Memory Lapses & Confusion

Last Updated On: 21 September 2025

Let’s look at brain health, memory lapses and forgetfulness, and what we can do to address it so that we don’t suffer what many of our parents and elderly relatives had to endure.

I’d like to share the current findings so that like me you can start tweaking some things to ensure a brighter future for your brain-health.

My mum had one of the forms of memory loss we all fear, her’s was Lewy Body Dementia which turned out to have been misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s Disease back in 2007.

When her Psychiatrist changed at the beginning of 2013 he advised the new diagnosis which explained a number of differences, i.e. she remembered people, and she occasionally suffered with night terrors and psychotic episodes.

Not pleasant for anyone to witness, and especially not something any of us want to experience or see loved ones going through.

Yet as we live longer the problem escalates, and nursing homes are full of people in a state of confusion and displacement.

On one occasion during my mum’s illness, my sister-in-law said how much she dreaded reaching something similar and I said it wasn’t going to happen to me.

With what I know about the power of language shown here on this post about changing weight, the mere thought of even considering this as a possibility was abhorrent because as you probably already know, the subconscious is always listening, and it easily takes on an unhelpful understanding or new behaviour when we’re least expecting it. And my dismissing it out of hand was indeed a knee-jerk reaction.

Of course it’s not that simple and it’s all very well having a well-honed retort, but it’s then my responsibility to put that into action.

There are many things we can do, and it’s a strong part of what drives me to talk about using middle-age as a landmark to take matters into our own hands, by crafting a different mindset.

Memory lapses and forgetfulness

There is lots of research into brain health and one of the over-riding things that has been found to help the hippocampus memory function stay healthy is to incorporate movement and exercise.

My older brother visited the gym 5-days a week, until he passed away shortly before his 80th birthday, and his brain was in great shape. He had a number of gym buddies and it developed into an important element of his social life too.

There is a lot of ongoing research into dementia and the related illnesses that can lead people to it.

What we commonly refer to as stress – mental, physical, emotional, or spiritual – actually creates inflammatory chemicals in the brain and body that lead to memory deterioration.
Dr Christiane Northrup – Goddesses Never Age

Another thing that is really good for us is a good old belly laugh, and I don’t know about you but laughing is one of the things I love sharing with other people more than anything.

It’s really not surprising to find that it’s being valued as a great form of therapy these days, and my clients joy it in the appropriate moment’s when they are deflating tension.

I’m lucky in having a family where we talk about all things cultural and current affairs, and we all have strong opinions. What really bonds us is a deep-rooted sense of the ridiculous and laughing is the outlet.

Memory enhancement related exercise

As mentioned there is considerable research that shows regular exercise helps protect the brain, where two 20-minute periods of aerobic exercise are known to increase the hippocampal memory area for people in their sixties.

Partner dancing is especially good for maintaining and developing better forms of coordination too, which clearly connects with brain training. Vincent & Flavia certainly give us a standard to aim for, but it might take a while.

In summary

Ultimately it’s about being smart and developing a regular exercise regime, to keep your brain flexed as well as your body.

And when you don’t feel like it, just do it anyway

One way of encouraging yourself is to notice the difference you feel in your body, mind, emotions and behaviours between when you incorporate regular exercise and when you don’t.

This alone starts to bring your attention to the difference in how you feel, behave and what you achieve in your day.

And make sure the form of aerobic and anaerobic forms of exercise you chose are ones that you love doing, so that you’ll enjoy doing it or going to class once you get into the habit.

For example I love dancing, walking, yoga and tai chi, but you won’t get me near a gym and tend to joke that I’m allergic to them, because for whatever reasons they just don’t float my boat.

If you happen to need help developing the motivation to find the right thing for you, and you’d like some help with it, especially if you have a lot of stress based plates spinning in your life right now, it’s only natural to draft in some help and that’s where I come in.

P.S. Jane would love to support you in getting rid of what weighs you down, so that you can have more vibrant health, vitality and bring more balance into your life.

Take the next steps

Are you ready to take some steps to change whatever’s creating an emotional roller-coaster, because this will make a difference. Let’s arrange a chat so that you can get more of an insight into what you can end a run of.

Book a free Clarity Call