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Experts Reveal 6 Surprising Reasons You Keep Forgetting Things

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Forgetfulness is a normal, albeit frustrating, part of life. It's natural to misplace your phone, open your fridge and forget why, or fail to remember that name that's right on the tip of your tongue. When these blips occur every now and then, they're usually no big deal. But when they start happening more frequently, it's hard not to wonder what might be causing your memory loss. Could age be the reason you keep forgetting things? As you get older, your brain starts to shrink, explains Elise Caccappolo, Ph.D., neuropsychologist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. 'This is why it may take a minute longer to come up with a name or a word, or it may take longer to solve a problem,' she says. And your short-term memory may not be as sharp as it once was, adds P. Murali Doraiswamy, M.D., psychiatry professor at Duke University School of Medicine. But getting older isn't necessarily to blame for your brain fog. Distractions, infections, and juggling life's many responsibilities can all play a role. 'I have misplaced or lost a fair number of sunglasses throughout my life just because I have been distracted,' says Thomas Holland, M.D., physician scientist at the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging. And the causes don't stop there. Here are six reasons experts say your memory might be waning—all of which go beyond the usual suspects, like age. Medications Many common medications can affect your memory. And if you combine medications, they can interact with each other, causing unexpected side effects. 'Tell your provider everything you take, even if it's over-the-counter or a supplement you think is harmless,' says Brenna Renn, Ph.D., assistant psychology professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. If your meds are affecting your memory, your doctor can potentially suggest alternatives or help you weigh their side effects and benefits. Some drugs that may impact your memory include: Benzodiazepines: Prescribed for anxiety and seizures, meds such as Xanax, Klonopin, and Valium can affect your short-term and long-term memory, per a 2023 review. Statins: Used to control cholesterol levels and lower your risk of heart attack and stroke, Statins may cause confusion and memory loss, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Anti-seizure medications: Drugs that manage seizures, like gabapentin and pregabalin, may increase your risk of dementia, per a 2023 review. Beta blockers: Beta blockers, which lower your blood pressure, are prescribed for several heart conditions. Some research has linked them to cognitive decline, though more recent research has suggested otherwise. Antidepressants: Some studies suggest that tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can increase your risk of dementia. But a 2019 review found mixed results—and pointed out that depression itself is linked to dementia. Opioids: Many risks of taking narcotics, like OxyContin, are well established. Using them long-term can also interfere with memory, per a 2019 study. Sleeping pills: A certain class of sleep aids, including Ambien and Lunesta, may cause memory loss, per the Mayo Clinic and American Addiction Centers. Depression or anxiety Depression and anxiety are two of the biggest causes of forgetfulness for people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, says Caccappolo. 'Depression takes up a lot of real estate in your brain,' she explains. 'When you're depressed, your brain is not working at 100%. It's not paying attention to things as well as it usually does, and the memory areas are not doing what they usually do.' This can impact your ability to store and recall information, and Dr. Holland says anxiety can too. 'If you're constantly under stress, your body is always in a state of readiness, dumping hormones into your blood that can keep you on edge,' he says. 'If that's happening in the brain, we're potentially going to see declines in cognitive function.' Diet What you eat can have a big influence on your brain, says Dr. Holland. 'If you're eating foods that provide the appropriate nutrients and bioactives, they can help prevent damage to the neurons,' he says. In a study Dr. Holland and his colleagues published, they found that a diet filled with foods rich in flavonoids (like dark leafy greens, teas, and tomatoes) was associated with slower rates of cognitive decline. The reverse is also true: Research has linked ultraprocessed foods (foods packed with artificial sweeteners, colors, and additives) with cognitive decline, suggesting that people with poorer diets have a harder time remembering things and keeping up in conversations. Other research suggests that eating ultraprocessed foods may increase your risk of dementia. Sleep You could be missing out on sleep for a number of reasons, including everyday stressors, like your job or family life, or pesky symptoms, like menopause-induced night sweats. But sleep is crucial for brain health. And over time, exhaustion can add up—depleting your cognitive resources and making it harder to concentrate, learn new things, and create memories, per the National Institutes of Health (NIH). For men in particular, untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)—a condition where you stop breathing in your sleep—can also contribute to brain issues, says Caccappolo. 'They are having multiple hypoxic events each night when they're not getting oxygen to the brain, which can lead to memory problems,' she explains. A review in Sleep Medicine found that many people with OSA have impaired cognitive function, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Trouble hearing An intriguing new line of research suggests a connection between hearing loss and brain health. The idea is that hearing loss can interfere with your ability to process and remember information, because it requires your brain to use more resources just to understand speech. Evidence also suggests that hearing aids can help by making information clearer as it enters the brain. 'Having properly working hearing aids can go a long way toward boosting and preserving someone's cognition,' says Renn. And research backs this up: That same study linked hearing aids with a 19% decreased risk of long-term cognitive decline. Multitasking As Dr. Holland acknowledged earlier, being distracted can impact your ability to focus and remember things. So it should come as no surprise that multitasking can too. A study in Nature suggests that media multitasking—using several devices at once—may be particularly detrimental. It found that media multitaskers often had trouble focusing and recalling information. And that was in young people. For older people, multitasking may be even more detrimental, says Caccappolo. 'As our processing speed gets slower, we're slower overall when it comes to both thinking and moving,' she explains. 'If you're trying to do two or three things at the same time, you're going to be a little bit slower at each one.' You Might Also Like Can Apple Cider Vinegar Lead to Weight Loss? Bobbi Brown Shares Her Top Face-Transforming Makeup Tips for Women Over 50