Would you live less long if you couldn’t remember anything?

Great question!

Not being able to remember information (called amnesia) would not directly shorten your life span.

However, there could be some reasons why it that could make it harder for you to live a long life. Let’s discuss three of those reasons.

First, memory is really important for guiding our actions and decisions. If you don’t remember that you turned on the stove, you won’t take the time to later turn it off, and you could start a fire. Or, if you don’t remember that you’re allergic to eggs, you could eat something that could make you very sick.

Second, we connect with others by sharing memories. If you don’t remember your own past, or what others tell you about their lives, it can be hard to maintain friendships. It turns out that people who are lonely don’t live as long as people who have good social connections with others. So, this could be another way that not remembering could indirectly affect your life span.

Third, if someone has memory challenges, this can increase their stress and experience of negative emotions. When stress levels stay high over long periods of time, this can hurt the brain and body.

So, while not being able to remember information wouldn’t directly impact your life span, it could lead to changes in your behavior, social connections, and stress levels. These changes could in turn affect your life span.