A trip to the grocery store to pick up bread, milk, and eggs could turn into a two-trip ordeal because you forgot to get one of three items listed. Left your phone in the cab? Blanking on names? Or the movie you saw last weekend? Then you’re not alone.
Everyone loses track occasionally. It kind of feels like as we are aging, our minds and memories just don’t work like they used to. But is that really true, or are there ways to improve memory power?
The fact of the matter is that certain aspects of brain function and memory capability are not necessarily linked to getting older. Lifestyle choices and whether or not we implement memory-boosting techniques in our day-to-day lives contribute to the overall health of our brains and our ability to remember both new and old information.
So we got to wondering: Is it possible to counteract the memory decline that already seems to be taking place? How can we improve memory power?
Well, we discovered;
13 Tricks and Mind-sharpening Strategies to Boost your Memory.
1. Get a Good Night Sleep –
A night of poor sleep takes a toll on everything, from your job performance to your daily chores, and especially your memory. Sleep is a key time for the brain to solidify the connections between neurons, thus helping us remember more of our tasks. Rule of thumb: Get 7-8 hours of sleep every day. Even short naps count for memory.
Experts are of the opinion that if you do only one thing to improve your memory, getting more sleep should be it. If you have trouble sleeping get to know How to Get Good Sleep Naturally and Foods That Help You Sleep Better to get a sound sleep. Yes, this age-old remedy actually works.
Sleep
2. Jog Your Memory –
Literally. Exercise increases your heart rate which gets the blood flowing to your brain, thus keeping your memory sharp. In fact, brain-boosting physical activities that require hand-eye coordination or complex motor skills are particularly beneficial for brain building.
Running, swimming, biking – any form of exercise – for at least 30 minutes helps enlarge the hippocampus, which is regarded as the ‘memory center of the brain’. If you don’t have time for a full workout, squeeze in a 10-minute walk around the block in your schedule or a few jumping jacks. It’s enough to reboot your brain.
walking
3. Stay Focused and Quit Multitasking –
Can’t find your keys? It’s probably because you weren’t paying attention when you put them down. When you’re juggling too many things, you’re bound to forget. As it turns out, the brain doesn’t actually multitask. Instead, it switches focus from one thing to the other, which is why it is difficult to read a book and hold a conversation at the same time.
Multitasking will slow you down, so make it a point to concentrate on the task at hand. It’s crucial. Studies suggest to say it out loud: “I left my keys on the dresser”, etc. so the brain can process it. Your brain actually needs about eight seconds to commit a piece of information to your memory, so if you’re talking on the phone and carrying groceries when you put down your car keys, you’re unlikely to remember where you left them.
4. Use Mnemonic Devices –
Mnemonic devices are tools that help you memorize in an easier format – words, lists, concepts, et al.
· Acronyms: They are basically abbreviations used a word to help you jog your memory. For example, CART can be carrots, apples, raspberries, and tomatoes, which can be used to remember your grocery list.
· Rhymes: If you need to remember a name, get creative. “Mary loves cherry” or “Simon is a fireman”.
· Acrostics: These are lifesavers during exams, especially. Whenever you need to mug up a sentence, combine the initial letters, and use it as a memory cue. For example: How we all remembered the 9 planets during childhood, “My Very Educated Mother Just Showed Us Nine Planets”.
· Chunking: Chunking breaks a long list of numbers or other types of information into smaller, more manageable chunks. For example: Remembering a 10-digit phone number by breaking it down into three sets of numbers: 555-867-5309 (as opposed to 5558675309).
5. Meditation is Key –
According to 2015 a study from the UCLA Brain Mapping Center, the brain starts to decline in your 20s and continues to decrease both in size and volume.
Meditating and yoga regularly delay cognitive decline and prevents neurodegenerative diseases like Dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. Meditation produces a positive charge in the brain’s gray matter over time, which is important for memory, learning, and self-awareness. In addition, meditation has been shown to reduce stress, which can do a number on memory.
6. Stay Mentally Active –
Give your brain a workout. Note: Crossword puzzles and Sudoku are your new best friend. Challenge your brain, take a different route to work, learn a new language, read a section of the newspaper you usually skip, do things out of the ordinary. Stay engaged, because mentally stimulating activities help keep your brain in shape – and might even keep memory loss at bay.
People who are cognitively active have better memory as they age, it’s true. So quiz yourself, flex your brain, and improve your memory power.
7. Get Organized –
If your house is in a mess, you’re more likely to forget things. Jot down tasks, declutter your home, and note down appointments. Set aside a particular place at home to keep your keys, and limit distractions. Live by to-do lists, keep them up to date and check off the items you’ve completed. Physically writing down new information actually helps reinforce it.
A day planner or smartphone calendar can help you keep track of appointments and activities and can also serve as a journal in which you write anything that you would like to remember. Writing down and organizing information reinforces learning.
Try jotting down conversations, thoughts, experiences.
Review current and previous day’s entries at breakfast and dinner.
If you use a planner and not a smartphone, keep it in the same spot at home and take it with you whenever you leave.
8. Write It Down –
Jotting down information will help you remember and visualize your agenda or tasks for the day. It is an easy way to remind yourself of what you have to do or say later during the day. Always keep a “random-thought pad” on hand while you’re at the computer or folding laundry can help improve your focus naturally
9. Visualize your memory –
Learning faces and names is a particularly hard task for most people. In addition to repeating a person’s name, you can also associate the name with an image. Visualization strengthens the association you are making between the face and the name. For example:
Link the name Sandy with the image of a beach, and imagine Sandy on the beach or as suggested before “Mary loves cherry” or “Simon is a fireman”.
10. Find a Cue –
When you are having difficulty recalling a particular word or fact, you can cue yourself by giving related details or “talking around” the word, name, or fact. Other practical ways to cue include:
Using alarms or a kitchen timer to remind you of tasks or appointments.
Placing an object associated with the task you must do in a prominent place at home. For example, if you want to order tickets to a play, leave a newspaper ad for the play near your telephone or computer.
11. Group them up –
When you’re trying to remember a long list of items, it can help to group the items in sets of three to five, just as you would remember a phone number. This strategy capitalizes on the organization and building associations and helps to extend the capacity of our short-term memory by chunking information together instead of trying to remember each piece of information independently. For example:
If you have a list of 15 things on your grocery list, you can group the items by category, such as dairy, produce, canned goods, and frozen foods.
12. Balance Your Stress –
Chronic stress and depression, both contribute to memory loss and the destruction of brain cells. One of the best things you can do is laugh. Yes, it’s that simple. Laughter engaged multiple regions of the brain and simultaneously reduces stress. Social interaction also helps ward off depression and stress, so look for opportunities to get together with family, loved ones, friends, and work colleagues. Know the strategies for How to Manage Stress in Life.
13. Food for Thought –
Did you know that the brain is an energy-hungry organ? Despite comprising only 2% of the body’s weight, the brain gobbles up more than 20% of daily energy intake. So a healthy diet might be as good for your brain as it is for your overall health, and eating right may in fact be more important than you think. After all, you are what you eat.
The brain demands a constant supply of glucose which is obtained from recently eaten carbohydrates like whole grains, fruits, and greens. Because when the glucose level drops, it results in confused thinking.
No, this does not give you the license to slurp on sugary drinks. Instead eat throughout the day to optimize brainpower- not too much, not too little. Memory boosting diet includes antioxidant-rich, colorful fruits, green leafy vegetables, and whole grains which protect your brain from harmful free radicals. Choose low-fat protein sources such as fish and drink at least 8 glasses of water daily since dehydration can lead to memory loss and confusion.
The following nutritional tips will help boost your brainpower and reduce your risk of dementia:
Get your omega-3s. Research shows that omega-3 fatty acids are particularly beneficial for brain health. Fish is a particularly rich source of omega-3, especially cold water “fatty fish” such as salmon, tuna, halibut, trout, mackerel, sardines, and herring.
If you’re not a fan of seafood, consider non-fish sources of omega-3s such as seaweed, walnuts, ground flaxseed, flaxseed oil, winter squash, kidney and pinto beans, spinach, broccoli, pumpkin seeds, and soybeans.
Limit calories and saturated fat. Research shows that diets high in saturated fat (from sources such as red meat, whole milk, butter, cheese, cream, and ice cream) increase your risk of dementia and impair concentration and memory.
Eat more fruit and vegetables. Produce is packed with antioxidants, substances that protect your brain cells from damage. Colorful fruits and vegetables are particularly good antioxidant “superfood” sources.
Drink green tea. Green tea contains polyphenols, powerful antioxidants that protect against free radicals that can damage brain cells. Among many other benefits, regular consumption of green tea may enhance memory and mental alertness and slow brain aging.
Drink wine (or grape juice) in moderation. Keeping your alcohol consumption in check is key since alcohol kills brain cells. But in moderation (around 1 glass a day for women; 2 for men), alcohol may actually improve memory and cognition. Red wine appears to be the best option, as it is rich in resveratrol, a flavonoid that boosts blood flow in the brain and reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Other resveratrol-packed options include grape juice, cranberry juice, fresh grapes and berries, and peanuts.
IDENTIFY AND TREAT HEALTH PROBLEMS
Do you feel that your memory has taken an unexplainable dip? If so, there may be a health or lifestyle problem to blame.
It’s not just dementia or Alzheimer’s disease that causes memory loss. There are many diseases, mental health disorders, and medications that can interfere with memory:
Heart disease and its risk factors.
Cardiovasculardisease and its risk factors, including high cholesterol and high blood pressure, have been linked to mild cognitive impairment.
Diabetes.
Studies show that people with diabetesexperience far greater cognitive decline than those who don’t suffer from the disease.
Hormone imbalance.
Women going through menopause often experience memory problems when their estrogen dips. In men, low testosterone can cause issues. Thyroid imbalances can also cause forgetfulness, sluggish thinking, or confusion.
Medications.
Many prescription and over-the-counter medications can get in the way of memory and clear thinking. Common culprits include cold and allergy medications, sleep aids, and antidepressants. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about possible side effects.
