Poor Memory & Mental Fumbling

4rch3nemy

I haven't gotten much sleep in the last few days so I've noticed my mental stumbling a lot more as of late. It's a lot worse without the proper sleep. I almost never get the correct amount of sleep even when my acute insomnia isn't acting up so much.

My memory is quite poor. It's so bad that after JUST finishing a TV show, I will not remember character names, time periods, or other trivial things. I will remember main themes and scenes decently enough and can still form opinions and discuss the main points of the stories, though. This is just an example, and I have this same problem with almost everything in life: people's names that I've JUST met, what I did on a random day of the week (I can eventually remember after much thought), what I ordered from the restaurant, my family's birthdays, etc. It affects large portions of my life and sometimes I feel inadequate about it (this isn't really the problem, but more of a consequence of it). SO ANNOYING.

Another thing I've got, and have always had, is finding it hard to find the right words to say. When I'm talking to people I'll often stop mid-sentence to find the exact right word to use. If I can't get the word, I'll feel bothered by it and my mind will stay at that spot for a long long time which distracts me from the rest of what's happening around me. I'll often "space out" or fumble my words around which makes me look fucking retarded. I was out on Sunday night, catching a few drinks with some friends, and almost EVERYTHING I tried to say was getting the o_O face followed by a change in conversation because I was almost disruptive without meaning to be. SO ANNOYING.

Me, right up there wrote:

Another thing I've got, and have always had, is finding it hard to find the right words to say.

This sentence is a perfect example of what happens too: I could have worded that much better but instead I made sense but went about the sentence in a long and arduous way .. I have a good vocabulary, and decent grammar but accessing those things is quite a bitch.


So I sit and wonder if these two problems are linked in any sort of way. I don't want to diagnose myself because I'll probably end up thinking I have AIDS or something stupid like that.

Do I just need to strictly follow a healthy sleep regimen? If so.. how?

Any other thoughts besides my own?

TychoCelchuuu

I can't remember names or what I did on a random day of the week or family members' birthdays, and I have to think hard to recall what I ordered at a restaurant. I am otherwise ridiculously intelligent* and in fact have a great memory for facts and salient points in articles and stuff that I read. So you're not specially dumb or something. As for not finding the right words, this happens to me every once in a while. I go through short periods of not... talking... so good.

So basically I can commiserate but I don't have any idea how you'd fix that. If it's any consolation my sleep cycle is mega-normal and I still can't remember the names of anyone I haven't known for weeks.

*and good looking!

Limp moose

Prolonged Fatigue has the same effects as alcohol over time.

Sleeping only a few hours every night builds up whats called sleep debt. Think of your sleep like a bank. Every day while you are awake you take out a deposit. At night you put it back in. Well you take out 8 hours every day. And if you don't put 8 hours back in, you build up sleep debt. If you build up enough "debt" you will notice a strong degradation in your logic/critical thinking skills, Your motor skills will also be degraded as well as your ability to stay awake. You will start micro sleeping and drifting off at random intervals during the day.

What you need is natural uninterrupted sleep. You can't just make it up on the weekends and you can't sleep for 20 hours and then hope that holds you over for the next 3 days. You need your 8 hours every night.

Some helpful ways to get that sleep are the following.

Get into a rhythm your body has a natural circadian rhythm try and use it. Go to bed at the same time every night.

Go to bed in a cool dark comfortable place.

Make where you sleep all you do there. Do not read / watch tv / study in bed. The only thing besides fucking you should do in your bed is sleep. This goes for your room as well. If possible you should only be in your bedroom for sleep. This associates sleep with that living space and you will naturally fall asleep easier in that environment.

Do not work right up till you sleep. Your brain works like a motor its not good to have it running at full blast and then just click it off and put it in sleep mode. You need to let it wind down. Do something mindless and relaxing for at least a half hour before bed. Get your mind off whatever is stressing you out during the day. (ideally a pretty girl giving you a massage is perfect for this)

Again try and get into a rhythm that you can stick to. Its hard for some people to do this but try and go to bed and get up at the same time everyday.

And ditch any drugs/alcohol/stimulants you might be on ESPECIALLY before bed. Alcohol sleep is not the sleep you need to feel rested. And any caffeine even as far as 3 or 4 hours before bed will keep you up.

I am not even kidding about the serious effects of not getting enough sleep. They have done studies that show you are just as impaired with sustained lack of sleep as you are if you drank a 5th of whiskey. There is a reason pilots have required crew rest and limited crew day. Lack of sleep can really mess you up.

So if you want to think clearer and remember things better. Get some damn sleep.

4rch3nemy

Have you ever considered the possibility that you've got a bad memory TychoCelchuuu? I expect a lot from myself and organs.. maybe I expect too much?

Limp moose: Thank you for all that information and advice. I'm definitely making a better effort to have a healthy sleep schedule (it was very helpful to just write down some of the things that were bugging me about my brain) now.

Going to bed at the same time every night thing is important. Noted.
I sleep in the basement. Check.
I have my computer in my bedroom, but with my 24" monitor it's very easy to stick a DVD in and watch it from my bed. I'll stop using my bed as a "couch" and sit in my chair to watch movies in my room instead.
I work until 5pm/6pm so it's not so bad to work->relax->sleep for me.
Rhythm/routine is very important for many facets of life so I'm trying this whole consistency thing out right now and it seems to be working for me.. except for sleeping (sometimes I get genuine insomnia though). My life has had no rhythm for the last year or so, but in my efforts to better that I've been thinking about how to improve myself (AKA: These posts.).

So there aren't any other mental issues I should be aware of, diagnosed by my symptoms above? If sleep is the only problem, we'll know soon enough, I suppose.

Are there any recommended memory exercises I can do to help with memory? I played Brain Age for a bit but I didn't think of it as a real brain exercise as it seemed a little too Mickey Mouse for me.

Thanks in advance, and thanks so far.

Sharp10r

BUY "The Memory Book" by Harry Lorayne and Jerry Lucas.
Sleep of course will help, but most of all, training yourself to memorize things will also help. This is knowledge from the book, most of the time, when you don't memorize something, it's because you had no intention of memorizing it when you heard it (names/faces for example). This book first shows that memory systems have historical roots, and are not some fad, and also after reading the first couple chapters, you'll already be able to memorize a list of 20 random nouns in sequence backwards and forward with next to no time "working" on it.
After training yourself in the various disciplines of memorization (most are quick and easy, others require more work but have great payoff) you'll find yourself being more alert (assuming your sleeping!) and your mind will just perform better. At least, this has been my experience, and others at my school who use some of the systems in the book. I'm sure YMMV.

TychoCelchuuu

4rch3nemy wrote: »

Have you ever considered the possibility that you've got a bad memory TychoCelchuuu? I expect a lot from myself and organs.. maybe I expect too much?

Nah, aside from the stuff you mentioned I have a great memory. Much better than most people by every indication.

FyreWulff

A lot of it can bue due to a lack of sleep. It's possible to fall asleep and not close your eyes, or even remember that you did. Even while watching a TV show.

1ddqd

I've always attributed failings like this to details that aren't important. I put a lot of effort into remembering important things, but sometimes I feel as if I'm in a stupor, vainly trying to commit something to memory the same way Pooh thinks about stuff (remember, remember, remember). I can communicate exceptionally well, but if, for instance, I prioritize something at work, I MUST document it (text or to-do list on PC) or else I'm going to forget it. That memory book may do the trick. I have also been recommended to *try* some supplements, vitamins like Centrum that will account for things I don't normally intake.

Sleep has been a big issue for me, but only because my g/f and I have different schedules half the week and mine is rather extreme:

M - 8-5
T - 5-2
W - 8-5
R - 5-2
F - 8-5
S - 5-9*
S - 5-9*

* - every other weekend

I have a feeling I have MAJOR sleep debt, so I'm going to try to get on a cycle. Subscribed - any other advice would be appreciated. Also, sorry for the wall of text

Hypatia

I have the same problem sometimes and have found that if I make myself play Brain Age for a few days my memory gets a lot better and my "what the hell was that word I was trying to-how do I-what the hell was I doing" gets a lot less.