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We all occasionally misplace our keys. We've all walked into a room and stopped, and looked around, and wondered, "Now why did I come in here, again?" Most of us have turned to our companion to introduce someone we've run into, and found that his or her name was simply missing from our brains. But when, seemingly overnight, these kinds of memory lapses began to occur every day, author Cathryn Jakobson Ramin got worried. Were these merely "senior moments"— although she wasn't quite 50 yet? Or were they a sign that something was seriously wrong?

A Series of Factors in Play

In "Carved in Sand," Ramin turns her exploration of the workings of her own brain into a larger study of the physical and chemical changes that impact the midlife mind as well as the impact of information overload. She interviews people experiencing varying types of memory loss, as well as the scientists and doctors who have entered a race against time to find ways to ameliorate the effects of age, estrogen, genes, and experience on the mind.

At times, Ramin's work resembles that of the writer and physician Oliver Sacks, whose books explore the mysteries of the human brain with great curiosity, while maintaining respect and wonder for the owner. But while Sacks focuses on the extraordinary mind, Ramin discusses a process that awaits us all. But she also discusses ways to change our destinies, even as these mental "glitches" begin to make their presence known.

Add the "Information Highway" and ...

It may seem questionable that we can shape the outcome of what is essentially a facet of the natural and inescapable aging of the brain, but consider this: We've created lifestyles and a social environment that have created an extraordinary burden of information for our brains. Our ancestors did not have to remember dozens of passwords, operate myriad electronics, or manage such complex social and professional networks.

"Their lives were different, and so were their expectations. They weren't changing careers or inventing new ones," she observes, noting that today's fifty-somethings might be changing careers or holding high-power positions they've worked towards all their lives, while also raising children, caring for their elderly parents, and engaging in an increasingly global, electronic, fast-paced culture, with no expectations of slowing down. And therein, she posits, lies part of the problem—the part we can change.

Finding a Plan ... Half the Battle

Instead of celebrating our ability to multitask, Ramin suggests we begin to change the pace of our lives, in order to free ourselves of the pressure to process it all perfectly. In the course of her studies, Ramin tried a variety of things to improve her own brain function, and reports at the end that she was able to lift the fog, to some degree, through a variety of things, including simply paying more attention to what was happening, both in the moment, and in the larger picture. And that lesson may be her book's greatest use to the rest of us.

"Midlife is the time to act," she writes. "Consider your diet, control your weight and blood sugar, amend your sleeping habits, increase your aerobic fitness, attend to your stress level and—most crucially—assure that your brain gets the right kind of exercise. These practices will go a long way toward making sure you take the right fork in the road, reaching old age with the bulk of your marbles intact."

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