You may have noticed that it has become increasingly hard to remember the words to songs that you knew by heart, sayings that you would quote without even thinking of it or random facts that were drilled into your head by your high school history teacher. Truth is, your memory may not be as great as it used to be. This article is designed to help you change that.
Try taking a brain boosting vitamin. Certain nutrients have been shown to affect our memory and brain function overall. Ginko Biloba and others are quite often considered to be the best at it. Take a vitamin that is geared towards memory retention or look for ways to incorporate foods rich in these nutrients into your diet.
A key to keeping your memory sharp as a tack is to keep up your social relationships. By surrounding yourself with friends and family, especially those that you consider a great support system, you are helping your memory to stay alive. Research actually shows that those with the most active lifestyle showed the slowest rate of memory loss.
Increase the dark leafy greens in your diet like spinach to help boost your memory power. They contain important B vitamins and folic acid, which have a huge job in taking care of the neurons in your brain. They also help keep oxygen flowing through your body, which is integral to healthy brain activity.
Keep your social life active. It is proven that those with an active social life have a better memory. Talk to your friends and family, either in person or over the phone, because it will stimulate your brain. Having an active social life will slow your memory from fading.
Memory is basically the acquisition of new information, and when you have problems concentrating, it becomes vastly more difficult to acquire new information. Most problems with concentration are linked to an Omega-3 deficiency. One effective way to counter this and thereby improve your memory is through the use of fish oils. Incorporating fish oil supplements in your diet can help your memory.
Exercise your body – exercise your brain. By exercising regularly, you increase the amount of oxygen that gets to your brain, and reduce the risk of illnesses that can contribute to memory loss, such as heart disease and diabetes. Exercise can also increase the effects of certain chemicals that help the brain to function at its best.
Build consistent study times into your schedule. To build your long-term memory, you need to fight the urge to cram. Cramming information will place it in your short-term memory, and it will easily fall to the wayside once the information is used. To really commit something to your memory, develop daily sessions where you study it with real focus. Keep it consistent, and you will soon find the information is with you for the long haul!
Try meditating. Meditation can help you against anxiety, depression, and stress. Studies show that regular meditators have much more activity in the the left pre-frontal cortex. This special area of the brain is associated with feelings of joy and equanimity. This also allows the brain to make more connections with brain cells, increasing memory and mental sharpness.
The next time your memory fails to help you remember where you placed something, be sure to jog your memory. Try to remember where you last placed something and how long ago it was. From now on, try to keep your items in the same place so you do not forget where they are.
Before you make a commitment to improve your memory, be sure you are all ready to do so and keep an open mind. Some people’s memories will not improve because they are not willing to try certain techniques given to them. Tell yourself that with enough hard work, your memory will work fine in no time!
When you think about how your memory is, make sure you view yourself in a postivie light. If you think you have a bad memory, the self fulfilling prophecy will come into effect and you will have a harder time actually remembering things. Reward yourself for the things that you do remember, and you will see an improvement quickly.
If you are having problems concentrating or memorizing things, try getting more sleep. Your brain needs at least six to eight hours of sleep a night to function properly. If you have a sleep deficit, it can show in your cognitive abilities. If you’re having problems getting enough sleep, don’t ignore this; consult your physician. Very few people can manage to stay healthy in the longterm with only a few hours sleep per night, so don’t be fooled by the claims of those who insist that they can get by on 5 hours per night.
If you have a bad memory and you are on certain medications, you may want to get a pill organizer. This way, you will remember to take your medicine at the time you need to. Also, if you have forgotten whether you have taken your medication or not, you can always look at your pill organizer.
Eat more foods with flavonoids. Foods with flavonoids will help to keep your memory from deteriorating. This includes foods like, grapes, berries, tea leaves, cocoa beans and hops. These flavonoids will encourage the growth of new neurons in the brain and increase blood flow. This will help you to better remember new things and retain that information.
Spend more time on the information you are having trouble remembering. Go over what you need to remember a couple of times and see what was easy to remember for you. Pay more attention to what seems difficult. Rephrase this content in a way that makes it easy to remember.
Just because your memory isn’t what it once was doesn’t mean that it can’t be that again. Hopefully using this article, you can begin to take back the memory skills you once had and make even more of the skills you have now. Working with your memory is like working with any other part of your mind. Stick with it and you will soon see results.
Read more: Keeping A List To Help You Remember What You Need To Do