Regulating Body and Mind Can Prevent "White-Collar Forgetfulness"
Forgetting the name of someone you're very familiar with, or forgetting what you were about to say—do you often experience such "short circuits"? In fact, these are typical signs of "forgetfulness," a condition once considered a disease of the elderly but has now become a common ailment for young professionals.
Experts point out that white-collar forgetfulness is a condition caused by neurasthenia. This type of forgetfulness is not an impairment of memory function, but a temporary memory disorder caused by excessive neural fatigue. Experts in medicine, diet, and fitness offer advice and solutions for those troubled by "forgetfulness" to help them regain their memory.
Intense Competition and Stress are the Main Causes
There are many reasons for forgetfulness among white-collar workers, generally caused by a combination of external and internal factors. According to a survey by Phoenix Health, with 71,722 respondents, 16.48% were over 50 years old, 64.15% were between 31 and 50, 18.58% were between 19 and 30, and 5.65% were between 20 and 30. Most netizens find it particularly easy to forget things when they are busy, distracted, fatigued, or suffering from insomnia. However, intense competitive pressure and excessive work fatigue are the main reasons for white-collar workers developing forgetfulness. Due to the fast pace of life, immense work pressure, and increasingly fierce competition, many white-collar workers are in a state of chronic fatigue, triggering various chronic fatigue syndromes.
From an external environmental perspective, today's white-collar workers tend to stay in an "ivory tower" created by air conditioning. They are in the office during work and at home after work, basically surrounded by air-conditioned environments. Air-conditioned rooms often have poor ventilation, reduced oxygen levels, and relatively turbid air. Staying in such a space for a long time can easily make people drowsy. When attention declines, memory also随之 (subsequently) weakens.
Another external factor is the over-reliance on digital products, which deprives the brain of exercise. Coupled with the neural damage from alcohol and smoking, this leads to a significant decline in memory and calculation abilities.
Forgetfulness in white-collar workers is mainly characterized by dizziness during the day, poor nighttime sleep, insomnia, multiple dreams, and waking easily. Psychologically, they are also prone to irritability, decreased memory, and even depressive tendencies. White-collar workers are especially forgetful when they are busy, distracted, fatigued, or have insomnia.
Dependence on notepads: Long-term use of notepads creates a dependency on them for recording tasks. The lack of memory exercise can, over time, also lead to forgetfulness.
Excessive intake of harmful metals in daily life: The overuse of aluminum cookware and tableware, combined with consuming foods high in lead such as popcorn, canned goods, century eggs, and fried foods ( like youtiao), can lead to an excessive intake of heavy metals that the body cannot expel in time. Over time, the accumulation of these heavy metals in the body can slow down brain activity and affect memory.
Frequent use of painkillers and sleeping pills: Both painkillers and sleeping pills can affect memory. Many people under stress need sleeping pills to fall asleep and, out of habit, take them without even trying to sleep naturally. These drugs primarily work by inhibiting neurotransmitters to achieve sleep or pain relief. Long-term use of painkillers can lead to a持续 (continuous) decrease in the reactivity of memory nerves, making forgetfulness almost inevitable.
Neglecting dental care: A study has shown that people with healthy teeth have much better memory than those with full dentures. The nerves of the teeth are connected to the brain's nerves. Frequent tooth extraction can cut off dental nerves, which may indirectly affect brain nerves in the short term, but whether this causes forgetfulness requires further proof.
Working late into the night: Working at night inevitably affects the quality of work the next day because less sleep leads to reduced excitability of the sympathetic nervous system, impairing the brain's ability to acquire and retain information. Working late also exacerbates physical fatigue. For those who work past 1 a.m., continuing to work can lead to physical overload and an imbalance of qi and blood. Over the long term, this can lead to habitual forgetfulness.
Fragmented Information Changes Memory Habits
In the past, the causes of forgetfulness were mainly functional disorders, such as those caused by mental reasons like obsessive-compulsive disorder or depression; or organic diseases, such as forgetfulness in the elderly due to brain atrophy. However, the forgetfulness of many young people, especially white-collar workers today, is mostly due to a change in memory habits.
People can remember something mainly because an external signal stimulus leaves a trace on the cerebral cortex. The stronger the stimulus, the deeper the imprint, and the less likely it is to be forgotten. Conversely, if the signal stimulus is weak, the brain has difficulty remembering it. Now, with social development, people are exposed to a larger volume of information and rely excessively on various digital products; short messages on Weibo are constantly refreshing; in life, interpersonal interactions are becoming more frequent, and there are more things to handle...
The arrival of the fragmented information era has made it increasingly difficult for people to concentrate. As people's attention becomes more scattered, the time for information to form traces on the cerebral cortex becomes shorter, the signal stimulus left becomes weaker, and with the lack of brain exercise, it results in the declining memory of young people.
Prevention through Diet and Daily Routine
Experts have prescribed a "diet and daily routine" approach to regain memory. Exercise therapy: It is necessary to regard physical exercise as a lifestyle. White-collar workers who dislike exercise can start with simple upper-body sports, like badminton or table tennis, to gradually develop a habit of exercising. It is recommended that people under 40 exercise three times a week. Office workers should get up and do stretching and jumping exercises after two hours of work. Be proactive in learning, use your brain regularly, ensure adequate sleep to allow the brain to rest fully. When using your brain, arrange for short breaks and outdoor activities. Try to avoid excessive tension, anxiety, and agitation to prevent strong stimulation on brain cells from negative emotions.
Communication therapy: Handle various interpersonal relationships properly, and treat the people and things around you with a harmonious, relaxed, and happy mood, which is conducive to preventing the decline of intelligence and memory. You can join clubs based on your hobbies to interact with more people, which is very effective for relaxing your mood. Try to remember phone numbers, names of objects, etc., and cultivate the habit of writing by hand and calculating personally.
Music therapy: The ancients considered "listening to the qin" a good method for treating forgetfulness and awakening the mind. The saying "sharp ears lead to bright wisdom" is indeed a good way to improve forgetfulness. At work, you can play some beautiful and soothing melodies, such as "Three Variations of the Plum Blossom," "Flowing Water," "Nostalgic Journey," "Pastoral Song," or "Gusu Journey."