Ayushakti's tips for Boosting Memory and Concentration with Ayurveda.

Everyone forgets things sometimes. Some degree of memory problems is a relatively common part of aging. There's a difference between normal changes in Memory and Memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders.

We often translate 'memory problems like Alzheimer's, dementia, or increasing benign forgetfulness or short-term memory loss. For example, women in menopause can temporarily experience changes in Memory that are recovered once hormonal balancing reoccurs.
What are the signs and symptoms of poor Memory?
Not being able to remember new events.
Unable to recall one or more memories of the past
Forgetfulness
A memory loss that disrupts daily life.
Getting challenges in planning or solving problems.
Difficulty completing familiar tasks.
Confusion with time or place.
Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships.
New problems with words in speaking or writing.

What is Memory?

Memory is the ability to recall past experiences Starting from a few seconds past to long term. Memory is divided into three main components :

Immediate: which is covering the past few seconds. Immediate Memory can be tested by recalling three unrelated items that you are exposed to for the last 5 minutes.

Intermediate: covering the duration from a few seconds past to a few days past. Intermediate Memory can be tested by recalling what you did one week ago or what breakfast you had two days ago.

Remote or long-term: Past Memory extends further back in time.
Remote Memory can be tested by recalling the color of the car that you bought 5 years ago. Or what was the make and color of the car you first purchased in your life?
Why poor Memory?
Childhood memories are stored more strongly than adult ones, reflecting the inherent plasticity of the young brain. As we grow, the plasticity of the brain reduces. Occasionally head trauma or, mostly, the aging process damages the parts of the brain connected with Memory. Many drug intoxication, alcoholic - nutritional disease, and brain ischemia also cause degenerative changes and, finally, benign forgetfulness or degenerative dementia.
Ayushakti Ayurveda believes that all the three doshas in the brain – Vata (air), Pitta (fire), and Kapha (Phlegm) must work together for learning, processing, and recalling information. Imbalance in any one of them can cause Memory, concentration, and mental clarity problems.
How does this complex mechanism – Memory work?
If you want to have a good focus of mind or learn and acquire new knowledge, VATA (air), specifically Pranavata, must be balanced in the body.
When PITTA (heat) gets out of balance, the Dhriti (laying down of intermediate memory function through chemical and electrical processing of memories that can be retrieved for a day or two and then forgotten) will be impaired.
When KAPHA dosha (phlegm), which lubricates and nourishes the brain tissue - is weak, your long-term Memory suffers. For example, if you're frequently unable to muster up names or memories you know you once knew, your Tarpaka Kapha requires some help. Does any of this sound familiar?
So we have immediate Memory (back a few seconds), intermediate (a few seconds to a few days before), and long-term Memory – stretching further back in time.
How does poor Memory occur?
Improper diet & stressful lifestyle aggravate Tridoshas, predominantly Vata (air) and Pitta (heat), and create Aam. These toxins vitiate into Majjavaha Stratos, i.e., Brain and Nervous system. It settles in the brain and obstructs the proper functioning of the brain. The volatile nature of Vata affects the Manovaha channel, thus Satva, Rajas, and Tamas gunas. This results in a lot of thoughts and poor Memory, and absentmindedness. Thus things can't be remembered when needed. This is known as poor Memory.

Improper diet and stressful lifestyle

Aggravation of Doshas (Vata and Pitta)

Vitiates in Majja and Manovaha channel

Volatile & unstable Vata pollutes the mind.

Forgetfulness, absent mind

POOR MEMORY

Causes of poor Memory or low Memory
Age
Stress And Anxiety
ADHD
Depression
Metabolic Diseases Such As Thyroid Gland Diseases, Diabetes, And Lung, Liver, Or Kidney Failure
Normal age-related poor Memory is common and manageable. One example of this is forgetting where you put your glasses but remembering later in the day.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. It can cause progressive, irreparable brain damage and memory loss.
Mild cognitive impairment can alter thinking skills and eventually progress to Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia.
Minor head injury or trauma can trigger slight memory problems, even if you didn't lose consciousness.
Forgetfulness is a potential side effect of certain medications.
Brain tumors or brain infections can affect your Memory or trigger dementia-like symptoms.
Vitamin B-12 deficiency can create problems with your Memory. You're not maintaining healthy nerve cells and red blood cells.
Alcoholism or drug abuse can impair your mental state and abilities. It can also occur when alcohol interacts with medications.
Hypothyroidism slows your metabolism, leading to memory problems and other issues with thinking.

Poor Memory can be classified into these types :
Seven normal memory problems are listed below-
Transience-
It is the tendency to forget facts or events over time. You are most likely to forget information soon after you learn it. Although transience might seem like a sign of memory weakness, brain scientists regard it as beneficial because it clears the brain of unused memories, making way for newer, more useful ones.

Absentmindedness-
This type of forgetting occurs when you don't pay close enough attention. You forget where you just put your pen because you didn't focus on where you put it in the first place. Absentmindedness also involves forgetting to do something at a prescribed time, like taking your medicine or keeping an appointment.

Blocking-
Someone asks you a question, and the answer is right on the tip of your tongue, but you can't think of it. This is perhaps the most familiar example of blocking, the temporary inability to retrieve a memory. In many cases, the barrier is a memory similar to what you're looking for, and you retrieve the wrong one. This competing Memory is so intrusive that you can't think of the Memory you want.

Misattribution-
Misattribution occurs when you remember something accurately in part but misattribute some detail, like the time, place, or person involved. Another kind of misattribution occurs when you believe a thought you had was original when, in fact, it came from something you had previously read or heard but had forgotten about. This sort of misattribution explains cases of unintentional plagiarism, in which a writer passes off some information as original when they read it somewhere before.
Suggestibility-
Suggestibility is the vulnerability of your Memory to the power of suggestion or information you learn about an occurrence after the fact becomes incorporated into your Memory of the incident, even though you did not experience these details. Although little is known about how suggestibility works in the brain, the suggestion fools your mind into thinking it's a real memory.

Bias-
Even the sharpest Memory isn't a perfect snapshot of reality. In your Memory, your perceptions are filtered by your personal biases — experiences, beliefs, prior knowledge, and even your mood at the moment. Your biases affect your perceptions and experiences when encoded in your brain. And when you retrieve a memory, your mood and other biases at that moment can influence what information you recall.

Persistence-
Most people worry about forgetting things. But in some cases, people are tormented by memories they wish they could forget but can't. The persistence of memories of traumatic events, negative feelings, and ongoing fears is another form of memory problem. Some of these memories accurately reflect horrifying events, while others may be negative distortions of reality.

How to diagnose memory problems?
Getting a prompt diagnosis is essential, even if it's challenging. Identifying a reversible cause of memory impairment enables you to get appropriate treatment. An early diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, or a related disorder is beneficial.
The doctor will perform a physical exam and ask questions to help them identify the cause of your memory loss. This can also help them determine the extent of your memory problems.
Ayushakti expert doctors (Vaidya) check your Pulse (personal meeting) or face reading (video consultation) and ask questions to evaluate the level of the memory problem, focus, and awareness. Accordingly, plan a customized treatment program for you to help you restore your Memory within 90-120 days.

Treatments as per modern science
The doctor may suggest the following :
Eat Less Added Sugar
Cut Down on Refined Carbs
Make Time for Meditation
Maintain a Healthy Weight
Get Enough Sleep
Drink Less Alcohol
Memory loss due to depression is typically managed with regular counseling or therapy and antidepressants.
Train Your Brain with memory aids like alarm clocks, color-coding household items, or placing safety notes with instructions on appliances.
Medications that can improve memory and brain function in people with Alzheime