Total Recall: 10 Memorable Memory-Boosting Tips

Do you ever forget the name of someone you’ve just met? Where you put those keys? Whether you locked the door on your way out? Your spouse’s birthday? Sure you do — we all do, occasionally. But what if your memory loss and inability to focus progress and become more and more frequent?

Memory loss and aging go hand in hand. As of one’s early twenties, the brain begins losing neurons, and the body starts to make less of the chemicals that the brain requires to work properly.

Fortunately, there are a number of steps you can take to strengthen your retrieval capacity. Just like muscular strength, your ability to remember increases when you exercise your memory and nurture it with a good diet and other healthy habits. Below are some tips to get you started.

1. Catch Up on Your Sleep

   
   When you get plenty of sleep, you let your brain work more effectively at processing and storing information. But when you’re tired, you have more trouble keeping your attention focused, and your memory can pay the price.

   No standard rule can tell you how much sleep you need, since the amount varies for each individual. However, if you’re drowsy during the day or require an alarm clock to wake up, you should get to bed earlier. Keep going to bed a half-hour earlier each week until you wake up before your alarm rings.

2. Collect Your Thoughts Before Bedtime

   
   As you’re lying in bed awaiting a full night’s sleep, let information that you really want to remember run through your head. Scientists at the Israel Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel have found that sleep helps the brain consolidate information, and the body’s circadian rhythms during sleep help the brain retain new facts.

3. Stick With Your Best Thinking Method

   
   Some individuals learn facts best when they hear them. Some individuals learn them best when they see them. Others store thoughts by acting on them or writing them down.

   Ask yourself which style suits you best, and use it every time. Maybe you need to hear someone repeat his name an extra time, maybe you need to write it down, or maybe you need to say it to yourself several times.

4. Give Your Memory a Workout

   
   You can keep your memory strong by memorizing lists whenever possible instead of writing them down. While beneficial, written lists can be a crutch that reduces your ability to remember information. The next time you make a grocery list, leave several items off and try to keep track of them in your head.

5. Give Your Body a Workout Too

   
   Sedentary individuals can sharpen their minds by getting aerobic exercise. In fact, exercise can improve some mental abilities by 20 to 30 percent. So don’t forget to get out and swim, run, bike, and move your body however you like — in fact, if you do enough of it, you may not be able to forget.

6. Get Help From Ginkgo

   
   The herb ginkgo biloba may give your memory the boost it needs by promoting better blood-flow to your brain, allowing it to get more oxygen and nutrients. In recent research ginkgo has shown some promise in helping relieve symptoms in people with memory-robbing Alzheimer’s disease, and it may help those with mere absentmindedness too. It’s good for those of us who forget where we put our car keys.

   UPDATE: A new University of Pittsburgh study found it didn’t help prevent Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia in more than 3,000 elderly study subjects. Ginkgo manufacturers say this isn’t the first — or the last — word on the herb. “There is a significant body of scientific and clinical evidence supporting the safety and efficacy of ginkgo extract for both cognitive function and improved circulation,” said Mark Blumenthal, executive director of the American Botanical Council.

   (Thank you Kulpreet for pointing it out.)

7. Pour Your Drink Down the Sink

   
   Since alcohol can easily get between you mind and the things you want to remember, you should cut back on drinking if you’re having trouble with your memory. While we still don’t know the exact effects of just a few drinks a day on your recall, drinking until you’re tipsy definitely puts you at risk for memory loss.

8. Pay Attention in Conversations

   
   The accepted courtesy of looking people in the eye can benefit your memory too. When your gaze wanders from a person during a conversation, so does your attention. Thus, you’re more likely to remember what people say if you keep eye contact as you talk to them.

9. Learn to Handle Information Overload

   
   If you have trouble remembering information because torrents of it are cascading on you from all directions, try this exercise a few times this week. Read a book with the volume on a nearby television turned up. Put the book down and watch TV for several minutes. Then, read the book, and see how much you remember from each source. Gradually, your ability to keep out distractions should improve.

10. Organize Your Surroundings, and Your Mind May Follow

    
    Choose designed spots for everyday items like your mail, your car keys, your glasses, and your newspapers. You’ll remember where they are without having to search for them. In addition, toss out old magazines, newspapers, and other unneeded items to cut down on household clutter and distractions.

Keeping your memory and mind sharp should be a part of your everyday life. It could seriously help you in your career and personal life.