensable book is based on a survey of people’s concerns that shows if you forget names and things you meant to do, you are in good company! It examines how memory works and why it sometimes lets us down, and gives a fascinating insight into how our brains turn thoughts into memories.
The Memory Book is packed with tips and techniques to ensure that we continue to manage our memory well and stay fresh and alert. It is the ideal book for anyone who would like to have a better memory.
This extract is taken from the first chapter "Why do we forget names?":
Since calling others by their name is an important part of our social and business life, we would like to remember their names. Almost everyone has experienced a situation where they know the name of a person but cannot bring it immediately to mind. Frequently this lapse occurs when the person has not been seen for a while but it also occurs for names of close friends and even family, or somebody met only minutes ago. Why are names so hard to remember? The arbitrary association between a person and their name provides a clue to our difficulties in remembering names and bringing them to mind at will. If words form a sequence like ‘left and right’ or ‘warm and cosy’, they come easily to mind. One word calls up the next. But a person and their name are two discrete entities and we need to deliberately create associations between the two.
{{/usCountry}}Since calling others by their name is an important part of our social and business life, we would like to remember their names. Almost everyone has experienced a situation where they know the name of a person but cannot bring it immediately to mind. Frequently this lapse occurs when the person has not been seen for a while but it also occurs for names of close friends and even family, or somebody met only minutes ago. Why are names so hard to remember? The arbitrary association between a person and their name provides a clue to our difficulties in remembering names and bringing them to mind at will. If words form a sequence like ‘left and right’ or ‘warm and cosy’, they come easily to mind. One word calls up the next. But a person and their name are two discrete entities and we need to deliberately create associations between the two.
{{/usCountry}}Funny things can happen when other people forget your name. Helen recounts her story:
At our local shopping centre a woman rushed over and said how lovely it was to see me and continued to chat for about 5 minutes. The whole time I was racking my brains trying to remember who she was – I was searching for clues in everything she said. She finally said she had to be off and said ‘good bye Susan – see you soon I hope.’ My name is Helen!! What a relief – she didn’t know me after all!