Memory is one of the things we take for granted in life, until we begin to lose it. Many degenerative diseases can take hold of us and seize our ability to do one of the most basic actions in life: remember. This article provides some tips and tricks to coping with memory loss and help improve your memory.
If you have noticed that your memory isn’t what it used to be, maybe you aren’t getting enough sleep. You need to be sleeping seven to eight hours each night in order to improve your memory. During your sleep cycle, your brain processes all new information to create these memories for you so you have them to recall later.
One method you can use to help you commit things to memory is to use mnemonic devices. A mnemonic device is a simple technique to aid recall of information you are trying to remember. You might develop a rhyme, a joke or a joke to help you remember a piece of information. An example of a common mnemonic is “1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue”. You can utilize this same type of rhyming scheme to help you remember a specific date or term.
Improve your memory by getting more organized. Sometimes a poor memory is simply a side effect of having too much on your plate and poor organization skills. Try using a day planner to keep track of your schedule. Make to-do lists outlining the tasks that you want to accomplish for the day. Finally, clear up clutter around your house and your work area. When everything is nicely organized and in its proper place, you may find that your memory problems disappear.
It is crucial that you eat breakfast if you are trying to improve your memory. Many doctors and health professionals have found that eating breakfast fuels the mind after not having eaten for many hours because of sleep. Even if it is a bowl of fruit, be sure to never skip breakfast.
To improve your memory you need to have fun and laugh a lot. Your memory needs healthy fun besides training. Struggling for 6 hours with the latest Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle might seem to enhance memory functions, but in most cases socializing with friends, going to the movies or enjoying a play at the local theatre helps much more.
To better commit names to memory, repeat a person’s name after an introduction, and try to come up with something about the person that might help you remember his or her name. If you meet a Bob who mentions that he enjoys fishing, you might associate his name with a bobber like those used on a fishing line, for instance.
Allow your brain to conjure up information that is permanently stored in your mind, and then associate it with new thoughts that you wish to retain. Making a strong connection to information already in your memory greatly enhances the likelihood that you will be able to recall it for a long time. Additionally, exercising your mind through relations will allow you to memorize things much more quickly.
If you have a large amount of information to commit to memory, a good strategy is to break the information down into many separate pieces. It is much easier to remember things in parts, than to remember them as a whole. As a simple example, when trying to memorize a standard United States phone number, you can memorize it as three separate parts consisting of area code, first three digits, and last four digits, as opposed to all ten digits together.
Pay attention when you want to memorize something. Clear your mind completely and focus on the subject and avoid outside distractions such as noises and images. Persons with focusing difficulties should find a silent, remote location to improve focusing and speeding up the memorization process. Use pleasant music to enhance your focusing.
Eating dark chocolate can improve your brain functions. Moderate intake of dark chocolate will not cause your clothing size to change, but it creates a health benefit by forcing your brain to release dopamine which is said to be responsible for improved brain functionality and memory capacity. Moderation is the key like with any other food.
If you are having issues with remembering things, you may want to try relaxing techniques like yoga or meditation. When your body is relaxed, so is your mind which allows you to easily learn and remember things. Working your mind and body to hard will make memorizing things much worse.
Improving your memory may be something as simple as going out for a jog or a bike ride. Recent studies have shown that aerobic exercises can actually cause the development of new neurons in the hippocampus of the brain, which is considered to be the memory store center of the brain.
If you find that you are losing things as soon as you set them down, try dedicating a spot to them. Make sure that you are putting your keys in the same spot every day. Make a spot for your glasses or the book you are reading. If you make a habit of putting everything in its place, forgetting where they are won’t be a problem.
Try working on learning a new skill if your brain feels unfocused and your memory is lacking. New skills use new parts of the brain and force you to expand your ways of thinking. Learn to juggle, build something, try martial arts, or take a cooking class to broaden your brain’s abilities.
The best way to make your memory sharper while studying is to come up with a regular schedule and spread the material out over several different sessions. This gives you time to think about the material, and retain what you’ve learned. There is evidence to suggest that this particular method produces more effective memorization when compared with simply cramming information all at once.
Whether you have a memory loss disorder, have suffered an accident, or are dealing with Alzheimer’s, losing the ability to remember simple things is difficult. Hopefully this article has provided some helpful and thoughtful insight to help you not only cope with memory loss, but also assist you in re-gaining memory.
Read more: Enhance Your Memory With These Tips And Tricks.