Depression and memory loss

Does Depression Cause Memory Loss? Know Your Facts

Depression and memory loss

Health and wellness are critical factors that influence your performance. Unfortunately, mental health issues have been on the rise in the recent past.

When seeking help for mental health, it can be hard to know how to start or where to go. Click below to book your consultation with our mental health expert.

There is a responsibility on you to take mental tests to ascertain your mental wellbeing. Mental wellness is vital for daily activities, including sleep.

When you have a good night’s sleep, it boosts your spirits and enables you to work optimally, and this is only possible when you are okay mentally.

One of the most common mental health conditions affecting millions of people, albeit silently, is depression. Depression has numerous impacts on a patient.

The common symptoms of this disease include:

As seen, the effects of mental health issues can be devastating.

Did you know that depression can cause memory loss? Loss of memory among depression patients is a significant effect that is typically overlooked or not known by many people.

Read on to find about how depression can cause memory loss:

Depression Alters the Functioning of the Brain Leading to Memory Loss

The causes of depression vary from one individual to the other, but what stands out is that the effects are similar. Depression can cause memory loss and result in other mental disorders such as anxiety and dementia which have a negative effect on the brain’s working.

depression and memory loss

Causes of Memory Loss

An average person can concentrate and make informed decisions. Contrastingly, a depressed person is unable to make the right choices and is prone to distractions.

Depression is mainly caused by high-stress levels, which results in the production of cortisol. The part of the brain responsible for brain formation is known as the hippocampus.

This part enables you to create memories and store them for retrieval.

Depression causes memory loss in patients depending on various factors, such as the level of the depression and the patient’s memory strength.

Depression affects the cognitive ability of an individual, therefore, affecting the decision-making skill, reasoning, attention, and information retrieval processes. 

Depression causes memory loss, hence you tend to forget fine details about an event you attended or the occasion. You may also fail to remember upcoming appointments, which can further accelerate your frustrations.

Depression affects certain parts of the brain like the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, which in turn impact the memory retention of a patient.

Overproduction of cortisol in the brain prevents the formation of new cells in the hippocampus region leading to depression, causing memory loss.

The inhibitors of new cell formation lead to the shrinking of the hippocampus part, which can cause short-term memory loss.

However, if you are suffering from depression, you can reverse this temporary memory loss by taking medication as prescribed by your doctor and avoiding stress.

Learn other ways of reversing the temporary memory loss from depression by booking a consultation with our mental health expert- Click below.

Sleep Quality Is a Significant Factor in Memory Retrieval

Depression causes memory loss making your body fatigued and unable to concentrate on tasks, even simple ones. It also affects sleep quality, making it difficult to fall asleep during the usual time.

In worse conditions, depression can be accompanied by severe insomnia. Sleep disruption patterns have adverse effects on your memory.

Jane McClenathan associates depression with the imbalance of the neurotransmitters that control sleep and mood. The neural transmission imbalance causes trouble sleeping, escalating memory loss if left unchecked.

Ironically, depression can also make you sleep too much. This may also negatively impact your body and memory.

Health experts recommend sleep to adults for at least 8 hours for normal functioning of their cognitive system. Therefore, having a sleep cycle of fewer than eight hours will affect the central nervous systems making it hard for you to concentrate.

does depression cause memory loss

Ways to Manage Memory Loss

Some Depression Treatment Options Lead to Short-Term Memory Loss

Among the treatment options available for depression patients, antidepressants are used commonly.

However, a research study established that some antidepressants accelerate short-term memory loss [1*] making it difficult to concentrate on tasks.

This can make information processing slow and paying attention difficult.

You should consult your doctor if you start experiencing depression that causes memory loss so that he or she may give you an alternative medicine.

Memory Loss Diagnosis

It is vital that you seek medical attention once you discover that you have depression. The severity of the loss of memory differs from one person to another.

Your physician may perform numerous tests while diagnosing memory loss.

Some of the tests may include a question-and-answer session with the medical practitioner to establish the causes of mental health.

They may want to know when the problem started and whether you have been using over-the-counter medicine to treat any other illness.

The development of medical technology has facilitated the emergence of online therapies that help to manage memory loss.

Do you need medication to treat your depression?- Click below to book your consultation with a licensed mental health expert.

Takeaway

EZCare Clinic is an established institution that provides personalized medical care. We have a team of experienced health professionals who serve with passion, listening to you critically before embarking on a treatment regime.

Do you need personalized health services that meet your expectations? Contact us today! Our facilities are readily open from Monday to Sunday, 11 am to 7 pm. You can talk to any of our team members for guidance and consultation.

Schedule your appointment today!

Sources

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  1. 7 common causes of forgetfulness. (2020)
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Evidence Based

This article is based on scientific evidence, written by experts and fact checked by experts.

Our team of experts strive to be objective, unbiased, honest and to present both sides of the argument.

This article contains scientific references. The numbers
in the parentheses (1, 2, 3) are clickable links to peer-reviewed scientific papers.