Everyone's memory is different. Some are easy to forget and some are easy to remember everything. However, men are often seen as forgetful. Meanwhile, women usually have a sharper memory. In personal relationships, this can be a source of trouble. For example, when a male partner forgets an important date such as a wedding anniversary.
Most men are easy to forget about things like this. Then, is it a man's nature to quickly forget? Or just a coincidence? Well, before scolding your partner for forgetting easily, take a look at the full explanation below.
Whose memory is better?
Women have a better memory than men. A neurology study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2015 noted that the way women's brains work is more effective at remembering things that happen to them on a daily basis.
When given a special task to test the memory of study participants aged 30 to 95 years, the women were able to remember things well. These things include a person's face, important events, sounds, smells and smells, and the location of objects in the house. This is why a wife or mother is usually the most reliable person when you forget to put your wallet or glasses at home.
This memory difference will be more visible when you enter your 40s. The study showed that as men age, men's memory declines much faster than women's. Even at the age of 60 years, the part of the brain that regulates and manages memory in men shrinks so that its size shrinks. In fact, the part of the brain called the hippocampus was originally the same size between men and women.
Why are women's memories sharper than men's?
One of the main reasons why women's memories are sharper than men's is biological. The female body contains much more of the hormones estrogen and estradiol. Both hormones play a very important role in maintaining brain health. Estrogen is able to protect the nerves of the brain so they can build new connections.
New connections are needed when you are forming a new memory. Meanwhile, estradiol functions to plant and recall memories from long-term memory.
However, when entering menopause, a woman's memory will also slowly weaken. This is because at menopause women will lose a lot of the hormone estrogen. Although women's memory declines at menopause, when compared to men in the same age range, women still win in terms of memory. This could be related to social factors.
Since prehistoric times, humans have survived by hunting and foraging. Men are assigned to go far enough and hunt animals. Meanwhile, women usually stay in their residential areas and look for plants, fruits, and other foodstuffs. Because of this system, the male brain is trained to remember directions and locations. This is because they usually have to wander and find a way when hunting.
Women's memory is used to memorize hundreds of types of plants. They should know which plants are poisonous and which ones can be used to treat certain diseases.
Although today's humans no longer live in that way, the memory systems of women and men still seem to work like centuries ago. Women are better at memorizing and remembering things that happen every day. While men are better at remembering roads and directions.
How to improve memory
For the men, do not be discouraged just yet. Not that all men are forgetful about daily matters. Other factors such as education and health are also very instrumental in shaping your memory. To increase your memory capacity, there are many ways that can be taken by both women and men.
Eating nutritious food is one way to improve memory. Foods that are good for memory are green vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, and lettuce. Also increase the consumption of fish and nuts which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
Make sure that you get enough rest. Lack of sleep will make your memory weaker. This is because when you sleep, the brain will work to record the things that happened that day into short and long term memory. By maintaining a healthy lifestyle, you can delay the aging process and memory decline.