What use are the pieces of information you are reading everyday if you cannot retain and recall any of it? You may be able to read 10 books in a year and 15 articles a day but how confident are you that that you can say you can still remember some of them a year after? If you are really serious about it, there are ways to improve your memory.
Think of your brain as your smart phone. Whenever you download or add a new app, it will go to the “download” folder, which you will eventually put in a permanent folder depending on what category that is. Your brain’s hippocampus, which is like the chief of all that involves memory and thinking processes, consolidates all of the information you download every day. It decides which ones are kept in the permanent folder or your longer term memory vault and which ones are kept inside the short term memory for quick retrieval of information for later use. The longer the information has been stored in your long term memory folder, the harder it will be for you to scour the information since new data and whatnots are being added to it daily. This is the importance of why you need to improve your memory.
1. Have enough sleep. Ever notice how your brain seems to be just as lethargic as your body when you have been burning the midnight oil for several days straight? Your brain is better able to acquire, process, and recall information when you give it enough quality time to restore.
2. Use your brain. It seems weird to suggest it but some people operate on an automatic mode that seemingly makes their brain muscles to droop and decline. While there are tasks that require less usage of your brain power like routine mechanical stuff, it pays to be mentally alert to keep your brain “oiled-up.” It’s kind of like your rusts over time if it’s not being used. Although there is no scientific proof that can suggest it but crossword puzzles, Solitaire, Scrabble, memory cards seem to be suggested especially for the older generation.
3. Meditate. Clearing up your mind even as little as 2 minutes a day already does a tremendous work in helping you improve your focus and concentration. It also blasts away mental stress like anxiety and depression, which impairs the hippocampus region over time.
4. Move your body. If your body fats begin to huddle around your arteries and blood vessels, the ability of your heart to pump blood, oxygen, and nutrients to your brain and other regions in your organs will be more difficult because the plaque is blocking the flow. If the nutrients and oxygen don’t reach to your organs, memory problems will be the least of your health concerns. There was also a study where it was found out that the hippocampus shrink its size as you age but exercise, even as simple as walking or stretching, helps expand the hippocampus.
5. Transfer your knowledge. If you learn something new, passing along that knowledge to another person helps retain the information, possibly be due to the fact that you are repeating the data to yourself, which prompts you to focus and analyze the data more than the usual.
6. Eat brain foods more. Fruits rich in antioxidants like berries and leafy green vegetables like spinach keep your brain alive and healthy while salmon, tuna, mackerel that are rich in omega 3 fatty acids keep your brain in tip-top shape.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
How To Improve Your Memory
