Poor memory can strike individuals at any age, and from children to the elderly, a lapse in short-term or long-term memory can bring with it a number of health issues, both mentally and physically. Just as with any muscle, “exercising” your brain can improve its functionality in many ways, including those related to memory. Here are 5 tips for boosting your memory at any age.
Adjust Your Diet
Mental and physical health directly affect one another, and though a healthier diet may seem like it would be more beneficial to the latter, there are many foods proven to directly improve memory. Leafy greens and fruits such as spinach and broccoli, or berries and oranges are at the top of the memory food list, but even for the folks who shy away from those foods, fattier fish like salmon and tuna are also linked to improved memory. Coffee and tea are both famous for their abilities to wake up the mind in the morning, but they are also two drinks that improve and maintain memory over time. If you’re a chocolate fiend, switching to dark chocolate is another successful strategy for increasing memory.
Turn off the Cell Phone
Social media gets a bad rap a lot, but there are actually many mental benefits to it, especially for youngsters. Developing written communication skills, discovering new interests, and making friends from far away places are all things that happen daily in the Facebook and Instagram worlds. However, too much of anything can prove detrimental, and there are negative impacts that social media can have on mental health as well.
The areas of mental health most affected by overuse of social media are depression and anxiety caused by name calling, rumors, and other types of cyberbullying, but even for those people who avoid those things, staring at a screen for extended periods of time can also affect short-term memory. Limiting social media use to an hour or two a day can increase memory in those individuals who normally use it more often.
Meditate
Meditation is a free and easy means to improve many aspects of mental health, and memory is no exception. Even just a bit more relaxation for the body and mind has been linked to improving cognitive function. To really improve memory and focus, midday meditations at school or the work place reset the mind and allow it to continue to grow.
Catch Some Extra Zs
Another free and easy way to sharpen focus and increase memory is by stepping up the hours of sleep you get. When we are awake, our brains are generally working pretty hard, and just as a nice midday break, as mentioned above with meditation, increases focus, extending your “big break” at night and getting more sleep recharges the brain and increases the ability to recollect things from the past.
Workout – Brain and Body
Both physical and mental exercise are key components of maintaining a long-lasting memory bank. Most any kind of aerobic activity is good for the brain, and when it comes to mental exercise, some things you already do may be helping out. Sudoku and word puzzles are great for sharpening brains, and things like learning a new language even if you’re a bit past college age can greatly increase the brains ability to retain things.
Stay At It
All of these things have short-term benefits, but if you’re able to truly add them to your daily or weekly routine, they will continue to bolster the long-term and short-term memory capabilities of your brain, and will also improve focus. No matter a person’s age, keeping the brain sharp is as important as anything regarding physical health. This list isn’t exhaustive, either, so be sure to check out other fun ways to keep your memory strong!
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
