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Tips
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10 Tricks for Improving Your Memory.
By Sarah Jio, Woman's Day
Mon, Aug 30, 2010
What’s the name of your daughter’s teacher, and where did you put
your keys again? If you’ve ever wished you could do some simple
things to sharpen your memory skills, you can. We’ve talked to the
experts and compiled the latest thinking on improving the muscles in
your brain associated with memory.
1. Talk with your hands.
It may sound strange, but waving your hands and gesturing while
trying to learn a concept may help your brain remember something
important, says Jeff Brown, PsyD, ABPP, coauthor of The Winner’s
Brain. "Gesturing in a meaningful way while you are learning may
help you when recalling the concept,” he says. “The idea is that you
are storing at least two different types of information about
something you'll need to recall later. A good example of this is
when kids speak math problems aloud, but also 'work them' in the
air.” Tactics to try: When you’ve just learned someone’s name,
“write” it down on the palm of your hand with your finger. The act
of tracing the letters on your palm (discreetly, of course) can help
your brain remember it, says Dr. Brown. Or, “Air-write on an
imaginary map of your grocery store or mall as you name aloud the
items or stores you need to remember when shopping.”
2. Take a chill pill.
Learning to calm down and not carry as much stress can help your
brain in significant ways, says Elizabeth Lombardo, PhD, PT, a
psychologist and physical therapist in Wexford, Pennsylvania, and
the author of A Happy You: Your Ultimate Prescription for Happiness.
“The best tip to improve your memory is: Reduce your stress,” says
Dr. Lombardo. “Research shows that when people experience chronic
stress, their hippocampus—the part of your brain that is responsible
for some memories—literally shrinks in size.” In fact, a 2007 study
in the journal Neurology by researchers at Rush University Medical
School found that people who are easily distressed and had more
negative emotions were more likely to develop memory problems than
more easygoing people. How to reduce your stress? Consider
delegating more tasks at work, clearing your social calendar for the
weekend (there’s nothing wrong with having nothing on the calendar!)
and purging negative relationships from your life.
3. Get plenty of zzz’s.
You’ve heard the concept of “sleeping on it” when you’re faced with
a problem or difficult decision, right? Well, getting a good night’s
sleep can help you improve your memory, too. "Sleep is critical for
memory consolidation,” says Dr. Brown. “Getting at least six hours
of uninterrupted sleep following exposure to new information can
help in the recall of that information.” But there’s an important
side note: “The trick is going directly to bed without inserting any
new information or activity between what you want to recall and
going to sleep—no reading, no TV, no sex, no music."
4. Eat more fruits and veggies.
Eating your spinach—and carrots and peas—is not only good for your
body, it’s good for your memory, too. A recent Harvard study found
that people who ate more vegetables had a slower decline of brain
function as they aged. “Other studies, such as one published in
Pharmacology, have shown that essential brain-boosting nutrients
found in certain produce, such as quercetin and anthocyanin, may
reverse memory loss,” says Tosca Reno, a health and fitness expert
and author of the bestselling book The Eat-Clean Diet. You can find
these compounds in cruciferous vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts,
broccoli and cabbage, as well as in leafy greens, including kale,
spinach and Swiss chard. Also load up on brightly colored produce
such as berries, red apples, eggplant and grapes—their bright hue is
an indication of their brain-boosting antioxidants.
5. Join a book club.
Not only is reading great for your brain, but discussing what you’ve
read can improve your memory by leaps and bounds, says Sandra Bond
Chapman, PhD. In fact, a book club with your closest girlfriends may
help strengthen your brain’s frontal lobe function. “The frontal
lobe is the last region of the brain to develop, but the first to
decline with age,” explains Dr. Chapman. “To strengthen function of
the frontal lobe, engage in deeper-level thinking activities such as
interpreting what you read in a book, discussing the ‘larger
messages’ in the book and pushing to see how many meanings you can
derive from it.”
6. Go to yoga class.
What can a downward-facing-dog pose do for your memory? A lot, says
Gina Norman, a yoga teacher in New York City. “A new study out of
the University of North Carolina shows that brief meditative
exercise helps cognition and skills essential to critical thinking,”
she says. But if you’re not into yoga, exercise of any kind works to
boost your brain, says Dr. Lombardo. “Research shows that exercise
increases the blood flow to all areas of your body, including the
brain and specifically areas involved in memory,” she says. “One
study found that mice who exercised grew new brain cells in the
dentate gyrus, a part of the hippocampus which can be affected by
declines in memory as we get older.” Short on time? “Try running up
a flight of stairs, jogging to a bathroom that is farther away from
you, doing 50 jumping jacks, putting on a great song and dancing
around, or grabbing your child’s hand and jumping on the bed
together.”
7. Sniff some rosemary.
Parsley and sage are great, as is thyme, but when it comes to
improving memory, rosemary is king. In a recent study, UK
researchers looked at scents and how they boosted or detracted from
mental performance. They found that office workers whose cubicles
were infused with the scent of rosemary had better long-term memory
than those in unscented cubes. “There are other essential oils that
can help with memory, but rosemary is by far the best and most
economical,” says Cher Core, an aromatherapist in Boston. “Diffuse
rosemary essential oil in the air, wear it in a perfume, use it in
mists and more. It is a good choice for those studying and folks who
need help with memory, focus and concentration.”
8. Pay attention.
Duh, right? It may sound obvious, but according to experts, when
most people think they’re having memory problems, it’s really
because they were distracted or didn’t record the information in
their brain properly to begin with, says Linda Edelstein, PhD,
adjunct faculty at Northwestern University and the author of The Art
of Midlife. “When people cannot retrieve information it is often
because they haven't taken it in in the first place,” she says. “You
cannot recall information that you did not store.” The number-one
trick to paying closer attention? Stop multitasking and be fully
present. That means setting down the BlackBerry while lunching with
your friend, turning off the TV when you’re trying to read something
and not letting your eyes—or mind—wander when chatting with someone
at a party. You’ll be more likely to remember the person’s name.
9. Learn a new song.
Have you ever found yourself singing along to a song you love that
debuted 10 years ago, and yet you still don’t know the lyrics?
Learning the words could be fun, but it could also be good for your
memory in general. By memorizing a song, “you will be working out at
least two different kinds of memory, auditory and verbal, which is
probably something you don't do very often,” says Cynthia Green,
PhD, an expert on brain health and memory. “The research suggests
that constantly challenging our brains with intellectual pursuits
may boost our ‘cognitive reserve’ and can have the associated
benefit of reducing our dementia risk over the long-term.”
10. Go ahead and doodle.
When’s the last time you grabbed a pencil and paper and let your
mind go—drawing hearts and rainbows, or whatever scene or object
popped into your head? Surprisingly, says Dr. Green, a free-flowing
pen could be the key to strengthening your brain’s memory centers.
“Doodling has been found in studies to boost concentration, which is
an essential first step to learning and memory,” says Dr. Green.
“After all, if you can't focus on information, you don't acquire it
effectively, and you can never remember something you don't learn in
the first place!”
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