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Connecting Aging and Memory

It is a well-known fact that aging will affect memory for many different reasons.  Family members, friends, spouses, and careers all suffer because of aging and memory loss.  Loss of memory seems to be a part of life that may sneak up on a person, gradually growing worse until it is finally acknowledged as being serious to warrant attention.

One of the least-heard-of ways people are affected by loss of memory is called male menopause.  It seems to be more of an issue to keep the health problems affecting men a secret than it is for women.  The male pride can be extremely sensitive in the areas of failing health.

The first memory that seems to be affected by aging is short-term memory.  It is easy to assume that one may be in the first stages of Alzheimer's when memory loss begins to occur.  Indeed, some may laugh at the idea of male menopause.  After all, everyone knows menopause is something women endure, right?  Unfortunately, this is not at all true.  Most men just never seek help for this condition because of not being aware of their feelings on a conscious level.  Men are taught to put their emotions aside because to openly acknowledge them is perceived as a sign of weakness.

Forgetfulness is at the beginning of the list of changes occurring later in life.  The mental processes are slowing down.  We begin to run low on hormones after the age of 40.

There is a steroid hormone that the body will normally produce, using cholesterol as its main raw material.  It converts into other steroids the body uses.  The level of this hormone declines with age.  Low doses such as 10-30 mg a day has been shown to be a memory enhancer with a punch!  Possibly the most powerful memory enhancer of all, it is also an anti-inflammatory aid which helps arthritic conditions when given at high doses of 400-500 mg per day.  Other benefits of this hormone are increased energy levels, balanced hormone levels, and repair to the sheath that covers neurons in the central nervous system.
Many women are able to laugh and joke with others about the effects of menopause, especially the memory loss.  It may be harder to notice memory loss caused by menopause simply because women and men are both caught up in working and rearing their children.  This causes preoccupation of the mind, due to the busy lifestyles.

Aging and memory loss are no joke, certainly, and even those who are able to find the humor in it may secretly be covering for the frustration it actually causes in their day-to-day lives.  Forgetting can be a scary, intimidating part of the aging process.  Once it becomes such a problem that the elderly are faced with their loss of independence, it is certainly no longer a joke to one of them.  It can cause life-threatening confusion, sometimes causing them to wander away from home and get lost, cause a vehicle accident by wandering into the street, or subject them to the fierce elements of nature.