Top Ten Tips To Boost That Memory
According to recent research, our short term memory can benefit from exercise for the following twenty four hours. So if we exercise every day, then the benefits can continue indefinitely!
But there are other suggestions we can follow too...
1. Going to sleep an hour earlier
Of course, sleep is essential for memory and overall brain health.
In the short term, sleep restores the function of the prefrontal cortex which is responsible for complex thinking, planning and paying attention.
In the long term, sleep helps to clear harmful misfolded proteins such as beta-amyloid, which can accumulate and lead to conditions like Alzheimer's disease.
2. When taking a drive, ditch the navigation
Always relying on Google Maps to get from A to B can be a memory-sapping mistake, damaging your spatial memory and shrinking your hippocampus.
Try to make the effort to remember your route without digital assistance when possible.
3. Enjoying a walk in nature
Spending time in nature can be a useful stress reduction technique, promoting relaxation while reducing cortisol levels - a key hormone linked to stress.
Research has found that spending as little as ten minutes sitting or walking in natural settings significantly improved psychological and physiological markers of mental well-being.
4. Using pen and paper to make a list
Keeping a diary or making lists has been proven to help remembering but the influence is said to be greater if you can use pen and paper rather than a digital version.
Researchers found that participants' brain connectivity patterns in their study (when writing by hand) were far more elaborate than when typing. Such patterns are crucial for memory formation.
5. Calling a friend
Maintaining strong social connections can significantly reduce the risk of cognitive decline. It is said that just ten minutes of engaged conversation can improve memory.
And our brains will react more from those people whose company we enjoy rather than those we don't.
6. Enjoying your life
A study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell has provided the first cellular evidence that making new brain cells - neurons - supports verbal learning and memory in adults.
Suggestions on how to generate such new neurons includes (among other things) having sex. Their studies on rats found that they made more brain cells after mating and the researchers believed the same process of neurogenesis would occur in humans.
7. Learning a new challenge
Mentally stimulating activities encourage the brain to adapt and form new connections, building what is known as cognitive reserve and making the brain more resilient to damage in later life. Suggestions include learning a new language or a musical instrument.
8. Hydrating with that extra glass of water
Some seventy five percent of the brain is made up of water. If you become dehydrated, this can negatively affect your short term memory and the ability to pay attention.
However, rehydrating by drinking up to three pints of water over fifteen minutes can alleviate fatigue and improve the short term memory.
9. Forgetting about talking and texting
How are your digital habits? Are they healthy?
Phone distraction can interfere with encoding new memories if you are not fully focused on something, making it harder to store it in your memory. Forget about trying to digitally multitask.
10. Sniffing some fresh Rosemary
Pick a small bunch of rosemary and pop it into a small vase of water so you can sniff it every day. Better still, if you have a rosemary bush growing in your garden, then you can really sniff the freshest version.
Suffering from stress and anxiety? One of the simplest methods to accomplish this boost to your brain is to snip a little rosemary off each day and spend time sniffing it!
SOURCES:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1474034624003264
https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity/features/boost-brain-health.html
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1440244024005553
Written by Jane Chitty
Jane writes for Healing Natural Oils, a producer and retailer of high-quality, all-natural treatments for a variety of conditions as well as a range of beauty products. Apart from writing about those various conditions, she also covers general health, environmental and other subjects of interest. She has lived in Kenya as well as Cape Town, South Africa and spent time in San Diego, USA. She now lives in Somerset, England with regular visits from her far-flung children and grandchildren. She is a keen gardener and enjoys growing fresh fruit and vegetables with her husband on their joint allotment. As a result, there is something available to use in the kitchen virtually all year round. Her regular posts can be found on our blog.