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10 Tips for Improving Your Memory

Exercise is important for the body and also for the mind. Keeping the brain actively challenged will help it remain strong and improve your memory. There are many tips and techniques that can be used to improve memory capabilities, basic lifestyle changes that help memory as well as being beneficial to the health of your minds and body.

  1. Get Enough Sleep

    • It is vitally important to get enough sleep each night in order to support your memory. When you sleep at night, your brain remains highly active and oversees a lot of biological maintenance, which is crucial to memory and the development of the brain. People who do not get enough sleep are more forgetful and struggle to remember even simple pieces of information after a night of lackluster sleep.

    Learn an Instrument

    • Research suggests that music enhances many regions of the brain, including those areas that handle memory storage. By learning a new skill the brain is challenged in different ways that it is not used to. This helps it form new connections and strengthens its ability to retain new information.

    Drink in Moderation

    • A study at Auckland University has found that one or two glasses of wine a day may help improve memory and even help people with Alzheimer's. The key is to refrain from binge drinking and excessive consumption, which is detrimental to retrospective memory.

    Exercise Regularly

    • By keeping active, the brain is fed with more oxygen and the blood is kept flowing to the brain. A brisk walk, swimming or playing football several times a week will not only help the mind but also the body.

    Reduce Stress

    • When someone is stressed or suffering from depression, the body releases the chemical cortisol. High levels of cortisol can interfere with the part of the brain that handles memory. Taking up meditation or yoga to help relax the body and mind and relieve stress is an important aspect of improving memory.

    Keep Hydrated

    • As dehydration is not always recognized, the brain's functioning can be impacted without you realizing. The ability to think clearly and recall things can be impaired, yet by drinking some water regularly you can keep hydrated and fuel the mind.

    Loci

    • This technique, also known as "the memory palace," works by remembering things using the environment around you. Recalling items or bits of information from a specific place or setting is a method that works for some people, allowing them to group bits of information according to where they were.

    Chunking

    • By breaking up information into separate chunks, we can make it easier to learn and remember. Many people use this method to remember telephone numbers -- in three groups of numbers rather than one long string.

    Repetition

    • This is a simple technique but an effective one nonetheless. By repeating the word, number or phrase over and over you give your mind more opportunity to absorb the information. Constant repetition will eventually commit information to our long-term memory.

    Mnemonic Techniques

    • Using techniques to remember lists, names or numbers is a useful method of memory recall. There are various ways of doing this, such as writing down the items and visualizing them as pictures or by creating a story that has all the names, numbers or other information involved.

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