Are there exercises (mental and physical) my Mom could do to stop or slow down her memory loss?

Thank you Jeanne Gibbs, She does not cook at all, I give her all her meals, and give her all her medications. I do encourage her to be as independent as possible. She dresses herself, can go to the bathroom, etc. I pay all the bills. Lately she has been asking that I write the date and the day's activities on large index cards. Thanks for all the good information.

Everishlass, I will go back to crossword puzzles. She loved it when we did them together. Thanks for the pointers, I will look for new situations.

Alas, no. There is no known cure or improvement for short-term memory loss. There is no "if you do these brain teasers 3 times a day you will be able to remember what you had for breakfast 5 days out of 7" correlations.

Is her doctor calling this Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or giving it some other name? The benefit of having even that much of a diagnosis is that you can find a lot of information if you have something to look up!

My husband's neurologist (also a dementia researcher) believes that "novelty-seeking experiences are therapeutic." That is, learning new things, seeing new sights, having "novel" experiences is helpful because it builds new pathways in the brain and as old pathways are destroyed there are some for "backup" purposes. But the value of this approach would depend a lot on why the memory loss is occurring in the first place. This doctor was always asking if we were doing something interesting for vacation and if we'd taken any trips lately.

Having good health does not prevent memory loss, but it does help us cope with it, so general good health practices like exercise and wholesome food are useful.

Short-term memory problems can pose serious risks. Not remembering what you had for breakfast isn't so terrible ... but not remembering to turn off the burner after you've cooked your eggs could be. Not remembering whether you've taken medications or whether you've eaten or whether you've paid your bills can have serious consequences.

So do keep an eye on Mom. Encourage her to stay active, to try new things if she can, and to generally take care of herself. And also be aware that at some point if the short-term memory loss continues she may need a lot of support to remain safe.

Unfortunately there isn't anything that can restore memory loss. It's progressive.

Many people swear by puzzles. Crossword puzzles, word searches, jumbles, etc. Or try using the cards from Trivial Pursuit. The answers are on the back and your mom can pick which category she prefers. It might be fun to do it with her and it could spark memories and old stories that she can share with you.