Why forgetting is actually good for you

Stop trying to improve your memory. You don't need to remember everything.

Forgetting clears room for new memories.
(Image credit: Ikon Images / Alamy Stock Photo)

We are obsessed with remembering. We keep to-do lists, make photo albums, and furiously record the details of our lives on Facebook and Instagram, all with the purpose of savoring every little memory for fear of letting one slip. This fear, while irrational, is understandable given our circumstances. The reality that five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease has made us hyper-aware of memory loss — and a steady stream of studies and articles are ready to appeal to our anxieties. They tell us that seemingly random things can fortify our memories: Eat more berries! Down that chocolate. Get more caffeine in your diet. Add cinnamon to everything! Exercise. Lift weights and run barefoot. Get hearing aids. Lose weight. Play video games.

But, alongside the studies telling us how to keep our memories intact, an enormous body of research has led to another conclusion: In many cases, it's okay (and in fact, beneficial) to forget. Human memory is not only unreliable, but often partially or wholly false. And certain kinds of forgetting is actually really good for us.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Tammy Kennon
Tammy Kennon is a career journalist whose work appears in The New York Times, USA Today and Cruising World magazine, among others. After traveling aboard her sailboat for three years, she moved to Seattle where she writes about mental health, travel, and things too interesting to ignore.