Behind the Green Curtain: The Weight of Memory

I test my memory every day. Not in a formal, structured way—just little things. Where did I leave my keys? Can I recall the details of a conversation from last week? What was that song I was humming yesterday? Small checks, daily reassurances that my mind is still sharp. But beneath it all, there’s fear.

My father died young, taken by a brain tumour. And so, in the quiet moments, the spectre looms. What if my mind starts slipping? What if I lose the sharpness that defines me? The ability to connect, to create, to remember?

This isn’t just about ageing. It’s about longevity. True longevity isn’t just extending life—it’s about thriving in the years we have. A long life means little if the mind fades before the body. And so, I’ve made brain health a priority.

The Mind as a Muscle

We talk a lot about physical health—exercise, nutrition, recovery—but what about mental fitness? The brain is a muscle, but we don’t train it like one. We assume it will keep ticking over, running in the background, processing our thoughts and memories without needing a tune-up. Until, one day, it doesn’t.

But here’s the hard truth: cognitive decline doesn’t start when we notice it. It starts decades before. It starts in the stress we ignore, in the nights we don’t sleep, in the distractions we flood ourselves with. It starts when we let life move too fast and fail to give our brains the time and space to breathe.

The article I shared here speaks to this deeply. It’s not just science—it’s a wake-up call. Every choice we make—from the food we eat to the way we move, sleep, and manage stress—has an impact on our cognitive future.

What If We Took Brain Health as Seriously as We Take Skincare?

We invest in SPF to protect our skin from wrinkles, but do we invest in brain care to prevent cognitive wear?

We follow workout plans to strengthen our bodies, but do we have a plan to strengthen our minds?

We track steps, calories, macros—but are we tracking our mental clarity, our memory recall, our ability to focus?

If we want to live well, not just long, we need to rethink how we care for our minds. This means better sleep, deeper thinking, real conversations, time away from screens, challenging ourselves to learn new things, moving our bodies to fuel our brains.

It means understanding that mental health isn’t just about moods and emotions—it’s about neurological well-being. It’s about taking daily action to protect the most powerful organ we have.

The Fear That Fuels Me

I’ll be honest: I worry daily about my brain health. I worry that one day I won’t remember the things that matter. That my ability to connect dots, to think critically, to tell stories, will start to blur at the edges. That I’ll lose the sharpness that makes me me.

That fear doesn’t paralyse me—it fuels me. It pushes me to stay curious, to keep learning, to feed my brain with the same care I give to my body. It’s why longevity is so much more than lifespan—it’s mindspan.

So, I want to start a conversation. How do we protect our minds as fiercely as we do our bodies? What are you doing today to preserve your future self?

Because I know one thing for certain: I refuse to let my mind slip away without a fight.