Improve your memory

If you are struggling to remember the little things, the important things, or the downright essential things, then use our tips and get remembering again!

When Barbara walked into the supermarket with a list of five things in her head, she knew she was going to have to work hard to remember them. Reciting them again and again, she was half way round the supermarket when she spied a super special on blue cheese. Half an hour later, with a full trolley, she walked to her car with plenty of food, but only three of the five things she really needed to get. Sound familiar?

Memory is a struggle for many people everyday. From little things escaping us, like why we entered a certain room to where we put our glasses to bigger things like names and events that have occurred throughout our lives we all forget at times. Sometimes it is just the stress of the moment or age and life taking its toll on us; other times, it is an issue with the actual memory process. But there is hope; we can boost our memory power.

Start with an imprint

In some cases it is simply in the first part of memory that is causing us to forget something. The first step in memorization is the imprint. This is when we are first given the task that we are to remember. Occasionally, the reason we forget people and where we have placed things is simply for a lack of paying attention. Our lives have become so busy that we forget the little things because we have simply not paid enough attention to them. A way to help with this is to stick to routine. Our minds imprint things of routine much easier than new things.

We can also improve our recall processes with simple childhood games. The childhood game of Memory where you have to find the two matches can help to improve memory by forcing you to recall the location of specific cards.

Another key tool is to exercise and stimulate your mind. The mind is something that you lose if left unused. Not to say you can't regain it but it is easier to simply never forget those once learned things. Video games are actually a very good stimulation for this as you have to recall the keys to do certain moves as well as the story lines and where to go next etc. Simple childhood games can help our minds to recall that which we tend to forget.

A rather simple yet overlooked way to improve memory is to get proper sleep. When we are tired and not thinking properly we tend to forget things more easily and in our sleepiness be unable to recall what we were doing or where we placed something. Our bodies require adequate sleep and nutrition to function at optimal levels so whenever possible we should nurture our bodies with the food and sleep they require and they will reward us with a higher level of memory functioning.

Some foods and herbal supplements have also shown memory boosting powers. Gingko, Gingko/Gotu Kola, CoQ10 and Pycnogenol all offer nutritional support to the brain and memory. Foods like soy and olive oil are believed to help with memory and are easy to include into our diets. Just adding a little olive oil to a pan before cooking will not affect the taste but can help your brain get more of the fatty acids it needs to function at its highest levels.

Boosting your memory doesn't have to be hard work. Simple child's play and a well taken care of body can improve our memory so we no longer wonder where those car keys are. Our body and mind are very interconnected, so by taking care of our bodies and feeding them the fuel they need we are also caring for our minds and our memories.

Oh and Barbara? She's using all these tools, but she also jots down those supermarket essentials on a wee bit of paper now. Just in case!

Article by Rachel Goodchild

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