How to improve memory is a worrisome question every adult and the ones progressing towards their old age asks.
There are a plethora of ways we can improve our memory. From the routines to our eating habits, memory highly depends on how is our lifestyle. Improving memory is an act of strengthening or enhancing your mind by keeping a healthy lifestyle.
WHAT IS MEMORY?
The word “Memory” has been derived from the Anglo-French word “Memoire” which means “record” and from Latin “Memoria” which means “an act of remembrance”.
Memory is a mental capacity of storing the unconscious or conscious events of the past and recalling it when needed.
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF MEMORY LOSS?
Memory loss is one of the most common problems in the world due to the following reasons:
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Age
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Role of genes
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Unhealthy lifestyle
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Disturbance in sleeping patterns (Not getting enough sleep)
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Long term use of alcohol, drugs and smoking
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Emotional Trauma or tragedy
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Unhealthy diet
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Constant stress and pressure.
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Brain injury
WAYS OF IMPROVING MEMORY:
When we hear the term “fitness” or “health”, the first thing that comes is a physically fit person who is eating healthy and working out at the gym religiously. In this modern world, where our priorities revolve around becoming slim and smart, building abs and muscles, making an impeccable career and being successful in the professional platforms, we don’t usually pay heed towards one of the most integral part of our life which is also connected to the priorities mentioned above. Yes, that’s the mind. When we start to focus on our mental strength, eventually it will maintain memory functions. There are many ways to improve memory which are as follows:
1. Cardio exercises:
MRI studies show that regular aerobic exercises like running improves memory by increasing the blood flow.
After such high-intensity exercises, having a good meal has shown to promote the learning of new information. Glucose and Insulin is also key to consolidation, the conversion of short term memory to long term memory storage.
2. Working in a social environment:
Many types of research have shown that people working in groups or a socially interactive environment tend to learn things much more quickly than people with zero interactions. Working in such environments helps you to learn and memorize things more quickly and for a long period of time because of the ongoing feedback from peers and short challenges in the task.
Hanging out with people can protect against memory loss and mental disorders common in dementia. People who stay in touch with their friends and family show better memory function and maintains other cognitive abilities.
3. Meditation
Meditation can greatly enhance your memorizing ability. Trying different breathing exercises especially box-breathing, which is a sort of mindfulness used by Navy SEALs, helps to engage in future tasks much more efficiently. Meditation allows blood flow in the brain which improves memory, Researchers did a study on participants who practiced meditation every day and they found an improvement in learning and memorizing things just after eight weeks.
Meditation and breathing techniques have been shown to improve short term memory consolidation in people of all ages.
4. Food
The foods we eat are directly proportional to the structure and health of our brains. Our brain works on the fuel we take in the form of in taking food. So, it needs 20 percent of the body’s calories to maintain and improve brain functions.
The diet which helps in improving memory are as follow:
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Foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids help build and repair brain cells,
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Green tea can also help to refresh our brains as it contains antioxidants that help to reduce cellular stress and inflammation, which are linked to memorizing and learning.
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Berries such as strawberries, blackberries, blackcurrants, mulberries contain flavonoid antioxidants. A 2014 review notes that the antioxidant compounds in berries have many positive effects on the brain such as improving communication between brain cells and prevent from neurodegenerative diseases.
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5. Sleep
Sleep plays a vital role in the consolidation of memory from short term holding to long term storage. It aids in building a strong connection between brain cells and triggers storing memories. Researchers have done a long study and they have concluded that the people who have learned skills and take good care of their sleeping patterns resulted in an impeccable remembrance than the ones who sleep less.
The reason behind this is that the sleep-deprived person loses focus and attention which further allows him to less store information. Other than that, when a person is sleeping, it prevents the brain to struck by external stimuli that causes diversion from the focus and interference with memory storage.
According to psychologists, when a person is asleep it reduces the secretion of dopamine which accelerates forgetfulness and in return, it enhances the working of the hippocampus which allows preserving memories.
6. Be Organized:
As we know, memory has a certain capacity to store information. When a huge bulk of the information is stored in it, it creates chaos which causes difficulty in maintaining attention and remembering things. So, the best way to keep your information organized is:
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Making notes of what you’re studying and grouping similar concepts helps in remembering things.
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Make a to-do list every day
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Keep a calendar on your table to remember deadlines and tasks. You can also use google calendar to set reminders.
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Keep an alarm in your phone to remember tasks.
7. Playing brainstorming games:
Brainstorming is a critical approach to build up your memory and think creatively or out of the box. According to neurobiologists, playing brainstorming games aids in boosting memory power and improves performance by up to 12%. The suggested brainstorming games are as follows:
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Playing chess
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Checkers
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Rubik’s cube
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Scrabble
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Crossword puzzles
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Sudoku
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Jigsaw Puzzles
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Riddles and quizzes
8. Use of Caffeine:
According to the study, intake of caffeine such as coffee or green tea helps in boosting memory power and attain focus for the long term. It is being suggested that taking 200 milligrams of caffeine allows remembering things faster and for a long time. This method is highly useful for students who can recall their tests by having coffee in the morning.
9. Use of Chocolate:
We’ve heard many times that if you’re feeling down, have a bar of chocolate. Study shows that having dark chocolate not only helps to relieve stress but also boosts brain functions. The cacao allows rejuvenating memory and improves blood flow to the brain. So, it is suggested to have a bar of chocolate which has 85% cacao in it. The darker the chocolate is, the better is for brain performance.
10. Take time out for hobbies:
According to psychologists, our brain works best in the '20s but what really effects the brainpower is our lifestyle. It is being suggested to learn new skills or spend some time with your hobbies allows relaxing your mind and enhance brain functions.
Artistic hobbies which include learning musical instruments, painting, sketching and photography plays an integral role in boosting communication between brain cells.
The biggest personalities who are known for their intelligence are:
- Einstein was a famous physicist who was also an impeccable violinist.
- Leonard Da Vinci was a scientist and a mathematician who had a great interest in painting.
- Billionaire Warren Buffett plays ukulele every day in his spare time to keep his mind sharp.
CONCLUSION:
Mental health is something which is really important in order to live a happy and healthy life. We take care of our bodies, our skin and trying numerous methods to keep it healthy. But when it comes to the brain, we ignore it as it doesn’t really matter. We need to take it really seriously because memory problem is something really dangerous and painful when it gets out of hands. Long-term ignorance of it can cause mental diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia which is so common nowadays. Statistical study shows that fifty million people are suffering from this disease and every year, eight to ten million cases derive, ranging from age 40-70.