Just as muscles are built up through exercise, so is your capacity for memory, built up through “mental gymnastics.” These may take the form of puzzles, games or writing a memoir. Supplements are also recommended for keeping your memory sharp. Here you will find tips to help you effectively retain and possibly, even regain, your memory’s strength.
A great way to improve your memory is a physical exercise While you typically think of physical exercise as good for the body, it’s also an exceptional way to increase your memory. By increasing the supply of oxygen to your brain, exercise helps reduce your risk for diseases and disorders that eventually lead to memory loss.
A key to keeping your memory sharp as a tack is to keep up your social relationships. By surrounding yourself with friends and family, especially those that you consider a great support system, you are helping your memory to stay alive. Research actually shows that those with the most active lifestyle showed the slowest rate of memory loss.
If you need to remember some information, study it regularly instead of cramming it in all at once. Research has shown that studying something in short, but frequent, sessions produces better results than spending one long period of time cramming it in. Shorter, more frequent sessions allow your brain time to process what it has learned and to commit the information to memory.
According to studies, material is better memorized if you go over it a number of times during regular study sessions. This gives your brain adequate time to process the information. According to research, students that had established regular study sessions recalled material much better than those who crammed all the material into one marathon study session.
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.
Use regular study sessions over a period of time rather than a single cramming session. Studies have shown that if you study material over a course of a few days, you have a better chance of remembering it than if you cram in a single night. So instead of cramming the night before a test, establish a regular study time each night or every other night.
Physical exercise offers benefits for both your body and your mind. Exercise brings better circulation, which means more oxygen to keep your brain functioning well. Basically, everything that benefits your overall health will also benefit your brain’s memory function. One advantage exercise has in terms of memory is that it helps ward off diseases that often adversely affect cognitive function.
Fish oil is a healthy addition to any diet. If you feel that your memory is slipping, you might not be getting adequate amounts of Omega-3 each day. Boost your diet with pills or tablet supplements containing Omega 3.
Sleep is an essential component of maintaining good memory and memorization skills. The reason for this is while you are sleeping, something known as memory consolidation occurs. Memory consolidation is the process by which acquired information is imprinted into the brain through the creation of neural links. This process affects not only the information that you have recently learned but also helps to maintain information that you acquired a long time ago.
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.
Mnemonic devices can be a great way to help you memorize information. Mnemonics are simply a way to remember facts by associating them with some familiar image or word. For example, each element of a list could be associated with a flower that starts with the same letter, or you could turn the list into a memorable rhyme.
Exercise your body – exercise your brain. By exercising regularly, you increase the amount of oxygen that gets to your brain, and reduce the risk of illnesses that can contribute to memory loss, such as heart disease and diabetes. Exercise can also increase the effects of certain chemicals that help the brain to function at its best.
Build consistent study times into your schedule. To build your long-term memory, you need to fight the urge to cram. Cramming information will place it in your short-term memory, and it will easily fall to the wayside once the information is used. To really commit something to your memory, develop daily sessions where you study it with real focus. Keep it consistent, and you will soon find the information is with you for the long haul!
If you have a large amount of information to commit to memory, a good strategy is to break the information down into many separate pieces. It is much easier to remember things in parts, than to remember them as a whole. As a simple example, when trying to memorize a standard United States phone number, you can memorize it as three separate parts consisting of area code, first three digits, and last four digits, as opposed to all ten digits together.
We hope these tips will help you find the information on memory that will work for you. They offer many suggestions to try and many regimens to follow. They have also shown that the process of strengthening memory, can be both fun and productive. Retaining a good memory will enhance your enjoyment of life.
The post Mental Visualization And How It Can Help Improve Your Memory appeared first on Home Living Aid.