Hello ATS. Over the years I try to learn new things in life and how I can better myself, but it seems like my ability to retain knowledge is slipping away and I find it harder to learn things now then ever before. I use to be able to learn new skills everyday and put them to good use but it seems that for everytime I get deployed to this side of the world my IQ points reduce dramatically. I can't focus like I use to and have had severe memory problems to the point that I have to write certain things down to actually remember. I don't know if lack of sleep is the culprit but everytime I try to go to sleep I get insomnia and can't sleep good at night.

My spelling errors have increased along with grammar capabilities. So ATS what could be causing my mind to melt to mush? Could it be the hazardous air that I breath or the food that is given to us. I know that everything here is bad for my health but what can you do when this is your job and there is no return till the end of the year? Also I was wondering of others here on ATS also feel like they are having problems learning as well because I hope it is not just me and maybe its happening world wide but I could be wrong. Someone help me out here.

Hey stop loss!!!

For me the way that I remember things is to take little notes. Sounds silly but I always have a notebook and when I am reading about something new I take little side notes to help me remember. Then I go over the notes at a later date and it refreshes my memory of what I read. I too have insomnia and bad and for me I think it's because I stay up all night reading lol

Im not sure, but every day we get older- Do you think it could be just that?
Its at least one idea that does increase ones potential for retaining memory

This is all opinion, how it seems in my experience...

Being smart or not is a very simplistic way to look at things and isn't that useful past school to label it in such a way. In my experience I am pretty sure as long as your IQ is at an average or better level, you can understand and learn things fine. It has more to do with attitude and mind state, patience, and willingness to learn.

The brain organizes and forgets things that it doesn't find important. Maybe the things you are forgetting are things the mind is automatically not putting effort into remembering. In a spiritual way, any thing related to our slave jobs is truly not important, what day it is, etc. what time it is, if you are in the moment, etc.

My mind does not work very fast. If you are going to appreciate the small things in life and tackle deep questions, it serves you better to have a mind that will take it's time. To be a marathon runner instead of a sprinter.

I can't solve a rubiks cube in 7 seconds but I know that doesn't have anything to do with how I learn new things and enjoy life on an intelligent level. I too have felt that my mind has really slowed down, I have trouble with simple things sometimes - especially if I get tired, but I can go pretty deep into thought and dream like crazy, stop my thoughts etc. That sort of mind does not fit perfectly into the status quo world.

Awareness itself should be requiring mind power to take it all in, and that should slow anyone down that's not stuck in this play of flesh and bone and social situations - those that are dedicate 100% of their brain power into so-called life and "Their own problems" and so they appear to be really good at it. Go a little deeper, and you may find yourself appearing slow... but those who seem really fast and quick on their feet have things very simplified, and basically do the same thing everyday.

Again, just my opinion, a theory really.

Hey there,
Sorry to hear about your edjabacation troubles

Seriously though, I would not underestimate the effects of stress on the bodies higher functions. If you have been in stressful situations for the last little while your body may be going into basic survival mode, That is just trying to process the negative or less enjoyable parts of your life is work enough for your brain.

For what it is worth, I have always found that being in a stressful job means that you have to have an equal amount of time dedicated to the opposite. That is some place or activity that recharges you after doing 8 or 10 hours of a stressful job. For me it's returning to my home in the country and walking the dogs up back through the fields and trails. I know difficult if you are overseas and such.

I recently saw a story on the discovery channel that proved that university students concentrated and problem solved much better in peaceful quiet, stress free surroundings. Something to think about.

Hope this helps somehow and hope you get those synapses firing once again.

My old philosophy proff. recommended reading, reading , and more reading, to keep the mind sharp and to keep learning new things.

peace

This is just a theory that crossed my mind a few times before. Before I continue, just hear me out.

Our minds usually store everything that we have learned while we sleep. When you learn something and don't go over it again your mind filters it out, if it thinks it isn't important.

I believe that is why the Sabbath is very important. When you rest on the last day of the week your brain gets a chance "file" more information than when you continue working and learning.

That's just my theory though.

I've read that lack of sleep will lower your IQ. I also read it will stay temporarily lower even if you do catch up on your sleep. Stress is bad too. It does things to your body in my opinion that are not good. If you want your brain to develop new neurons, do things different. If it's safe to do, you could even try doing the same old tasks you are used to doing with a different method. Variety in life increases the number of neurons in your brain I believe I read. Have you ever tried to write something with your other hand? It's not easy. Using different muscles or different hands to do the same things we are used to doing seems strange. I believe I'd rather explore with different routes of travel, different methods of problem solving, different puzzles, etc. Get out of any rut you are in and seek change and you may find something you like. If not, you probably developed a few extra neurons in the process.

As far as my IQ goes, I took one of those free self test online IQ tests back a few years ago and one more recently. My score went up so much that I wondered how valid those tests were. It's possible that I had more patience than the first time I took one of those tests. Free online IQ tests are like puzzles themselves. You can learn how to do them better by recognizing patterns in numbers, words and shapes.

I need to get more sleep myself. I've been up all night long and occasionally go a few days with only 2 to 3 hours of sleep a night.

I read that sleep is important when learning new skills so that what you learned during the day is recorded into longer term memory in your brain. If you don't get enough sleep when trying to learn new skills, you will have trouble remembering. I once used to joke that my brain was already full so that if I learned something new, it just shoved out some old memories and made me forget. I believe almost everyone can learn new skills. Being naturally smart is something you acquire from birth when your brain first developed. How we treat our body afterwards and the variety of puzzles and skills we face afterwards will make you either smarter or dumber. That's just my opinion.

There is a cheap product called vinpocetine, google it.
I've been taking it since 1995, works great, I get mine from vrp.com.
Seriously, it's fairly dramatic...check it out, man...