Remembering Yesterday

在我们成长的世界里，健忘被视为衰老的必然结果。研究表明，虽然这不一定是必然的结果，但这是许多老年人都经历过的事情。人们普遍担心失忆，这并不令人惊讶，因为我们的记忆造就了我们。能够回忆起对话或分享的经历是巩固我们友谊的原因。记住过去发生的事情会引导我们对未来做出决定。有许多回忆活动、应用程序和干预措施可用于支持老年人回忆遥远的过去，但对最近事件的记忆(“短期记忆”)在很大程度上被忽视了。当人们很难回忆起最近发生的事情时，它会严重扰乱人们的社会关系，即使是与亲密的家人，也可能会阻碍人们交谈或见面，以及影响重要的决定。我的研究表明，积极的巩固(例如写日记、记录照片)可以显著改善对最近过去的记忆，这反过来又会显著影响生活质量。然而，这对许多人来说既耗时又不切实际，尤其是老年人，他们的技术诀窍通常较少。该项目建议开发一种用户友好的系统，支持主动合并新的记忆。我的愿景是，这将变得像一副眼镜--人们理所当然地使用这种眼镜，没有恐惧、尴尬或大量的努力，因为它显著改善了他们的日常生活。

We grow up in a world where forgetfulness is seen as an inevitable consequence of ageing. Research shows that although this needn't be a foregone conclusion, it is something that is experienced by many older people. Memory loss is widely feared, which is hardly surprising given that our memories make us who we are. Being able to recall conversations or shared experiences is what cements our friendships. Remembering what has happened in the past guides us to make decisions about the future. There are numerous reminiscence activities, apps and interventions available to support older people in recollecting the distant past, but memory for recent events ("short-term memory") has largely been neglected. When people struggle to recall recent events, it can severely disrupt social connections even with close family and may discourage people from having conversations or meeting up, as well as impacting on important decisions.My research has shown that active consolidation (for example diary-writing, photo-logging) can significantly improve memory for recent past, and that this in turn significantly impacts on quality of life. However, this is time consuming and impractical for many people, especially older people who typically have less technical know-how. This project proposes the development of a user-friendly system that supports active consolidation of new memories. My vision is that this will become like a pair of spectacles - something that people use as a matter of course, without fear, embarrassment or extensive effort, and because it significantly improves their day-to-day life.