Memory Matters: Get support for your memory loss
Have you ever walked into a room only to forget why you went there in the first place? Or struggled to recall someone’s name?
While forgetfulness is a common part of life, memory challenges that persist or worsen can be alarming. This can make you feel like you’re losing your sense of self and cause problems in your life such as forgetting to pay a bill, double-booking an appointment, or overlooking something meaningful for a loved one.
Our memories are a core set of complex aspects and processes associated with ourselves. We use our memories to recall information in our everyday lives, from planning our day to remembering how to execute a task to recalling the password on our phone. Our memory is present all the time.
If you experience memory difficulties, it has a profound effect on you. It can hurt you and those around you, affecting your participation in daily activities, interactions with others, and mental health such as stress and anxiety. Your occupational therapist (OT) can help you or a loved one address memory challenges.
What is memory?
Memory is the brain's ability to encode, store, and retrieve relevant information and skills at a given time. It allows us to learn from experiences, retain knowledge, and apply it to future situations.
Memory can be broken into five components: attention, encoding, storage, consolidation, and retrieval.
Attention means focusing on what’s important, like listening closely when someone speaks to you.
Encoding is the process of interpreting information and converting it into something that the brain can remember.
Storage is when your brain puts that information into a mental “file cabinet” to keep it for later.
Consolidation is when your brain strengthens that memory so it sticks, usually while you sleep, rest, or use a memory strategy such as repetition.
Retrieval is when your brain finds and brings out that stored memory, like remembering a friend's name or where you left your keys.
Types of Memory
We use different types of memory every day such as remembering what we see, learning a new skill, or remembering a fact about the world. There are 10 different types of memory:
Verbal: The ability to encode, store, and recall information from language-based formats (recalling words, lists, stories).
Visual: Recalling images, faces, shapes, and spatial locations (recognizing faces, remembering where you put your keys in your room, or envisioning a scene from a movie in your head).
Spatial: Remembering locations and spatial layouts (navigating a city or recalling where you parked your car in a parking lot).
Prospective: Remembering to carry out planned actions, dates, or events that are in the future (taking medications on time, attending a doctor's appointment, or visiting a friend) (Alzheimer's Society, 2021).
Working memory: Store information for short periods of time (remembering directions someone has given you, mental math, or recalling a task someone has instructed you to complete) (Alzheimer's Society, 2021).
Procedural/motor memory: Performing physical and specific tasks automatically (Driving, typing, or playing an instrument).
New learning: The ability to acquire and retain new information and skills (learning a language, an academic subject, or how to fix a car).
Semantic memory: Remembering general knowledge, meaning of words, facts, or concepts that is not tied to personal experiences (knowing the capitals of countries, what a toothbrush is for, or that the sky is blue).
Episodic memory: Recalling past events that are linked to specific moments or events in your life, either recent or distant (what you ate for lunch or when you last attended a family gathering).
Autobiographical memory: Long-term memory that involves the recollection of personal experiences and life events, a combination of semantic and episodic (remembering your first day of school, a family vacation, or how you felt during a significant life event).
Common difficulties associated with memory challenges
There are many factors that can impact your memory. These are some common factors:
Physiological imbalances: Physiological needs refer to the biological requirements necessary for survival. The human body cannot function correctly until these physiological needs are satisfied (McLeod, 2025). Physiological needs include sleep, energy, food, shelter, hydration, and physical activity. These imbalances can lead to delays or difficulties accessing memories.
Sensory dysfunction: Sensory integration refers to how the brain interprets and organizes sensory information (Passarello et al., 2022). Too little or too much sensory input can cause you to become overwhelmed or understimulate the brain (Olsson, n.d.). Some examples of sensory dysfunction may include the inability to tolerate loud noises or bright lights. Similarly, sensory impairments such as hearing and vision loss can cause memory issues.
Mental health: Depression and anxiety can affect memory dysfunction (Manuppelli, 2025). Depression affects short-term memory and retention; anxiety affects working memory; and traumatic experiences can lead to memory gaps (Airaksinen et al., 2005; Brewin, 2014; Manuppelli, 2025).
Sleep: Insufficient and excessive sleep can affect memory processing, as well as other brain functions (Ma et al., 2020).
Medications: Certain medications, such as antidepressants, antihistamines, and sleep aids, can affect memory.
Nutrition: Nutrient deficiencies, especially B vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids, can impair memory. Vitamin B12 deficiency has been linked to memory loss and cognitive decline (Roberts, 2007).
Lack of mental stimulation: A sedentary lifestyle or lack of cognitive engagement can contribute to memory decline over time (Loprinzi et al., 2021). Physical activity increases blood flow, delivering oxygen and nutrients to the brain (Siddarth et al., 2018).
Ineffective, lack of, or too many strategies: Completing too many tasks at once can interfere with memory encoding and retention (Contemori et al., 2022). Disorganization, lack of planning, or using too many or too few memory strategies can make it harder to recall details. For example, trying to remember a chart can be easier than remembering a block of text.
Medical conditions: Various medical conditions can affect memory including brain injury, cancer, and diabetes. A traumatic brain injury can significantly impact memory by damaging areas of the brain responsible for memory processes, such as the hippocampus, frontal lobes, and temporal lobes (Levine et al., 2002). Chemotherapy for cancer has side effects such as the “chemo brain” or cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI), which affects working memory, verbal memory, and the ability to recall recent information (Ahles & and Root, 2018). Type 2 diabetes is associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline and memory impairment. Chronically high blood sugar levels can damage blood vessels in the brain and reduce blood flow, leading to functional changes in areas critical for memory (Moran et al., 2013).
By addressing these factors above, you can improve your memory performance. Thus, memory is a multifactorial phenomenon and requires a multidisciplinary and multimodal treatment approach.
How can your occupational therapist help?
Occupational therapists are regulated health professionals who promote health, well-being, and quality of life by supporting access to, initiation of, and sustained participation in necessary and meaningful occupations (Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, 2025).
Occupations are the activities that people do every day to give their life meaning and purpose (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2020).
Occupational therapists understand the mental, cognitive, physical, emotional, social, sensory, and environmental factors that influence how you perform activities and participate in society. In other words, occupational therapists help people of all abilities and backgrounds participate in the things that they need and want to do.
Given the multifactorial nature of memory function, occupational therapists can help by providing various resources, assessments, and interventions for individuals with memory challenges, especially when those challenges are impacting their daily function. Some examples of how occupational therapists can help with memory challenges include cognitive remediation and stimulation training, compensatory strategies, environmental modifications, routine building, mental health support, task simplification, and lifestyle changes.
Cognitive remediation and stimulation: Your occupational therapist may provide cognitive exercises or activities to retrain your brain processes such as performing mental math exercises for attention, or scanning a flyer to train visual selective attention. Work simulation activities may be provided to stimulate your brain before returning to work.
Compensatory strategy training: Your occupational therapist can help teach you or your loved one use compensatory strategies to manage memory deficits. Internal memory strategies, mental techniques that you do in your head, may include using acronyms, repetition, or visualization. External memory strategies, techniques or tools that are used around you, include calendars, to-do lists, blister packs for medications, and smartphone apps.
Environmental modifications: Your occupational therapist may conduct an assessment of your environment and recommend modifications to make it memory-friendly. For example, individuals with moderate to severe memory impairments are at a higher risk of falling or forgetting to turn off the stove (VHA, 2024). Labelling items, creating a visual printout of routines, using SMART home devices, or buying items with automatic shut-offs can be helpful.
Routine-building: Structured routines can use procedural memory and create anchors in your day as a reference when remembering to complete important and routine tasks. Your occupational therapist helps build your routine by sequencing tasks, scheduling, and colour-coding systems.
Mental health support: This support may include stress management, relaxation skills for anxiety, or engaging in pleasure activities to improve low mood. Modalities such as coping skills training, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and mindfulness may be used.
Task simplification: Complex tasks may cause cognitive overload, which is when your life or activity demands exceed your brain’s mental capacity. Your occupational therapist can help you develop strategies such as breaking down a task or simplifying tasks into smaller and more manageable chunks.
Lifestyle changes: Your occupational therapist can help make lifestyle changes that support memory function such as supporting you in developing healthier sleeping habits, developing goals and motivating you to exercise, or managing your meals to eat nutritious foods.
What can I expect during an occupational therapy session?
Depending on the issue and funding, you may meet your occupational therapist in the clinic, community, hospital, or workplace. In general, your occupational therapist may conduct an interview, ask you to complete questionnaires, perform cognitive tests, interview loved ones, and observe you complete tasks. They may also consult with your healthcare providers, refer to your medical team, connect you with community resources, or provide a treatment program.
Your occupational therapist will collaborate with you to create functional goals and a plan to address those goals in a way that works with you.
You may be provided education, be taught strategies, gain awareness of your limitations and strengths, and improve your memory performance. This may include pacing, managing your sleep routine, managing fatigue, conserving energy, and learning various memory strategies. They will monitor your progress and adjust interventions as needed with the goal of progressing to more functional activities. Sessions and the duration of a program vary in length, but they are typically between 30 to 60 minutes. The number of sessions depends on your needs. Some people may require a few, whereas others may require months or even years of support.
The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT) provides a searchable national directory of occupational therapists (OTs) for all Canadians to find the occupational therapy services they need. You can search for an OT who specializes in cognitive rehabilitation and memory dysfunction.
Find an OT in your area now for further assistance.
About the authors
James Fimognari, MSc OT (Student Occupational Therapist), MSc Kin, HBc Kin, is a second-year occupational therapy student at the University of Western Ontario. He had extensive placement experience in cognitive rehab, specializing in working with individuals with mild-to-moderate cognitive impairments due to various factors, such as motor vehicle accidents, workplace injuries, concussions, and post-cancer treatment. He had previous experience in an acute stroke unit. His first placement was in pediatrics, specializing in early childhood development, school readiness, and seating and mobility. He obtained his Master of Science in Kinesiology from Lakehead University, where he successfully defended his thesis titled "The Effects of Knee Bracing in Reactive Agility Performance Among Health Soccer Players – A Pilot Study." He also obtained his Honours Bachelor's of Kinesiology from Lakehead University. James is passionate about working in Northwestern Ontario and addressing health inequities and disparities in the region.
Adam Ly, MScOT, OT Reg. (Ont.), is a Registered Occupational Therapist who has been practicing for 8 years at CBI Health. He specializes in helping adults who have are experiencing mental health challenges and mild-moderate cognitive impairments such as a concussion, post-cancer, long-covid, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He also practices psychotherapy. He is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Toronto and adjunct clinical professor at Western University in the Schools of Occupational Therapy. He teaches workshops across Canada through CAOT. He is a certified Multi-Context Approach Therapist, a metacognitive approach in cognitive rehabilitation.
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