Is your youngster suffering from digital amnesia? This is why 

It’s completely natural for human brain to get stuck at times. However, if the instances of forgetting things become extraordinarily frequent and continue for long, then it could be amnesia, a serious cause of concern. Though people of the older generation are vulnerable to this condition, today’s youngsters also experience memory loss, thanks to over exposure to technology. This is known as digital amnesia. In this condition, human brain rapidly loses their ability to remember things, as the mind becomes increasingly reliant on technology and internet.  

Causes of digital amnesia 
According to several neurological researches, there are multiple factors responsible for digital amnesia, the most severe of them being the pandemic and its consequences. The increase in the number of young people experiencing memory loss has been associated with pandemic induced mental stress, physical illness, isolation and long screen hours due to virtual classes and work from home structure. It has been further aggravated due to dietary deficiency, lack of sleep and over-the-counter medications.  

How does digital amnesia affect youngsters? 
In recent times, a growing number of people in the age group of 15 to 30 years have complained of increased forgetfulness to the extent of partial memory loss, leading to minor cognitive impairment. It hampers their academics, work, day-to-day affairs as well as overall well-being. This has been mainly due to smartphone addiction that not only impairs the brain’s ability to retain old information but also hampers formation of new memories. This is because, the young generation is trying to fill up the pandemic void created by lack of social interaction through severe multi-tasking. This is resulting in half focus while learning a new skill. This is also impacting their long-term memory and affecting their sleep schedules. As we all know, the human brain needs sufficient sleep to regenerate and detoxify. Only then it is able to engage in ‘synaptic pruning’, i.e., making room for new information by pruning old information. So, when sleep is interrupted, synaptic pruning doesn’t happen, resulting in digital amnesia. 

Ways to overcome digital amnesia 

• Stay away from mobile phones at least half an hour before bed-time. In fact, do not carry your phone to bed, leave it elsewhere. 
• Uninstall all non-essential apps and deactivate any distracting social media accounts. If these are not the option, at least turn off the notifications. 
• Stop overusing GPS to locate places you have already visited. Try to reach the destinations by relying on your memory. 
• Observe a screen-free day at least once a week. 
• Make sure to eat a healthy diet comprising of high-quality proteins and fats, that will help in proper brain functioning. Vitamin supplements for B1 and B12 can also be consumed to enhance memory capacity.