Tag: Memory Skills

Tips and tricks to better your memory

Memory is important in our lives. It will not only tell us who we are and remind us of the things that have happened in our lives, it will also give us the knowledge that we need to survive. We use memory when we learn new lessons in school or when we are studying for an exam. We also need an excellent memory when socializing. People who can remember names and people appear to be warmer and are better conversationalists than people who are forgetful. Thus it is important that you start bettering your memory.

Below are some tips on how to improve your memory. Some you can do to improve your brains function while the others are preventive measures that will help you have great memory skills even after old age.

1. Change your lifestyle
As far-fetched as it seems, what you do with your life can affect your memory. Thus, people who want to better their memory do not only try out memory techniques but also change their whole lifestyle. You can start by avoiding vices that will hurt your brain processes. This includes smoking and drinking beyond the one bottle a day limit for women and two bottles a day for men. This is of course for beers only.

Stress is another factor that can lessen your memory skills. Stress have been shown to not only weaken the body and the immune system but also to weaken the mental processes. Since stress cannot really be avoided, you need to make sure that you find ways to relax and curtail stress. You can do this by resting your head on weekends and having enough sleep everyday. You should also start exercising and meditating which are both good for the brain.

2. Change your diet
What you eat will determine who you are. This may be a clich but it is true nonetheless. If you want to have a more powerful brain, you should make sure that you include in your diet what is often called the brain foods. These are foods that contain choline and proteins which help in the development of the brain. Examples of these brain foods are tuna, salmon and other fishes; soya, tofu, milk, peanuts and meat which are rich in proteins. Veggies and fruits also help by keeping the body strong and rich in supply of anti-oxidants. Young children in fact are encouraged to eat lots of these foods especially at that age when their brains are still developing.

3. Exercise your mind
One of the reasons why the brain slows down is because it is not used as often as it should be used. There are studies in fact that support this. People who answer crossword puzzles, play strategic games and work even when they are old are less likely to have Alzheimers. The use of the brain is actually a preventive measure for the onset of forgetfulness during old age.

4. Use memory techniques
Your brain also needs you help. It does not mean that if your brain is powerful, you will not make the job easy for it. If you want to better your memory, use memory techniques that will help you remember more. One example is the use of mnemonics, or key letters or words that will represent a whole lot of information. Another memory technique is the association, which allows you to associate an information or item with something that you can already see or what you already know.

How to start bettering your memory

It will be cool to actually remember all the names of the people we meet or recite from memory all of the books that we have read. But not all people are blessed with a photographic memory that can capture a lot of data. The most that most people can do is to remember about 50 percent of the details in the books that they have read and recall about 10 names in the 50 people they meet. But hey, this does not mean that we should all give up wanting to make our memory better.

Although we cannot actually make our memory as powerful as one with a photographic memory, we can at least improve its processes so that we can recall more names than we usually do. This is especially true with people who are already aging. As we grow older, our memory slips. This is why most of our grandfathers and mothers often forget a lot of things, even our names.

Below are some names on how to make your memory a little bit better. Read on and you might still be able to do something with that faulty memory of yours.

1. Start early
It is important to take care of the brain early on to avoid forgetfulness when old age comes. Brain development starts at a very young age, from 0-3 years old. It is during this time when your brain grows the fastest. Although you may not have any power over your parents actions during this time, you can at least add to their care when you are much older, say 6 or 7 years old, by eating the right foods and avoiding as you grow old vices like cigarettes and alcohol which are proven to lessen memory skills.

2. Commit to the improvement
You should at least be able to commit to the task of bettering your memory. You may not realize it but it is not as simple as memorizing a grocery list and practicing your brain with crossword puzzles and memory games; you will also be changing the way you live your life and the food that you eat. Changing your lifestyle and your diet takes a lot of gumption and self-discipline from you. You will not be able to do it if you do not commit wholeheartedly to the task.

3. Practice
Use your brain. Whether it is something as simple as reading a book or playing a strategy game like chess, exercising your brain will help keep those neurons awake and working. In fact, studies have shown that those who answer crossword puzzles, read or generally use their brains will less likely become senile or acquire Alzheimers Disease. Using your brain will prevent it from being rusty and dusty.

4. Visualize it
One of the most common techniques to improve memory is to visualize words and things. You see, the brain sees data as pictures. It will be easily stored and faster to retrieve if it is seen and visualized as one picture than when it is memorized as numbers or words. For instance, if you are trying to memorize a grocery list, you do not memorize the words. You memorize the pictures of the things that you need to buy. That way, when you go to the grocery store, you will remember to buy that item, bettering your memory in the process.