6 Ways to Increase Memory

The human brain is the most complex structure in the known universe. But increasing your memory doesn't have to be complicated. There are several simple things you can do to boost your memory performance. Some of these steps involve simple exercises, while others involve small life changes. By increasing your memory, your life can become more efficient, as you'll be able to remember more appointments, pass tests more easily and make better first impressions.

Diet

• Your brain works by sending electrical impulses along neural pathways called axons. When these pathways are covered in a fatty coating, the messages can travel faster. By eating the right foods, you can help to coat these axon pathways in the fats they need to communicate more efficiently, thereby improving your memory. Some excellent brain foods include fish with Omega-3 fatty acids, leafy greens and fruits and vegetables. However, foods high in saturated fats, like red meat, cheese and ice cream, can actually work against the improvement of your memory.

Alcohol

• Although many people who have had a rough Saturday night can vouch for alcohol having adverse effects on their memory, the opposite can actually be true when alcohol is used in moderation. Studies done by Matthew During, professor of molecular virology and cancer genetics at Ohio State University, have shown that light to moderate alcohol consumption can improve cognitive abilities and memory in the short term. In regards to long-term memory, a separate study done at the University of Bordeaux in France followed 3,777 people over the age of 65 and found that light to moderate drinkers -- one to two glasses of wine per day -- suffered from Alzheimer's, a disease relating to the loss of memory, 45 percent less than those who didn't drink at all.

Exercise

• It's a well-known fact that exercise can improve the body, but it can also improve the brain. The brain, just like the rest of the body, needs blood flow and oxygen to work properly. If you gain too much weight or let your cholesterol build up, the same type of plaque that inhibits proper heart function will hinder your brain's functionality. Exercising can remedy this situation, removing plaque buildup and increasing oxygen to the brain, which can ultimately help to increase your memory.

Sleep

• Sleep is an incredibly essential process for the brain. During sleep, the brain processes the information that it acquired throughout the day. You may have experienced this yourself. Perhaps you found a task to be difficult -- such as learning a song on the piano. But then, after a good night's sleep, you find the song much easier to play the following day. On the other hand, you may have found that a lack of a good night's sleep makes you feel dazed and fuzzy, making things more difficult to remember and concentrate on. Sleeping seven to eight hours every night will work to increase your memory.

Mental Health

• Depression isn't just a mental disease that makes people sad. It also inhibits the memory. In fact, all negative stressors hurt the memory, including anxiety and stress. Depression, in particular, floods the brain with cortisol, which inhibits the hippocampus. The hippocampus is the part of the brain that's specifically designated for communicating between your memories and the rest of your brain. Essentially, its main function is to store and retrieve your memories. By inhibiting the hippocampus's abilities, depression impairs your memory. If you feel that you have depression, seek medical attention. There are medications and exercises that can help you improve your overall mental health, including your memory.

Repetition and Relevance

• Hearing something and then reciting it back word-for-word is a type of memorization, but there's no actual comprehension involved in this process. You may have noticed this phenomenon when you've read an entire page of a book before you realized that you had no idea what you were reading. By putting something into your own words, you're helping to do a couple of things. First, you're repeating it, which will help embed it into the memory more permanently. Secondly, you're making it relevant to you. You can do this by explaining a concept aloud to yourself, or to a friend or study partner. By explaining the concept in your own words, you'll organize it in your mind more clearly and be more likely to remember it.