As the saying goes, one of the keys to happiness may be having a bad memory. Yet as we grow older, bad memory itself may be a cause for unhappiness or even alarm. While we have previously posted on agebuzz about “normal” forgetting versus something more concerning, many of us may naturally feel a bit of anxiety if memory lapses occur. We may wonder if something more sinister is happening. While experts explain that an occasional faulty memory, especially about the details of an event, may in fact be evidence of perfectly normal working memory, it’s only logical that we may panic when we can’t remember what we ate at a family gathering or who was in attendance at a recent party. But before you sink into despair or distress, it’s important to review what can cause memory lapses and how they can be addressed.

As a review, consider this recent article in Medical News Today which provides a comprehensive outline of both short and long-term memory. As the article makes clear, there are innumerable factors that can affect and impair memory as we get older, so it may take a bit of investigation to figure out what’s going on. But in no way should you assume and accept that memory problems are just a fact of aging. For example, sleep disturbances, infections, alcohol use, vision or hearing loss- all of these can cause memory issues and can be addressed. Dr. Leslie Kernisan, of the website Better Health While Aging, recently released a comprehensive video on YouTube discussing the issue of memory loss, both its causes and what primary care physicians can do to investigate and respond. Several points by Dr. Kernisan are worth emphasizing: Your primary care physician can absolutely be your first stop if you are concerned about memory problems. There are a multitude of relatively easy-to-administer tests (such as blood work) to rule out common problems and there’s no need to run to a specialist as your first attempt to investigate. Moreover, your physician may not be aware of some of the potential causes of memory problems in older patients, so it’s important that you discuss with your physician such issues as medication use and sleep patterns, among others. To learn from Dr. Kernisan’s great insights and advice, watch here, and for a more detailed, written version of some of her suggestions, click here.

There is also growing recognition and research (including a recent study published in Neuroscience) that immune defense cells in the brain (called microglia) seem to respond to physical activity and thus help keep the brain sharper and memory stronger as you age. In this study, researchers found that there’s a strong relationship between being in motion and having healthy microglia, especially in portions of the brain involved in memory. Bottom line? Physical activity may be another way to delay or alter memory loss in older people. To find out more, get ready to get going and sharpen your brain by reading here.