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Researches have shown how poor lifestyle and imbalanced diet can have an impact on human memory. This article highlights some natural ways to your rescue to the problem of memory loss and helps in boosting the memory.
12 Best Ways to Improve Memory
1. Exercise
The first on the list is a physical activity, as one like swimming, dancing, jogging or even gymming, makes your nerve cells to multiply stimulating and strengthening their working ability and retention power. It also saves the brain from any further damages making it work to its optimum capacity.
Following the rules of aerobic respiration, a physical activity increases the oxygen supply and enhances the blood circulation, making the brain work faster.
Physical activities which require greater coordination of body parts like dancing, or the ones asking for complex motor skills are especially beneficial for the brain. Perhaps most importantly, a good workout stimulates new neuronal connections and enhances neuro-plasticity by boosting growth factors.
2. Say No to Sugar
Eating too much sugar-laden foods can attack ones short term memory. While it can be a contributor to many chronic diseases like diabetes, sugar is also a cause behind cognitive decline. If you are a diabetic, you can follow a proper diet chart to avoid sugar.
When tested on animal models, the study showed a greater risk to Alzheimer’s disease in those with higher sugary food intake. It was also inferred that those with such consumption habits have lower brain volume and poorer memory when compared to the ones who cut on sugary foods.
3. Right Weight is the key
Maintaining a healthy body weight is significant to a faster running brain.
Obesity can be a big reason behind cognitive decline and can lead to insulin resistance and inflammation, both of which can negatively impact the brain.
Studies have shown that people with higher body mass index are associated with poorer brain performances and higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Hence, maintaining a body mass index within the range will help you avoid a innumerable health issues, one of them being a poor memory power.
4. Make time for friends
Healthy relationships are the ultimate brain booster. Countless studies have proven that spending more time with friends and getting involved in fun games can help you with your cognitive levels.
Human being social animals are not meant to thrive in isolation. Hence, interacting with fellows and engaging in open discussions can be an amazing brain exercise.
In one of the recent studies at the Harvard School of Public Health, researchers found that people with the most active social lives had the slowest rate of memory decline.
There are many ways of taking advantage from the memory boosting socializing. You can either join a club, or volunteer for a social activity, see your friends more often or just give them a call. Moreover, if humans can’t make time, one can always keep a pet.
5. Sleep Enough
For the teenagers (13-19) the ideal sleep time should be 8 to 10 hours, while for adults it ranges from 7 to 9 hours. For those who are 65+ their sleeping time should be between 8 to 9 hours.
Hence, adequate amount of sleep enhances memory retention and aides memory consolidation which strengthens and transforms our short term memories to long term ones. Studies have shown that a sleep deprived person will have a negative impact on his memories and his moods.
Also, it has been proven that nurses and accountants working in the night shift or working overtime make more calculation errors as their brain functions slow and leads to cognitive decline.
6. Kick Out the Stress
Stress is one of the major agent working against your memory. In a longer run, it destroys brain cells and ruptures the hippo campus, a part of brain involved in formation of new memories and recalling of old ones. Hence, stress is highly linked to memory loss.
Here are a few ways to keep stress in control and hence, aides boosting the memory:
- eat well
- sleep enough
- slow down
- deep breathing
- meditate
- talk about your problems
- make time for hobbies
- exercise
7. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a habit or rather a state of mind where one concentrates well on the task undertaken at the present moment, leaving aside all the distractions and temptations towards other agents.
The opposite of mindfulness would be multi tasking, and helps you achieve undistributed focus.
While the habit of multi tasking was originally limited to computers and devices, it now comes handy to human too. Taking up too many tasks simultaneously may eventually slow down human brain, making it prone to errors and forgetfulness.
Studies have shown that students tend to perform better in areas like mathematics, logical reasoning and reading comprehensions when practicing mindfulness, concentrating on breathing and gathering all the wandering attention to that assigned task.
8. Lower down the consumption of Alcohol
Consuming too much alcohol can be detrimental not only for our physical health but also impacts our mental health too.
In cases where one indulges in excess alcohol consumption there are possibilities of a linear decrease in memory, selective forgetting or a condition of selective remembering.
Therefore, having one or two drinks can be perfectly healthy, but in a case of over consumption one may see effects on memory too.
9. Vitamin D is your friend
Vitamin D has loads of benefits for our body and so its deficiency can at large affect our health, including a reduced cognitive function.
Studies have shown that people with Vitamin D levels lower than 20 nano grams per ml of blood, lose their memory and have other cognitive disorders, when compared to those with normal levels.
Low levels of vitamin D have also been linked to a greater risk of developing dementia.
Deficiency of Vitamin D is quiet common in colder regions and so is related to age-related cognitive decline and dementia.
Some food which are great sources of Vitamin D are:
- Fatty fish, like tuna, mackerel, and salmon.
- Foods fortified with vitamin D, like some dairy products, orange juice, soy milk, and cereals.
- Beef liver.
- Cheese.
- Egg yolks
If you are a vegetarian you can check this list- 14 Delicious Vegetarian Vitamin D Rich Foods\
10. Train your Brain
Brain games are not only fun inducing but are a great way to boost your memory.
Games on faster math calculations, crosswords, Sudoku, memory games and many more mobile app games are an effective way to challenge your brain and strengthen the memory.
Doctors suggest that adults with mild cognitive impairment can improve their memory performance by playing brain-train games, approximately two hours a week. These games are also known to increase concentration levels in an individual.
Plus, brain-training games have been shown to help reduce the risk of dementia in older adults.
11. Involve as many senses as you can
The key to a long term memory is to keep all your senses at work. Simple physical steps can help in boosting the memory. It is best to relate information to colors, smells, tastes and textures.
Rewriting the information can have a longer imprint on ones memory. If you’re a visual learner, reading out loud may help you remember for a longer time. Associating rhythms may help further in boosting the memory.
An acronym is a word that is made up by taking the first letters of all the key words or ideas you need to remember and creating a new word out of them. This too can be helpful.
12. Pick Anti-Inflammatory foods.
Choosing foods which are anti inflammatory in nature will help in boosting your memory.
Studies have proven that people who eat more fruits and vegetables have lower risk of cognitive decline and dementia.
Some anti inflammatory foods are:
- tomatoes.
- olive oil.
- green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, kale, and collards.
- nuts like almonds and walnuts.
- fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines.
- fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and oranges.
There are many simple and even delicious ways to boost the memory.
Exercising is not only required for body but also for brain. Hence, rightly said by T. Collin Campbell ‘Good nutrition creates health in all areas of our existence. All parts are connected.’
