Anyone who knows me knows that I have Dori's memories from Finding Nemo. One of my husband's pet peeves is that I can't seem to recall where we ate last weekend or what he just reminded me of today. Fortunately, there is still hope for folks like myself. It is possible to recall better, enhance your general brain health and functioning, and even assist prevent dementia later in life by using the following 9 memory development methods.
1. Sleep
Sleep is essential for memory enhancement and maintenance. Scientists recently discovered that sleep is critical in assisting the brain in-memory processing. Your brain erases certain synaptic connections while strengthening others during your regular sleep cycles. To summarise, forgetting is a vital element of remembering because it clears out the less important memories so that the brain can retrieve the more important ones.
A good night's sleep is essential in this process of clearing out the clutter in the brain, which allows you to recall important facts.
Sleep is also crucial because it helps you manage stress and stay healthy, both of which are required for strong memory. When you're tired or overwhelmed, it's difficult to remember things.
2. Eat Right
Eating well is another crucial memory-enhancing advice. Healthy fats and antioxidant-rich foods have been demonstrated to aid memory and support general memory and brain function.
That means eating plenty of blueberries, salmon, and broccoli. It may sound cliche, but eating a well-balanced diet rich in fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and lean meats and fish is the most straightforward approach to improving your memory.
Processed diets and foods high in refined sugar, on the other hand, have been shown to have the opposite impact on the brain; they actually damage memory and may even contribute to Alzheimer's disease. So, instead of sweets and prepackaged foods, choose complete, wholesome foods that are good for your memory and overall wellness.
Coffee and dark chocolate are also helpful for your brain health, according to some studies, because they contain natural caffeine, which keeps you attentive. Part of the memory process necessitates awareness since you will not remember things that you are not alert enough to notice in the first place. What you don't notice cannot be stored.
However, like with all things, moderation is essential. I don't drink coffee since the memory benefits don't justify the jitteriness and anxiety it causes. Pay attention to your body to determine whether a small amount of coffee or dark chocolate might be beneficial to your memory.
3. Exercise
Speaking of alertness, exercise gets the body moving, which is beneficial to memory as well. Regular aerobic exercise that gets your heart racing and makes you sweat helps develop the hippocampus, according to the researchers. Because the hippocampus is in charge of verbal memory and learning, regular exercise can assist improve your memory.
While toning activities are beneficial to overall health, the same study found that they had no effect on memory. So get your heart rate up and sweat it out at least three times per week to get the benefits of another natural memory booster.
4. Drink Plenty of Water
A new study found that being even slightly dehydrated impairs short-term memory. Participants were divided into two groups, one of which was allowed to drink water and the other was not while sitting in a hot room for a few hours. The group that did not drink water performed worse on memory tests. The study found that losing just 0.72 percent of one's body weight caused memory impairment.
5. Limit Toxins
Let us now discuss what to avoid. The second memory improvement suggestion is to minimize your consumption of alcohol and drugs. Alcohol disrupts the firing function of neurons throughout the brain, which is bad for memory.
According to one study published by WedMD, middle-aged persons who drank at least 2.5 drinks per day exhibited a faster mental decline than those who did not. However, they found no difference in mental decline between people who abstained completely from alcohol and those who drank moderately. The message is to drink in moderation or abstain totally to keep a healthy brain and memory.
Heavy marijuana use has also been proven to impair short-term memory in middle-aged participants. People who smoked marijuana every day for at least five years had lower verbal memory, focus, and capacity to make quick judgments than those who smoked marijuana in moderation or abstained.
Consuming alcohol and other substances in moderation or not at all is a solid rule of thumb for protecting and improving your memory.
6. Supplements
You can also improve your memory by taking vitamins. Let us begin with the classic standbys, such as Vitamin E and Omega-3 fatty acids. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that aids in the reduction of brain inflammation, which is essential for proper memory functioning, and Omega-3 fatty acids have been demonstrated to protect cell health, which is also essential for memory.
There are also several lesser-known supplements that have been proven to improve memory, such as Lion's Mane and Rhodiola Rosacea. Lion's Mane is a mushroom that has the same effect on the brain as Vitamin E and other antioxidants. It reduces inflammation, allowing the brain to work more effectively. Lion's Mane also aids in the improvement of brain plasticity, which is essential for memory and learning.
Rhodiola Rosacea is a plant that promotes adrenal health. This aids in the prevention of both mental and physical tiredness.
Consult your doctor about which supplements may be beneficial in protecting and boosting your memory.
7. Meditate
Try meditation as our next memory improvement advice. Meditating does not imply ceasing to think or forcing your mind to go blank. It's all about becoming curious and conscious of your ideas.
I liken meditation to watching the clouds pass by. When you have a new thought, you do not judge it; instead, you accept it and let it go. Then another comes along, and another. With enough practice, you will eventually be able to calm your thoughts.
Meditation helps memory, which is one of its many advantages. Students who attempted mindfulness meditation for eight days did higher on their GREs, increased their working memory, and were less easily distracted, according to one study. Those are really significant gains in only eight days, so it's definitely worth a shot.
8. Be Mindful
If meditation isn't your thing, you might try other mindfulness practices and strategies to boost your memory.
Call it As You See It is one of the games. All you have to do is point to objects as you walk and mention their names, such as "car, tree, grass, branch, telephone pole." You can't be overthinking, worried, or stressing if you can do this for fifteen seconds.
It's a technique for forcing yourself to remain in the present moment, or attentive, and as I've already stated, mindfulness is beneficial to your memory. It's wonderful to know that you don't have to sit on a cushion and say "Om" to benefit from mindfulness.
9. Use It or Lose It
Finally, utilizing it or losing it is our final memory-boosting suggestion. According to a study published in Science Daily, persons with mentally taxing or complex employment, as well as those with more years of education, had higher amounts of beneficial brain protein and lower levels of memory loss and Alzheimer's. That is, if you want to improve and preserve your memory, you must keep your brain stimulated and thinking.
You may keep your brain challenged and your memory healthy by doing brain teasers, crossword puzzles, joining a reading club, or learning a new language.
Bottom Line
The bottom line for memory improvement is to start with a solid foundation. Get enough rest, eat healthily, stay hydrated, and engage in moderate cardiovascular exercise. Then, try mindfulness or meditation, some brain-boosting supplements, and daily dome challenges. These are the elements that will help you improve your memory and keep it working for you for many years to come.
You may always be a little Dori, but that doesn't mean you can't take efforts every day to improve your memory and overall health.
