Review: Remember

 Remember is Lisa Genova's book about memory. What hurts it is that I've read about most of the topics she covers in various other neuropsychology books (e.g., the need to do spaced repetition in order to learn something permanently, the unreliability of eyewitnesses, the difference between episodic memory and flashbulb memory). I'd say that what distinguishes this book from other books is that (1) it's short, and (2) there's an emphasis on practical ways to help yourself remember what you want to remember, and (3) there's also short sections about forgetting stuff you want to forget.

One interesting titbit is that if you're blocked and forgotten a word ("tip of the tongue" situation), it's OK to use Google find blocked words:

Many people worry that if they use Google to find their blocked words, then they’re contributing to the problem and actually worsening their already-weakening memory. They consider Google a high-tech crutch that’s going to ruin their memories. This belief is misinformed. Looking up the name of the actor who played Tony Soprano doesn’t weaken my memory’s ability whatsoever. Similarly, suffering through the mental pain and insisting on coming up with the word on my own doesn’t make my memory stronger or come with any trophies for my doing so. You don’t have to be a memory martyr. You are not more likely to experience fewer TOTs, resolve future TOTs faster, better remember where you put your keys, remember to take your heart medication tonight, or prevent Alzheimer’s if you can retrieve Tony Soprano’s name without Google. (kindle loc 1324)

Similarly, her practical advise about prospective memory (intention to do something) is to just use checklists as an aid, as well as cues (e.g., put the stuff you need to remember in front of the door so you literally have to trip over it to forget it as you leave your home)  The advise to forget something is basically "don't keep repeating the story of your painful incident or it'll be seared into your memory --- don't talk about it other people, and don't ruminate on it!" Hm... That's probably much harder advice to follow than to give.

Practical advise about avoid dementia and Alzheimers are pretty straightforward: eat a mediterranean diet, exercise, and sleep well, and get plenty of vitamin D.

Aerobic exercise has been associated with a significantly reduced risk of dementia in many human studies, and it decreases amyloid levels in animal models of the disease. Exercise improves sleep (it decreases the time it takes to fall asleep, increases the quality of sleep, and decreases the number of times you wake up in the night). And as described earlier, sleep improves normal memory and reduces your risk of Alzheimer’s. Even a daily brisk walk has been correlated with a 40 percent decreased risk of Alzheimer’s. That’s not a small impact. Exercise works. (kindle loc 2325)

Another interesting thing she notes is that building a cognitive reserve doesn't mean stuff like sudoku and crosswords. You actually have to learn new skills:

Building up a cognitive reserve doesn’t mean doing crossword puzzles. There is no compelling evidence that doing puzzles or brain-training exercises does anything to decrease your risk of Alzheimer’s. You’ll improve at doing crosswords, but you’re not building a bigger, Alzheimer’s-resistant brain. You don’t want to simply retrieve information you’ve already learned, because this type of mental exercise is like traveling down old, familiar streets, cruising neighborhoods you already know. You want to pave new neural roads. Building an Alzheimer’s-resistant brain through cognitive stimulation means learning to play piano, meeting new friends, traveling to a new city, or reading this book (kindle loc 2352)

All in all, the book is short, easy to read, and practical. I'm not sure you can find a higher recommendation than that!