It was the French Connection starring Gene Hackman!  Had to look it up.  Couldn’t remember.  But, then, give us a break.  We oldies may have seen up to 4,000 films by now.

Forgetting stuff is frustrating.  And, we’re all forgetting stuff.  Guess what?  There is a correlation with aging.  No kidding.  We forget a word or phrase once a day.  The kids stumble once a week.  Heck, we probably know over 42,000 words.  That gives some perspective and makes us feel better about forgetting a few.  

Reportedly, we most often forget proper nouns; historical figures; and; unsurprisingly, movie titles.  Additionally, studies show we forget words for specific tools and household items.  The kitchen stuff doesn’t trip us up.  Spatulas?  Colanders?  Got it.  Who cares if we are also prone to forget words we may have read but don’t use in everyday speech like foreign and obscure terms.  

Often, a word is on the tip of our tongue.  This is a phenomenon known as “lethologica.”  It was coined in the early 1900s and comes from the Greek word for forgetfulness.  Yes, it could be because of fatigue, distraction, rushed speech…or just being old.   A paper published in the journal Memory & Cognition states that many languages and cultures have wording similar to “tip of your tongue.”   We’re not alone.  And, sadly, there is no cure for forgetfulness.  

Some refer to this forgetfulness as slips of the tongue.  And, they can be embarrassing when you accidentally say something you didn’t mean to.  Remember when then President George H. W. Bush said in a 1988 campaign speech, “We’ve had some triumphs.  Made some mistakes.  We’ve had some sex…uh…setbacks.”  Oops!

We write a lot and often just can’t conjure up the perfect word.  Thank the stars for the online Thesaurus.  The adjective “energetic,” for example, can be exchanged for animated, lively, vigorous, brisk, bouncy, peppy, spirited, or full of beans.  Got a fav?? 

Usually, we soon recall a forgotten word, especially if we remember its first letter.  It just spontaneously pops back into our heads.  That’s normal.  But, because of the way our brains work, the brain associates the lost word with the event of losing it, making it likely to happen again.  Researchers have seen evidence that, if you continue to dig deeper for the word, you’ll be more likely to draw a blank the next time you want to include it in a sentence.

There is even a word for someone obsessed with recalling a word that they have forgotten.  They are a logomaniac.  Better just to cool it!!

Many want to give us lots of advice how to strengthen our memories.  Get 7 to 9 hours of “quality sleep.”  That term caught our attention.  So, we looked it up.  Means falling asleep within 15–20 minutes of lying down; and, if you wake up during the night, falling back asleep within 20 minutes.  In addition to getting enough sleep, recommendations include exercising to boost hippocampal blood flow and eating brain-healthy foods…our favorite is dark chocolate.  Stay organized.  Get rid of clutter to free up mental energy.  And, continue to learn new things.  

The hippocampus is interesting.  It’s the brain’s critical center for learning and memory.  And, get this, the hippocampus constantly prunes, overwrites, or deletes memories to maximize efficiency.  So, scientists argue that a forgetful mind is actually more efficient because old or unnecessary memories have been removed. 

So, our Wrinkled Wisdom for today?  Okay.  Okay.  Get a good night’s sleep.  Spend lots of time doing crosswords, Wordle, playing bridge, or Mahjong—whatever—to stimulate your brain.  When you are sipping a vodka tonic while chatting at the bar and you forget a word, say, “Oops…my hippocampus is updating my brain.”  Or mumble, I suffer from CRC…(can’t remember crap).