If you have to study for a test or learn a new skill, or you just want to regain your former memory power, you probably will benefit from learning about some strategies to improve your memory. This article contains several helpful tips for boosting your ability to remember important information. Read on to learn how you can retain more of what you learn.
One thing that has been proven to help maintain your memory and brain function over time, is socialization. Having a strong social group and lots of interaction and conversation with family and friends will help to keep your memory flowing freely both now and as you age too.
It is easier to remember information if you organize the material into related groups, before trying to commit it to memory. Making an outline is another good way to organize the material to be studied. This is similar to how your brain organizes information and will make recall simpler.
Help protect your memory for years to come by making sure you are getting plenty of vitamin B-12 in your diet. Studies have linked low levels of B-12 to dementia and poor cognitive function. Food sources rich in B-12 include liver, eggs, fish, poultry, meat and milk products. If you don’t eat a lot of meat, you may need to take a daily B-12 supplement to help prevent deficiency.
Eat more onions to improve your memory. A few studies have isolated fisetin to be of great benefit in improving the long term memory. You can find beneficial levels of fisetin in onions, strawberries, mangos and other plants. It also is a strong antioxidant so it will deliver other benefits to your body as well.
The easiest way to improve your memory is to get a good night’s sleep! Sometimes our busy schedules make it seem like cutting out a few hours of sleep is the only way to be productive, but your brain needs rest to function at its best. Sleeping is also when your brain processes and stores your memories from that day.
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.
Try to visualize what you are trying to remember. When you see a mental picture of what you want to learn, you can recall it better. Visualize things like images, charts, or special aspects of the material that you are reading. When you remember those characteristics, you can recall the material more effectively.
The best way to keep your memory sharp is to make sure that you stay mentally active. Physical exercise keeps your body in shape, and mental exercise keeps your mind in shape. Doing crossword puzzles, reading complicated passages, playing board games, or learning a musical instrument can all help you keep your mental edge.
If you have something you need to remember, try associating it with a humorous phrase, song or mental image. Using humor will make remembering things entertaining, so they will be easier to remember later.
Avoid cramming. Work in regular study sessions that you have set out on a schedule. Having a set time to study will help your brain remember the facts you present to it. Cramming simply presents your brain with too much information to remember at any one time, and so you will forget much of it.
One way to improve memory is to employ mnemonics. For example, when musicians learn the treble clef they learn “every good boy deserves fudge.” This simplifies the learning of the notes on the lines of the treble clef without overly burdening the memory. Simple mnemonic device make learning new things much easier.
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.
If you want to improve your brain’s ability to create and retain memories, one way of doing this is to often recount stories. Story telling is a way of practicing having the brain recall a memory in as much detail as possible, which is similar to working out a muscle group. It’s also fun!
Did you know that, even late in life, you can grow new brain cells within the memory center of your brain? Recent research has revealed that high-level aerobic exercise, such as running and bicycling, actually stimulates the growth of new brain neurons within the brain’s hippocampus. If you want to have a better memory, adding more aerobic exercise to your daily activities will help.
Try exercise to improve your brain function. Some studies have shown that aerobic exercise can actually help you to grow brand new brain cells. These cells are grown in the brain’s hippocampus. Aerobic exercise can be as simple as going for a run. If you prefer a Zumba class that works too.
If you are studying complicated information that you know nothing about, try to link it to a topic that you are very familiar with. You will be able to recall the unfamiliar material much better if you are able to associate it with something that is easy for you to understand.
The preceding strategies are well established and time tested techniques that help to enhance your memory. They provide several useful ideas for improving your recall and enhancing your retention. Start putting some of the pointers you have learned in this article into practice today. A little determination goes a long way.
