Last week, I received a second e-mail from my daughter’s teacher that she is being too social in class.  Too social?  What does that look like?  According to the teacher, my daughter sometimes doesn’t pay attention in class because she is being social with her classmates.  She makes new friends no matter where the teacher moves her in the classroom seating arrangement.  While many times this is good, it could lead to problems of inattention to instruction in the future.  While I’m not worried about her being in third grade with this problem, she is learning to expand her communication and social circles that will help her memory.  How so?

     Did you know that one’s ability to remember something is largely tied to its emotional context?   I didn’t think about that, but it makes sense.  Think back to your high school days.  Were they good ones to remember?  Were you enjoying those teen years?  Why is it that many times we resort to our high school thoughts and feelings when we go to a class reunion?  Why is it that we remember this time so well?    Maybe it’s because we are emotional during this time (right ladies?), and we spend a lot of time with our friends.  Social interaction is at its peak, and information is “tagged” in our brain through engaging emotions.  Certain songs may have emotional attachment during this time and put a smile on your face when you hear them years later because of that emotional attachment.

     As we get older, however, our social circles tend to shrink.  Interactions with people are less; thus, the emotional triggers that help us remember tend to be less, also.  We pay at the pump, frequent ATMs, watch movies online, and have Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts.  No human contact involved.  As our social circles get smaller, we need to find opportunities to interact with one another.  This interaction not only helps us build connections to remember things, it helps our overall brain health, especially as we age. 

     So, what is the take-away?  When you are out in the “real” world, and not just the virtual one, you are engaging all senses needed for a healthy brain and an active memory, especially as we get older.  I guess it’s not so bad that some of us start earlier than the third grade engaging one another and begin on the road to a healthy brain.  How about you?  Do you seek out “real” social interactions?  If not, why not start today and keep your brain healthy?  Remember (pun intended), if you don’t use it, you might lose it.