Use it or Lose it
Aug 18, 2021
We’ve all heard the phrase ‘use it or lose it’. Here’s some evidence that supports that this may be true in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
A common comment by patients to the memory clinic, is that their memory is impaired because they haven’t been doing anything or talking to anyone. Lockdown in particular saw some people’s memory declined faster than it may have done. Why did the pandemic lead to a worsening of their memories?
When we’re sat daydreaming, we’re using parts of the brain that are different to when we’re focused on an activity. These parts of the brain are called the default mode network. It might be that when we use these parts too much that this can be a risk factor in the progression of memory loss.
We need a good supply of focused activity as well as daydreaming for optimal brain function.
In the memory clinic we encourage people to be mentally, physically and socially active. What we are actually encouraging is less daydreaming and more focused activity. Examples of focused activity are doing the crossword, meeting friends for lunch, exercise, yoga, arts, meditation and mindfulness.
It’s possible to predict, without special brain scans, that the default brain network may be showing changes consistent with Alzheimer’s disease. Being unaware of having a memory problem is a strong predictor of memory decline. One study found a three-fold increase in Alzheimer’s disease in people who were unaware of having a memory difficulty1.
Therriault, J., Ng, K., Pascoal, T., Mathotaarachchi, S., Kang, M., & Struyfs, H. et al. (2018). Anosognosia predicts default mode network hypometabolism and clinical progression to dementia. Neurology, 90(11), e932-e939. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000005120