Memory is one of the most important skills to learn. Observing and learning new things is useless if you can’t hold onto the information for long. This holds true especially for the elderly, when dementia leaves their loved ones frustrated and heartbroken. With the advice from this article, you will learn some handy tips to exercise your memory.
Associating newly-learned information with mnemonics helps improve retention of that information. Mnemonic devices work for memory in much the same fashion as shorthand works for writing. If you can associate a common item or word with something you want to remember, you create a roadmap in your brain to retrieve the information.
Support your memory by eating more fruits and vegetables. Fresh produce is full of antioxidants, substances that have been shown to help prevent damage to your brain cells. Try eating richly colored fruits and vegetables such as broccoli, apricots, bell peppers and blueberries since they tend to have the highest concentrations of antioxidants.
A good way to help you remember things is to keep repeating them outloud. Eventually, this information is going to be embedded into your head if you keep hearing it over and over again. For instance, if you have to clean your room on Saturday, keep saying so outloud.
Regularly challenging your brain can help you improve your memory. Learning new, complex tasks such as a foreign language or how to play a musical instrument will help your brain stay active. Remember the old saying “Use it or lose it?” The same thing’s true for your mind!
Keep your social life active. It is proven that those with an active social life have a better memory. Talk to your friends and family, either in person or over the phone, because it will stimulate your brain. Having an active social life will slow your memory from fading.
Feed your brain. Just like the body, the brain needs fuel. A healthy diet, including vegetables, fruits and plenty of whole grains, can help to boost your memory. In addition, try to limit saturated fat in your diet. Saturated fats can hinder concentration and memory. Drinking alcohol in moderation can also help your memory and cognitive skills. One glass of red wine a day is the ideal option.
Engage your mind regularly in activities like puzzles or brain teasers to improve your memory. Not only are these activities fun, but they also improve attention and concentration while keeping your memory skills sharp. Brain games train your mind to work more efficiently and help form different thought patterns, enabling better retention of memories.
When you are trying to commit something to memory, it’s important to stay in the current moment as much as you possibly can. Try to avoid the urge to focus on the past or the future as you are learning. Make every effort to focus your attention on the material at hand, and you will retain it better.
Imparting memories to other people can actually help you to remember them yourself. You might find it helpful to discuss an idea with others; this makes it more likely that you will be able to recall the memory at a later date. This lodges the memory in your brain, and makes it stay there much longer.
Here is a trick for memory! As trivial as it may seem, try to do handstands! By standing on your hands, you are allowing blood flow to your brain. Having sufficient blood flow to your brain helps it to absorb and remember new information. You could also try lying on your back on your bed with your head hanging off the end!
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.
If you struggle to remember names when meeting new people, try doing mental association with someone who has the same name. You might also choose to link their name and face with those of a celebrity. By connecting the new face with a familiar name, you should be able to recall the new individual’s name.
Try not to reminisce with others often. Get togethers with friends and family can be fun. Unfortunately, they can also have a negative impact on your memory. Recalling something with a group can actually alter your memory of an event slightly. Your memory may conform to what everyone else remembers.
When meeting new people at a meeting, it is okay to cheat a little to spur your memory later. Take a little time after the meeting to take a few notes about the people on the back of the business card so you can prepare for meeting them again in the future. Notes can be about their hair color, where they went to school, kids, or any other conversation starters for the next time you meet.
A key component to memory is to give yourself less to memorize. Instead of having to remember where you put your keys, always put your keys in the same place so that you only have to memorize where you always put your keys, instead of where you put them this one time. This same principle applies to memorizing many things.
If you are attempting to learn new material, try teaching it to someone else. Talking through concepts and ideas will help you remember the material. Trying to explain it to another person will increase your understanding of the terms and you are also more likely to remember it. Pair up with another student in your class and use this technique to help you study.
In case you don’t remember, the start of this article stated some advantages to improving your memory. Very few people naturally have stellar capacities for memorization, so it’s unfathomable why you wouldn’t want to develop your memory as much as possible. Now that you’ve read some tips about how to improve your memory, you’ll impress everyone with your cerebral feats.
