Hours after Dr. Kelly Murphy, left, finished speaking at a recent seminar sponsored by the Association of Jewish Seniors, chances are everyone remembered her name.
In her talk on maximizing memory, Murphy taught participants about space repetition. “Repeat a name when you hear it, and a short while later repeat it again. If you do that a few times, you are exercising your memory. It is a good technique for remembering a phone number or address.”
Murphy is a clinical neuropsychologist in the cognitive and behavioural health program at Baycrest, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Toronto and an adjunct faculty member in graduate studies (psychology) at York University. She runs a clinical service specializing in the early detection and treatment of memory decline in older adults with mild cognitive impairment who are at risk of developing future dementia.
Also speaking at the seminar was Gerry Phillips, MPP for Scarborough-Agincourt and minister responsible for seniors.
Murphy told the group of almost 150 people that memory has three components – coding, storage and retrieval, “and a breakdown anywhere affects memory.
“The ability to code or digest information changes a little bit as we age, but the ability to store information does not. What gets in, stays in. We’re not as good, however, at retrieval or getting the information out of our memory.”
Strategies such a space repetition are effective at getting information into our long-term memory, she said. “Another strategy to remember names is to think about whether the name has an obvious meaning, or to associate it with someone else you know. The more meaningful you make something, the more you will remember.”
Even people in their 30s can’t retrieve memory as readily as they could in their 20s, she said. “It is a subtle process, though. There needs to be quite a difference before we notice.”
In attempting to improve our memory, she said that it’s “important to remember that whatever is good for our body is good for our brain. [Good life choices] seem to delay the onset of dementia, and it’s never too late to try and change things up a bit.”
Age is the biggest risk factor in cognitive decline, she said, but by taking good care of ourselves, we can age well and sustain independence.”
Phillips, 69, said that part of his job is to put a positive light on Ontario seniors. “Lots of people are anxious to contribute. We have to provide opportunity to the growing number of seniors who want to work for pay or volunteer, and make sure our communities are age friendly.”
