memory loss

Digital dependence ‘eroding human memory’

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An over-reliance on using computers and search engines is weakening people’s memories, according to a study.

It showed many people use computers instead of memorising information.

Many adults who could still recall their phone numbers from childhood could not remember their current work number or numbers of family members.

Maria Wimber from the University of Birmingham said the trend of looking up information “prevents the build-up of long-term memories”.

The study, examining the memory habits of 6,000 adults in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, found more than a third would turn first to computers to recall information.

The UK had the highest level, with more than half “searching online for the answer first”.

 

Link to full article on BBC

Complex jobs ‘may protect memory’

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People with mentally taxing jobs, including lawyers and graphic designers, may end up having better memory in old age, research suggests.

A study of more than 1,000 Scottish 70-year-olds found that those who had had complex jobs scored better on memory and thinking tests.

One theory is a more stimulating environment helps build up a “cognitive reserve” to help buffer the brain against age-related decline,

The research was reported in Neurology.

The team, from Heriot-Watt University, in Edinburgh, is now planning more work to look at how lifestyle and work interact to affect memory loss.

Those taking part in the study took tests designed to assess memory, processing speed and general thinking ability, as well as filling in a questionnaire about their working life.

 

Full story at BBC Health