According to today’s neuroscientific theories, the outer layer of our brain, or cerebral cortex, becomes thinner as we age; especially the prefrontal cortex, the cerebellum, and the hippocampus. This explains why, when we are older, mental functions such as memory start malfunctioning. It is worth mentioning that a debilitated memory is not necessarily the result of incipient dementia, but simply the memory of a weak brain. So much so that specialists recommend exercising and eating a healthy diet; but above all they recommend a regular social life for memory to improve. I started reading this article a while ago because I had realized that, when I was having a conversation, I had a hard time finding the right word for a sentence. Furthermore, I was unable to recognize some words that came to mind, although them being correct. To be honest, knowing that this was one of the ills of old age did not comfort me at all. Let me add that at that time I was going through a difficult life phase due to all those things that suddenly overwhelm us when we are not young anymore. Like for instance, realizing that the end of our life is not too far away, and that when we leave this world, we will never see our loved ones again. These thoughts are so powerful that they end up making our daily life seem meaningless and absurd. Luckily, as Heraclitus used to teach, nothing lasts, everything changes. That is why those dark times slowly faded away, and my life went back to being once again peaceful and interesting. It was because of that serenity that all those words that I had desperately searched for when being in the company of others suddenly reappeared. Exercises or healthy diets were not at all necessary; like in many other illnesses, by simply stripping the brain of unsettling thoughts and accepting what is, the brain healed and memory returned.
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