Forgot Why You Entered A Room? It Could Be This Strange Brain Glitch

Note saying "don't forget!"Good news for people who forget the odd word – some research suggests it’s not a sign of dementia, but rather an ordinary side-effect of ageing.But what about walking into a room with strident purpose, looking around once you enter the door, and thinking, “Wait, why did I come in here”?The phenomenon is so common that it has a name. Documented by the University of Notre Dame in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, the confusing experience has been dubbed “The Doorway Effect.” But what does it mean, and why does it happen?There really does seem to be something about the door itself In the University of Notre Dame research, scientists tested participants’ memory when they had and had not moved locations. They found that people tended to forget what they were holding or doing when they crossed through a boundary like a door – even compared to walking the same distance in one room. Speaking to HuffPost UK, experts at HealthTest UK explained that this is an example of an “event boundary,” which the paper says makes people “segment experience into separate event models.” In simpler terms, the doorway acts as a reset point that your brain sees as the ending of one event and the beginning of another. That might sound profound, but it can mean your mind ditches information it sees as “irrelevant” as it reaches what it believes to be an entirely new series of events, sometimes including the reason you entered the room in the first place.It might be worse if you’re tired2016 research has found that people who sleep less might experience worse short-term memory. This can amplify the Doorway Effect, HealthTest suggested. Though poor sleep can affect your memory in the long term, too, there’s no reason to believe that the Doorway Effect is, in and of itself, a red flag. Instead, it’s simply proof that our brains are creatures of habit and association – they link certain tasks to certain locations and environments, and pick and choose what they feel is most important in each. Sadly, “picking up the stapler from your living room to seal the bills in your kitchen” does not seem to be one such hard-wired priority.Related...Neurologist Shares The 1 Sleep Change That Could Reduce Dementia RiskIs Forgetting The Odd Word Normal Ageing Or A Sign Of Dementia?'She Stopped Talking': 5-Year-Old’s Dementia Diagnosis Began With These Early Warning Signs

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