Is your forgetfulness normal aging, or something more? If you’re over 45 and you’ve walked into a room and forgotten why, or lost someone’s name five seconds after hearing it, this episode is for you.
I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, and on this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast I walk you through how memory actually works inside your brain, and why so much of it is under your control. We start with the patient known as H.M., whose surgery revealed that memory isn’t one system at all but several, running in different parts of the brain. From there I explain how a memory gets built, why sleep is the window where memories get filed for the long term, and how chronic stress and elevated cortisol quietly wear down the hippocampus.
Then we get practical. I share the only two study techniques that earned the highest rating in a landmark review of learning research, and why highlighting and rereading rank near the bottom. I give you specific fixes for remembering names, phone numbers, and grocery lists. And I walk through the fourteen modifiable risk factors identified by the Lancet Commission that together account for roughly 45 percent of dementia cases worldwide.
What you’ll learn:
Why memory is several separate systems, not one
How sleep consolidates memories and what happens when you lose it
The two highest-rated memory techniques in the research
A step-by-step method for remembering names
The lifestyle habits that protect your brain long term
The red flags that mean it’s time to talk to your doctor
Dr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/what-if-you-could-train-your-brain
Check out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about
