1. Eat Right
The foods you eat – and don't eat – play a crucial role in your memory. Fresh vegetables are essential, as are healthy fats and . You can find detailed information about . For instance, curry, celery, , cauliflower, and walnuts contain antioxidants and other compounds that protect your brain health and may even stimulate the production of new brain cells. Increasing your animal-based fat intake and reducing consumption of damaged omega-6 fats (think processed vegetable oils) in order to balance your omega-3 to omega-6 ratio, is also important. I prefer krill oil to fish oil, as krill oil also contains , which not only protects the omega-3 fats from oxidation but also appears to be particularly beneficial for brain health. Coconut oil is another healthful fat for brain function. According to , just over two tablespoons of coconut oil (about 35 ml or 7 level teaspoons) would supply you with the equivalent of 20 grams of medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), which is indicated as either a preventative measure against degenerative neurological diseases, or as a treatment for an already established case.
2. Exercise encourages your brain to work at optimum capacity by stimulating nerve cells to multiply, strengthening their interconnections and protecting them from damage. During exercise nerve cells release proteins known as neurotrophic factors. One in particular, called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), triggers numerous other chemicals that promote neural health, and directly benefits cognitive functions, including learning. A 2010 study on primates published in Neuroscience also revealed that regular exercise not only improved blood flow to the brain, but also helped the monkeys learn new tasks twice as quickly as non-exercising monkeys. This is a benefit the researchers believe would hold true for people as well. In a separate one year-long study, individuals who engaged in exercise were actually growing and one to two percent per year, where typically that center would have continued to decline in size. To get the most out of your workouts, I recommend a comprehensive program that includes , strength training, stretching, and core work, along with regular .
3. Stop Multitasking Used for decades to describe the parallel processing abilities of computers, multitasking is now shorthand for the human attempt to do simultaneously as many things as possible, as quickly as possible. Ultimately, multitasking may actually slow you down, make you prone to errors as well as make you forgetful. Research shows you actually need about eight seconds to commit a piece of information to your memory, so if you're talking on your phone and carrying in groceries when you put down your car keys, you're unlikely to remember where you left them. The opposite of multitasking would be mindfulness, which helps you achieve undistracted focus. Students who took a mindfulness class improved reading comprehension test scores and working memory capacity, as well as experienced fewer distracting thoughts. If you find yourself trying to complete five tasks at once, stop yourself and focus your attention back to the task at hand. If distracting thoughts enter your head, remind yourself that these are only "projections," not reality, and allow them to pass by without stressing you out. You can then end your day with a 10- or 15-minute meditation session to help stop your mind from wandering and relax into a restful sleep.
4. Get a Good Night's Sleep Research from Harvard indicates that people are 33 percent more likely to infer connections among distantly related ideas after sleeping, but few realize that their performance has actually improved. Sleep is also known to enhance your memories and help you "practice" and improve your performance of challenging skills. In fact, a single night of sleeping only four to six hours can impact your ability to think clearly the next day. The process of brain growth, or , is believed to underlie your brain's capacity to control behavior, including learning and memory. Plasticity occurs when neurons are stimulated by events, or information, from the environment. However, sleep and sleep loss modify the expression of several genes and gene products that may be important for synaptic plasticity. Furthermore, certain forms of long-term potentiation, a neural process associated with the laying down of learning and memory, can be elicited in sleep, suggesting synaptic connections are strengthened while you slumber. As you might suspect, this holds true for infants too, and research shows that naps can give a boost to babies' brainpower. Specifically, infants who slept in between learning and testing sessions had a better ability to recognize patterns in new information, which signals an important change in memory that plays an essential role in cognitive development. There's reason to believe this holds true for adults, too, as even among adults, a mid-day nap was found to dramatically boost and restore brainpower. You can find .
5. Play Brain Games If you don't sufficiently challenge your brain with new, surprising information, it eventually begins to deteriorate. What research into brain plasticity shows us, however, is that by providing your brain with appropriate stimulus, you can counteract this degeneration. One way to challenge your brain is via 'brain games,' which you can play online via Web sites like . Dr. Michael Merzenich, professor emeritus at the University of California, who I , has pioneered research in brain plasticity (also called neuroplasticity) for more than 30 years, has also developed a computer-based brain-training program that can help you sharpen a range of skills, from reading and comprehension to improved memorization and more. The program is called Brain HQ, and the website has many different exercises designed to improve brain function and it also allows you to track and monitor your progress over time. While there are many similar sites on the Web, Brain HQ is one of the oldest and most widely used. If you decide to try brain games, ideally it would be wise to invest at least 20 minutes a day, but no more than five to seven minutes is to be spent on a specific task. When you spend longer amounts of time on a task, the benefits weaken. According to Dr. Merzenich, the primary benefits occur in the first five or six minutes of the task. The only downside to brain games is that it may become just another "task" you need to fit into an already busy day. If you don't enjoy brain games, you can also try learning a new skill or hobby (see below).
6. Master a New Skill Engaging in "purposeful and meaningful activities" stimulates your neurological system, counters the effects of stress-related diseases, reduces the risk of dementia and enhances health and well-being. A key factor necessary for improving your brain function or reversing functional decline is the seriousness of purpose with which you engage in a task. In other words, the task must be important to you, or somehow meaningful or interesting — it must hold your attention. For instance, one study revealed that craft activities such as quilting and knitting were associated with decreased odds of having mild cognitive impairment. Another study, published earlier this year, found that taking part in "cognitively demanding" activities like learning to quilt or take digital photography enhanced memory function in older adults. The key is to find an activity that is mentally stimulating for you. Ideally this should be something that requires your undivided attention and gives you great satisfaction… it should be an activity that you look forward to doing, such as playing a musical instrument, gardening, building model ships, crafting or many others.
7. Try Mnemonic Devices Mnemonic devices are memory tools to help you remember words, information or concepts. They help you to organize information into an easier-to-remember format. Try: Acronyms (such as PUG for "pick up grapes") Visualizations (such as imagining a tooth to remember your dentist's appointment) Rhymes (if you need to remember a name, for instance, think "Shirley's hair is curly) Chunking, which is breaking up information into smaller "chunks" (such as organizing numbers into the format of a phone number)There are some other memory exercises like mind palace and knowing exercises.I hope you will find this answer helpful.
brain. decrease in memory, in the ability to learn, in self-control — these are the consequences that chronic stress is fraught with. In addition, it contributes to a person feeling irritation, anxiety, tension, and often being distracted.
2.Love and hate have a lot in common.
British scientists found out that love and hate originate in similar brain areas.However, unlike hatred, love significantly reduces the activity of the areas responsible for judgment and logical thinking. Click here to get acquainted with other details of the study.
3.The brain is sensitive to dehydration.
Our brain is almost 80% water. Therefore, even a moderate loss of fluid (about 2%) reduces concentration and vigilance and leads to the deterioration of short-term memory and other cognitive abilities.
4.The abundance of sugar in the diet worsens memory and reduces the ability to learn.
The abundance of fructose in the diet slows down the brain and reduces its ability to learn, remember information, and concentrate. This is because the excess sugar destroys neural connections in the brain.
Scientists emphasize that industrially produced sugar is much more harmful (added to soft drinks, seasonings, sauces, and baby food). However, products containing omega-3 fatty acids (fatty fish, nuts, and fish oil) remove the consequences of the disorder.
5.Painting improves the work of the brain.
A study showed that painting and contemplation of works of art improve the interaction between brain areas while slowing its aging. Scientists studied the influence of art on people aged 62 to 70 years. Half of them took a course in art history, and the other half took a course in painting. Painting classes gave a stronger result than art history.
6.Reading perfectly trains the brain.
Oxford scientists proved that the process of reading trains the cognitive abilities of the brain. It also activates areas that aren’t used at other times. When reading, blood enters the brain areas responsible for concentration and cognition. It’s noteworthy that this effect doesn’t occur when watching TV or playing computer games.