13 tips to turbo-charge your memory today

by Daily  Mirror

Black exercise lady

Several studies have shown that aerobic exercise improves cognitive function

1. Exercise more
Several studies have shown that aerobic exercise improves cognitive function and is particularly good at enhancing memory. Exercise is also thought to encourage the growth of new brain cells in the hippocampus — an area of the brain important in memory and learning.

2. Associate the memory with environment
So if, for example, a joke is learned in the presence of a particular smell, that same aroma may cue the memory for that joke.

“More simply, when in an exam, I advise my students to visualise the place in which they were revising as a cue to memory,” says Andrew Johnson, memory specialist and lecturer in psychology at Bournemouth University.

3. Learn something before bed
“The best way to ‘consolidate a memory’ is to go through the information just before going to sleep,” explains Dr Johnson.

“This is because there are fewer ‘new’ interfering memories, so you will remember it better the next day.”

4. Say the alphabet
“When you cannot recall a piece of information such as the name of an actor in a film, use the alphabet search method. That is, going through the alphabet to find the first letter of the word or name you are trying to remember in order to jog your memory — it really works,” says Dr Iddon.

5. Drink more milk
Scientists asked 972 people to fill in detailed surveys on their diets and to complete eight rigorous tests to check their concentration, memory and learning abilities.

6. Forget the nightcap
Alcohol may help you fall asleep but it leads to a disrupted night’s rest — and has a detrimental effect on concentration and memory, say researchers at The London Sleep Centre.

7. Say it out loud
This is the easiest of all methods. Studies found saying what you want to remember out loud to yourself — or even mouthing it — will help with recall.

8. Break it up
When someone gives you a phone number, use ‘chunking’ as a way of remembering it, suggests Dr Moulin.

So when given a string of numbers to remember such as 123957001066, break it down into 12 39 57 00 10 66 or even 1239 5700 1066.

Try to chunk numbers according to something you find meaningful, like the age of someone you know, an address or a famous date.

9. Use imagery
One type of mnemonic — or memory aid — relies on imagery rather than words. “A classic way of remembering a person’s name is to try and imagine it (or something associated to it) on the person’s face,” says Dr Moulin. So, if you meet John Bridge — imagine a bridge on his face.

10. Drink green tea
Chinese researchers say regularly drinking it could improve your memory and delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease thanks to its key ingredient — the organic molecule EGCG (epigallocatechin-3 gallate), an antioxidant that protects against age-related degenerative illnesses.

11. Watch your diet
Eating too much can double the risk of memory problems in old age.

12. Doodle
Experts say doodling doesn’t tax the mind and allows us to concentrate on the task in hand. It stops us daydreaming, too, which is distracting.

13. Look at nature
A US study found people who walked around an arboretum did 20% better on a memory test than those who walked around streets. Just looking at pictures of nature can be beneficial.

What’s normal forgetfulness…
– Forgetting what you went upstairs for.
– Taking several minutes to recall where you left the car.
– Putting things down and being unable to find them soon after.
– Forgetting something trivial a friend mentioned to you the day before.
– Forgetting the name of someone you’ve just met.
– Briefly forgetting the name for something -the ‘thingumabob’ moment.
– Our short-term memory is very distractible. The brain literally erases trivial information to make room for more important information that needs storing. …And what’s not?
– Multi-tasking becomes difficult – an able cook suddenly finds preparing a Sunday roast overwhelming.
– Problems negotiating familiar places, such as regularly not being able to find your car.
– Forgetting the names of close friends and relatives.
– Problems recognising faces, colours, shapes and words.
– Repeating a question asked half an hour previously.

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Rea this article in Times of India

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

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