Where'd I Put My Keys?

Dave and I are constantly trying to come up with stuff that's filed away in our brains - somewhere. So, as I was thumbing through my More Magazine, that I bought at the used book store for a dollar, I zeroed in on this article called New Rules for Saving Your Memory.

Because, let's face it, I need help. And if you're over 50 you do too.

My theory has been that, at our age, we have so much stored up there that it just takes longer and longer to file through it all in order to come up with name of the lead singer of the Pretenders. Or Gerald Ford's Secretary of State.

But this article says that, when we're young, our brains do a good job of figuring out what's relevant or not and then subtracting the irrelevant. So they've recently learned that most midlife memory fading isn't about retrieval. It turns out that our mature brains have a harder time blocking out useless information.

This is certainly true about me. I am the queen of trivia. Dave says that if he ever goes on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? he wants me to be his call-in friend because I know a little something about almost everything. But coming up with fast answers can be a problem.

On a more serious note, the articles says that the very best thing you can do for your brain is exercise, i. e., regular aerobic exercise.

It's good for what ails us - body and mind.

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