7 SECRETS IN IMPROVING YOUR MEMORY

One way or another, you must have been told that the human brain function declines as we age, leading to brain fog or memory lapses during our golden years. Now, living in the 21^st Century, you must have realized that the modern lifestyle significantly contributes to cognitive decline, worse than the effects of ageing. Our modern lifestyle subjects us to extreme exposure to chemicals and toxins. It promotes poor diet, stress, and lack of sleep, which impede proper brain functioning. Experiencing decline in brain function, your immediate action is maybe to buy the most expensive prescription medication, which you don’t really need. Instead, here are the 7 secrets to improving your memory.

The Secrets To Improving Cognitive Functions

1. Eat the right kind of food, or just simply eat right. The food that we eat obviously plays a very essential role in improving the health of our brain. Foods that power up the brain include turmeric, celery, cauliflower and broccoli, walnuts, crabs, chickpeas, red meat, blueberries, and other healthy fats – all these contain antioxidants and other compounds that are vital in protecting the brain and in producing new brain cells. Along with eating these brain-boosting foods, we also need to avoid consuming refined sugar. Omega-3 fat is also important in boosting the health of our brain and we often get this from the meat we eat, which is way better than the Omega-6 we get from processed vegetable oil. Krill oil contains astaxanthin that keeps the omega-3 fats from oxidation, which makes it a better choice than fish oil. Another healthful fat is coconut oil that contains triglycerides that can protect us from neurological diseases. A research conducted by Dr. Mary Newport says that, “two tablespoons of coconut oil (about 35 ml or 7 level teaspoons) would supply you with the equivalent of 20 grams of medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), which is indicated as either a preventative measure against degenerative neurological diseases, or as a treatment for an already established case.”
2. Keep exercising. A regular workout encourages the brain to function at optimal capacity by invigorating the nerve cells to reproduce, strengthening their interconnections and shielding them from damage. When you exercise, your nerve cells release proteins, which is known as neurotrophic factors. Also, a study conducted in 2010 that has been published in Neuroscience revealed that regular exercise does not only enhance blood flow to the brain, but also helps in learning new tasks. To maximize the benefits you get from exercising, high-intensity interval workout, stretching, ore work, and strength training along with intermittent movement are recommended.
3. Stop the habit of multitasking. Living in the 21^st century may require us to multitask to maximize time and finish different tasks in a go. You may think that multitasking allows you to be very productive, but in reality, it slows you down. It also makes you become forgetful and prone to making errors. A research says, “you actually need about eight seconds to commit a piece of information to your memory, so if you’re talking on your phone and carrying in groceries when you put down your car keys, you’re unlikely to remember where you left them.” Being mindful is the opposite of multitasking, which helps in achieving undivided attention or focus.
4. Get enough sleep at night. A Harvard research indicates that individuals who sleep enough perform better than those who don’t. Sleep is known to improve memories and help people improve their performance of challenging skills. A single night of 4-6 hour of sleep will immediately have an effect on a person’s ability to think clearly right on the following day. Neuroplasticity or the process of brain growth, is believed to inspire the brain’s capacity to command behavior, including memory and learning. Plasticity happens when neurons are stirred by information, events, or from the environment. But, sleep and sleep loss change the expression of some genes and gene products that may be essential for synaptic plasticity. Moreover, particular types of long-term neurological processes linked with the slowing down of memory and learning, can be drawn out in sleep, indicating synaptic connections are reinforced while you are slumbering.
5. Play games for the brain. Board games, puzzles, and word games are just a few games you can play from your computer or smartphone that can exercise your brain. If the brain doesn’t get enough work to do, it starts to deteriorate. If you don’t like reading or solving mathematical problems, playing brain games can still help stimulate your brain. This, however, doesn’t mean you have to play games the whole day. Ideally, it is good to do this for 20 minutes a day, but not more than 5-7 minutes are to be spent on a particular task because when you do, it weakens the benefits. It may become just one of the tasks fit in right into your daily routine.
6. Learn a new skill and master it. Having a purpose and engaging in meaningful activities effectively stimulate the neurological system. As a result, stress-related illnesses are countered, the risk of dementia is reduced, and the health and wellbeing is enhanced. Having the seriousness of purpose allows you to engage in a task, which is a significant factor in improving brain functions and or reversing functional decline.
7. Use mnemonic devices. Mnemonic devices are memory tools that can help you remember words, concepts or information. They basically help you to organize information into a simpler, easier-to-remember format. Here are a few that you can try”

• Acronyms like PUG for “pick up grapes”
• Visualizations like imagining a tooth to remind you of your dentist’s appointment
• Rhymes to remember a name
• Chunking like organizing numbers into the format of a phone number.

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