Losing your ability to think and remember is pretty scary. We know the risk of dementia (痴呆) increases with age. But if you have memory slips, you probably needn’t worry.

There are pretty clear differences between signs of dementia and age-related memory loss.

After 50, it’s quite common to have trouble remembering the names of people, places and things quickly.

The brain ages just like the rest of the body. Certain parts shrink, especially areas in the brain that are important to learning, memory and planning. Changes in brain cells can affect communication between different regions of the brain. And blood flow can be reduced as blood vessels narrow.

Forgetting the name of an actor in a favorite movie, for example, is nothing to worry about. But if you forget the plot of the movie or don’t remember even seeing it, that’s far more concerning.

When you forget entire experiences, it’s a red flag that something more serious may be involved. Forgetting how to operate a familiar object like a microwave oven, or forgetting how to drive to the house of a friend you’ve visited many times before can also be signs of something going wrong.

But even then, people shouldn’t panic. There are many things that can cause confusion and memory loss, including health problems like temporary stoppage of breathing during sleep, high blood pressure, or depression, as well as medications (药物) like antidepressants. Defense against memory loss is to try to prevent it by building up your brain’s cognitive (认知的) reserve.

Read books, go to movies, take up new hobbies or activities that force one to think in novel ways. In other words, keep your brain busy and working. And also get physically active, because exercise is a known brain booster.

Much is unknown about how Covid-19, a new coronavirus, spreads. Current knowledge is largely based on what is known about similar coronaviruses. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people and then spread between people such as with MERS, SARS, and now with Covid-19.

Most often, spread from person-to-person happens among close contacts (about 6 feet). Person-to-person spread is thought to occur mainly via respiratory droplets (呼吸飞沫) produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how influenza and other respiratory pathogens (病原体) spread. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. It's currently unclear if a person can get Covid-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes.

It's important to note that how easily a virus spreads person-to-person can vary. Some viruses are highly contagious (传染性) (like measles), while other viruses are less so. There is much more to learn about the transmissibility severity, and other features associated with Covid-19.

Taking a shower is relaxing. You can sing a song, daydream or think about nothing, leaving the real world behind you. But do you know that showering can also benefit your mind? A piece of research by Scott Barry Kaufman, a psychologist from Yale University in the US, interviewed over 3,000 people around the world. It turned out that nearly two-thirds of the interviewees said they had experienced new ideas in the shower and were more likely to have them in the shower than at work. So why does a simple shower have such magic power? Science can explain it.

Showering can help to raise our level of dopamine (多巴胺), a hormone (荷尔蒙) closely related to our creativity. “People vary in terms of their level of creativity according to the activity of dopamine,” explained Alice Flaherty, a famous American neuroscientist. “Taking a warm shower can make us feel relaxed and therefore make the dopamine level rise and bring the ‘Aha!’ moment to us.”

Besides the chemical changes, showering may give you a break from what you feel you have been stuck with. Especially when you have thought hard all day about a problem, jumping into the shower can keep you from the outside world so that you can focus on your inner feelings and memories. In this way, according to American psychologist Shelley H. Carson，author of Your Creative Brain, a showering hour may turn into an“incubation (孵化) period”for your ideas. Compared with sitting in front of a computer, taking a shower is something we do less frequently in our daily lives. When showering，we get a fresh experience with the change of location, temperature and humidity (湿度). “New and unexpected experiences can lead to positive changes in thinking,” explained Kaufman.“Getting off the couch and jumping into the shower may create a distance and force you to think from a new point of view.”

Showering allows us to enjoy the creative juices of our minds, which makes the bathroom an alternative where you get your inspiration. So next time you consider ways to free your mind, count it in.