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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 sharper memories. 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 true for men to forget quickly? Or is it just a coincidence? Well, before scolding your partner for forgetting easily, first consider the full explanation below.
Whose memory is better?
In fact, women have better memory than men. A neurological study published in Journal of the American Medical Association in 2015 noted that the workings of the female brain are more effective at remembering things that happen to her on a daily basis.
When given a special task to test the memory of study participants aged 30 to 95 years, women were able to remember things well. These 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.
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This memory difference will be more visible when you enter your 40s. The study showed that as men got older, men's memory decreased much faster than women. Even at the age of 60 years, the part of the brain that regulates and manages memory in men has shrunk so that it shrinks in size. In fact, this part of the brain called the hippocampus was originally the same size between men and women.
Why is women's memory sharper than men's?
One of the main reasons why women's memories are sharper than men's is biological factors. The female body contains much more of the hormones estrogen and estradiol. These two hormones play a very important role in maintaining brain health. Estrogen is able to protect the nerves of the brain so that they can build new connections.
New connections are needed when you are creating a new memory. Meanwhile, estradiol serves to plant and retrieve memories from long-term memory.
However, when entering menopause, women's memory will also slowly weaken. This is because at menopause women will lose a lot of the hormone estrogen. Although women's memory diminishes at the age of menopause, when compared to men in the same age range women still win when it comes to memory. This could be related to social factors.
Since prehistoric times, humans have survived by hunting and foraging. Men were assigned to go quite far 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 their way when hunting.
Women's memory is used to memorize hundreds of types of plants. They must know which plants are poisonous and which can be used to treat certain diseases.
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Even though humans today don't live in this way, the memory systems of women and men still seem to work like they were 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 boys, don't be discouraged just yet. This does not mean that all men are forgetful about daily affairs. Other factors such as education and health also play a role 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 the brain are green vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, and lettuce. Also consume more fish and nuts which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
ALSO READ: 5 Nutritious Foods Good for Brain Health
Make sure that you get enough rest. Lack of sleep will make your memory weaker. This is because while you sleep, your 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 decrease memory.
ALSO READ: 10 Foods That Can Delay the Aging Process
