DJ Mills Loc: Idaho

There was an elderly couple who in their old age noticed that they were getting a lot more forgetful, so they decided to go to the doctor. The doctor told them that they should start writing things down so they don't forget. They went home and the old lady told her husband to get her a bowl of ice cream. "You might want to write it down," she said. The husband said, "No, I can remember that you want a bowl of ice cream." She then told her husband she wanted a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream. "Write it down," she told him, and again he said, "No, no, I can remember: you want a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream." Then the old lady said she wants a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry on top. "Write it down," she told her husband and again he said, "No, I got it. You want a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry on top." So he goes to get the ice cream and spends an unusually long time in the kitchen, over 30 minutes. He comes out to his wife and hands her a plate of eggs and bacon. The old wife stares at the plate for a moment, then looks at her husband and asks, "Where's the toast?"

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

nicksr1125 Loc: Mesa, AZ

My wife would say I resemble that remark.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Have you eve opened the fridge, and spent the next 5 minutes, trying to remember What you were looking for? I have

DJ Mills Loc: Idaho

Sure. It comes from thoughtfully evaluating my culinary options, not from a mental malfunction, as I am sometimes accused of having.😊

Bob Mevis Loc: Plymouth, Indiana

I resemble that.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

Well not five minutes: but been there done that

raymondh Loc: Walker, MI

marvkaye

Like the other poster, not five minutes, but have had to ask myself whether I was hungry or thirsty.

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

This is an oldie. And like all oldies, is a goodie. The only difference is what’s on the platter.

jaycoffman Loc: San Diego

Hell, I even forget why I'm in the kitchen.

Floyd Loc: Misplaced Texan in Florence, Alabama

Reminds o fthe story that has been around before: Three ladies discussing aging and two were bemoaning the fact of memory loss similar to this story. The third lady strongly stated, "I DO NOT have such problems, knock on wood", as she rapped her knuckles on the table. "Say, wonder who that is knocking at the front door?"

CaptainBobBrown

So, the brain area responsible for near future planning in the cerebral cortex is very short term...as in seconds. This area is always activated by what's immediately in front of us but gets "reset" when we move through passageways or have our vision reframed. The links between this area and the short term memory required to plan concrete actions get effectively erased when our immediate environment changes. So we forget (young or old). A way to avoid the "Now why am I here?" phenomenon is to go to the target area or frig/freezer, etc. before planning something. Chances are you'll see something else to do anyway. Helps in sticking to diets.

One hypothesis about retaining intent to execute in a different environment is to deliberately imagine doing whatever you want to do before opening the frig or going into the other room. This activates other brain areas so that mere reframing of your setting doesn't overwhelm that short term planning area.

Writing it down first is effectively doing the same thing because the act of writing invokes lots of other brain centers. The more broadly engaged your brain is in the action the less likely it will lose ttrack of your immediate intent as you reframe your environment by passing through a doorway or opening the frig.

Another helpful mental exercise as you carry on a conversation is to periodically recall the initial topic which lead to the immediate focus of the conversation. We've all experienced the wonder of conversation where we realize we're talking about something completely different than what we started with or lost track of the point we were trying to make. Happens to younger people too so it's a good lifelong practice to keep going back in your mind to recall what the topic was only a few seconds before. Can help to keep conversation on track.

If you do this consistently you'll also find that your short term executive function improves and you'll have fewer "What am I doing here?" moments.

tommystrat Loc: Bigfork, Montana

What kitchen?

BBurns Loc: South Bay, California

Reminded me of the elderly gentleman who had serious memory & hearing problems for a number of years. His wife nagged him to go have his hearing checked but he always forgot.
Finally, out of desperation to end the nagging, he goes to the audiologist's office. The doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%.

The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the doctor for a check up. The doctor said,

"Your hearing seems to be perfect know.
I imagine your wife and family must be really pleased that you can hear again."

To which the gentleman said,

"Oh, I haven't told my family yet. I just sit around and listen to the conversations.
I've changed my will three times!"