The number one symptom of “crispy workers” and “crispy college students” may also exist in you!

In recent times, many people have claimed to be diagnosed as "crispy youth", "crispy college students" and "crispy workers".

A survey conducted by China Youth Daily summarized the three major symptoms of "fragile skin" among young people: memory loss, bad mood, and decreased immunity . Among them, memory loss (43.4%) ranked first .

When chatting with friends, I often hear similar complaints.

"What was the name of that celebrity?"

"Before leaving get off work, I thought about picking up a package, but when I got home I realized I forgot."

——So, are the young people of this generation losing their brains? When we talk about “memory”, we always mention “making lists”.

Let’s make a list and check it out today.

01Is he sick?

It's possible, but it's easy to troubleshoot.

When people feel their memory is declining, many of them will search the Internet. It is fine if they don't search, but the more they search, the more scared they become.

"Is this... Could it be Alzheimer's disease?"

There are two typical features of Alzheimer's disease:

First, it mainly threatens the elderly , and patients under 65 years old are rare;

Second, the "brain power" collapses completely. Young people may not remember the names of their colleagues, but they will not forget the skills they need for work. Alzheimer's patients will not only forget facts, but also lose basic skills, such as how to dress and how to take a shower. They will also have visual-spatial disorders, not knowing where they are, whether it is morning or afternoon, and their temperament will change drastically, becoming extremely sensitive and easily angry.

Injury, depression, brain infection, hypothyroidism, sleep apnea and other diseases can also cause memory impairment. If the brain is compared to a mobile phone, these diseases are equivalent to chip failure . Once the chip fails, it will cause very extensive and obvious changes, such as fever, less sweating, headache and dizziness, sudden weight change, and even thoughts of self-harm.

If similar changes really occur, be sure to go to the hospital as soon as possible; otherwise, there is nothing to worry about.

Signal to go to the hospital, source: self-made by the author

02Could it be because of the medicine?

It's possible, but it's easily fixable.

Some drugs, such as sleeping pills , may cause memory impairment when used in large doses. However, most of them can be restored after stopping the drug. Moreover, if you take the drug strictly according to the doctor's instructions, you will generally not encounter this problem.

What is more worrying is alcohol and tobacco . People often say that drinking alcohol damages the liver. In fact, after drinking, the nervous system will also be busy and participate in the metabolism of alcohol. And tobacco will cause the brain volume to decrease and the hippocampus to shrink. Let's use the mobile phone as an analogy. The hippocampus is equivalent to the save button. Without it, we can't remember anything at all.

In addition, vegetarianism is popular now. If you can ensure nutrition, there is nothing wrong with doing so; blindly following the trend may lead to vitamin B12 deficiency, which will lead to mental depression, nerve tremors, and memory loss. In this case, it is best to resume a normal diet and eat some meat, poultry, fish, and shellfish.

03Could it be a lifestyle problem?

It is possible, though, that some changes can be made.

Let’s take the example of a mobile phone. If you want to save an article, you must first see it, then press Save, and finally, make sure you can find it in the future. If the software prompts “Document has expired”, all the previous work is in vain…

Similarly, to remember something, you must first notice it, and then rely on specific neural tissue (such as the hippocampus mentioned earlier) to preserve it so that you can take it out and use it at the appropriate time.

The nervous system, to put it simply, is a bunch of nerve cells plus large and small blood vessels. "Three highs" will affect blood circulation, which will naturally be harmful to the nervous system; exercise , on the contrary, can improve blood circulation, increase the volume of the hippocampus, and even stimulate the body to release some substances that nourish the nerves. In fact, in fact, a good daily diet and exercise can not only protect memory in the short term, but also prevent Alzheimer's disease in the long run.

As for sleep , it is more complicated. On the one hand, the hippocampus mainly stores memories at night. On the other hand, if you don’t sleep well, your attention system will be affected. Moreover, sleep damages memory very quickly. If you don’t sleep well for one night, your memory may be blurred or even fragmented.

Seeing this, some readers may say: "I know all of what you said, but I really can't do it."

Modern people are under great pressure in life, and stress affects sleep, diet, and exercise. It is understandable that some people cannot do it all at once.

However, there is always something to do.

For example, if there are no abnormalities in blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood lipids during the physical examination, it means that there are no major problems with diet and exercise, so you can put them aside for the time being and give priority to sleep.

The boss decides when to leave work at night, but you can fight for a nap. A 20-minute nap is good for concentration and memory.

Signs of excessive stress, source: self-made by the author

04Is it normal not to be able to remember?

There are three types of forgetting that are normal.

One is, “I read a book yesterday, but today I can only recall part of it.” German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus proposed the “Forgetting Curve” theory, which holds that there are several key points for forgetting, such as one day, one week, and one month. If you don’t review in time, even a “top student” will forget.

Second, "the words are on the tip of my tongue, but I can't recall them." Just like a cell phone falls into the crack of a sofa. I know it's there, but I can't reach it. On the other hand, if you take the sofa cushion off and use five fingers to grab the phone, you will definitely find it. For the brain, whether a memory can be retrieved smoothly depends on its connection with other information. If the connection is deep and dense, it will be effortless to recall it; if the facts are not familiar, it will be easy to "get stuck" when recalling.

The third is, "I forgot to pick up the package again." If you plan to do something in the future, but forget it completely at that time, this is called "prospective forgetting." The reason is simple: our brain is not good at prospective memory. In other words, regardless of age, occupation, busy or leisurely, everyone will encounter this kind of "amnesia". Just use a mobile phone, paper and pen to set a reminder for yourself.

Tips to improve memory, source: self-made by the author

05 Conclusion

In short, if you feel that your memory is declining, it is easy to become suspicious and even avoid seeing a doctor.

In fact, it’s helpful to think of memory as a reminder.

When a notification pops up on your phone, pick it up and take a look; when your memory isn’t as good as it used to be, pay more attention to yourself. Find out what’s going on and how to fix it.

References:

[1] Du Yuanchun, Huang Zihan. Three symptoms of "crispy skin" in young people: memory loss, bad mood, and decreased immunity [N/OL]. China Youth Daily, 2024-01-11(004). DOI:10.38302/n.cnki.nzgqn.2024.000078.

[2] MICHAEL S. GAZZANIGA, RICHARD B. IVRY, GEORGE R. MANGUN. Cognitive neuroscience: The biology of mind [M/OL]. Translated by Zhou Xiaolin and Gao Dingguo. China Light Industry Press, 2020 [2023-12-02]. http://book.ucdrs.superlib.net/views/specific/2929/bookDetail.jsp?dxNumber=000030533200&d=24DC2B8EC4BC3AA3B5E88899BBDEA338&fenlei=02140301.

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[8] KIM T, KIM S, KANG J, et al. The Common Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Human Long-Term Memory and Cognitive Control Processes[J/OL]. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2022, 16[2024-01-25]. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2022.883848.

[9] Lisa Genova. Memory[M/OL]. Translated by Tang Xuan. CITIC Press, 2022[2024-01-23]. https://book.douban.com/subject/36133020/.

[10] BABAEI P, AZARI H B. Exercise Training Improves Memory Performance in Older Adults: A Narrative Review of Evidence and Possible Mechanisms[J/OL]. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2022, 15: 771553. DOI:10.3389/fnhum.2021.771553.

[11] NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING. What Do We Know About Diet and Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease?[EB/OL]//National Institute on Aging. (2023-11-20)[2024-01-25]. https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alzheimers-and-dementia/what-do-we-know-about-diet-and-prevention-alzheimers-disease.

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Author: Zhao Yanchang Freelance Author