Meet a person and immediately forget his name? Returning home to check if the iron or gas is turned off? These are all tricks of memory. The brain, like muscles, needs tone, exercise and rest.
Everything here is like with biceps or abs. Do you want strong arms and a flat stomach? Download them. Want to improve your memory? Train your brain.
The experiment compared two groups of people: one did brain exercises from the Lumosity website, while the other solved crossword puzzles. Scientists have found that people who exercised their brains for at least 15 minutes five days a week were better at remembering information than those who solved crossword puzzles.
2. Meditate
In 2018, researchers followed two groups of people. Some practiced meditation regularly. The second did not.
How to improve memory: 10 scientific tips for every day
Their results showed that the habit of meditating can change the brain, including increasing its plasticity. It is very beneficial for the health of the mind, which means it can improve memory.
3. Eat less sweets
Scientists have found a link between a high-sugar diet and Alzheimer’s disease (memory loss and impairment of other brain abilities, such as orientation in space. – Approx. Ed.). They also found that if a person drinks a lot of sweet water or fruit juice, then he may have a smaller brain volume. And this is also one of the early signs of the disease.
Therefore, if you are thinking about how to improve your memory, for starters, simply give up sodas, store-bought juices and reduce your sugar intake.
4. Get enough sleep
If a person’s sleep is disturbed, their cognitive abilities may deteriorate. These are the higher functions of the brain that make us human. These include: thinking, orientation in space, understanding, calculation, learning, speech, the ability to reason.
Poor sleep disrupts the processes the brain uses to remember. Scientists have been talking about this since 1924, and recent studies only confirm this point of view.
5. Don’t eat high calorie foods
High-calorie diets not only cause problems with weight, but also impair memory. It turns out that “saturated” food provokes inflammation in certain parts of the brain. This impairs memory.
You can “cure” memory if you eat low-calorie foods. A 2009 study found that older people remember information better when they change their diet. The experiment involved women a little over 60 years old. After they reduced their calorie intake by 30%, verbal memory scores improved.
6. Drink coffee and green tea
Participants in the study underwent a memory test. After that, one part of the people took 200 mg of caffeine. The second is no. After 24 hours, it was necessary to reproduce the previously received information. People who drank coffee or green tea showed the best results.
Another experiment proved that young people who drank coffee in the morning improved their short-term memory.
So if you need something to improve your memory during an English test or at a meeting, for example, order a cup of espresso.
7. Eat dark chocolate
Cocoa contains flavonoids. They help improve brain function, because they increase blood flow to it.
During testing, people who ate dark chocolate performed better on tests of spatial memory than others.
But remember: chocolate must be sugar-free and with at least 72% cocoa. Then you can improve your memory.
8. Use less GPS
It turns out that it is harmful to rely on GPS every time you drive a car or walk down the street. A 2013 study showed that if a person uses navigation frequently, the hippocampus shrinks, the part of the brain that is responsible for spatial memory and moving information from short-term memory to long-term memory. If the hippocampus is out of order, a person’s memory deteriorates and he is poorly oriented in the area.
Therefore, do not use a navigator, but use your brain to get to your destination. Or go there by GPS, and try to return back without it.
9. Write by hand more often
To write down or draw information means to transform it from an oral form into a written one. This kind of work develops the brain. From the stream of words, the brain selects the main thing, processes the information at a deeper level, and you write it down.
Some universities encourage students to take notes not on a laptop, but by hand. Jared Howarth of the Research Center for the Science of Learning at the University of Melbourne said students typing on a laptop don’t get the point. They can’t remember what the lecture was about five minutes ago. Those who write by hand are more attentive and process information more deeply, which means they improve their memory.
10. Drink more water
The brain is 73% water. Fluid helps the brain use nutrients. Therefore, according to the study, no water – no food for the brain, and no memory.
