Need Help Remembering If You Took Your Pills? Pat Your Head
Have you ever taken a pill--vitamin or medication--and immediately forgotten that you took it?
Me too, and forgetting if you took your pills must be fairly common. Or researchers at Washington University in St. Louis wouldn't have done a study about it.
The study revealed that older adults who have to do something every day--like taking a pill, for example--often have no trouble remembering to do it. They just can't remember if they did it. Forgetting can lead to taking another pill--and the dangers of overmedication.
What Helps You Remember to Take Your Pills?
I put my daily vitamins in a dish, and I check to see that I have them all before taking them. When the dish is empty, I know I'm done.
In the study, "Repetition Errors in Habitual Prospective Memory: Elimination of Age Differences via Complex Actions or Appropriate Resource Allocation," Dr. Mark McDaniel and the team discovered that when older adults combined pill taking with physical movement--like patting their heads, or tapping the counter--it was easier for them to remember if they took the pill or not.
Give these ideas a try and let us know if they work for you by leaving a comment below. Or perhaps you'd like to share your own system for remembering daily tasks.
I take several medications plus vitamins, and it’s hard to keep track of everything. I use the last remaining dinner plate from my wedding set (it’s over 40 years old) and lay everything out. That way I know I have everything and don’t have to second-guess myself.
I have to take medication three times every day, with meals, and I used to have trouble remembering if I had taken all of my pills throughout the day. It helps me to have a small pillbox with three compartments, and I’ve written the correct time of day in each one. I make it a bedtime routine to fill the box for the next day.
I don’t pat my head, but I can see how combining pill taking with another, less-routine activity could help, especially as people get older and have more trouble recalling small details. I’ll keep it in mind for the future.
I take pills, put them in a one-week pill box with separate containers for each day. I had trouble however with remembering if I had taken my insulin shots. I now take the four syringes, put them on a counter over the kitchen sink, and I have done well with that system.
When I get up in the morning, the first thing I do is put out my medication in a container. If by 6pm it’s not in the container I know I took it…this has worked for me for the past five years.
Each Sunday, I put all my meds in a daily pill-box for the week. This way I know whether I have taken them and if I need to order refills. I also record the time I take the pills on a daily calendar, and I put my appointments on the same calendar and along with anything else I don’t want to forget.
I have a small spiral notepad that I write all medication, supplements, etc in. I write the name and time I took it. If it is a pain med, I make a note of what caused me to take it. I take this to doctors when I go so I can better answer his questions.
I take a lot of pills in the am and pm. I have a little dish that I turn over after am pills and have a sticky on the back saying “night”. At night, I turn it back over for pm pills and leave it right side up for am pills. I’ve tried other methods, but this works for me.