Four tips to improve memory

We all find ourselves down memory lane sometime or the other, but it is also a foggy route, especially when one gets older. Out of a survey taken at a supermarket (I forget which! Memory issue obviously!), nearly 85% people across age groups wished they could have a better memory.

Memory is information or images stored in the labyrinthine mazes of the human brain. Most of us have a good recall of the events, names, faces, smells, and sounds. And this can be attributed to that part of our brain, which deals with memory recall. However, with factors like age, stress or depression, there is a steady decline which, if not arrested, can be a trifle annoying as we experience from time to time – the difficulty of putting a name to a face or remembering where you kept the car keys to even when you had dinner last!

However looking at the lighter side of things, writer and philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche couldn’t have put it more aptly: “The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time”

Here are a few tips that you could use for exercising the memory muscle. Yes, memory is just like a muscle, which can be worked to deliver, well, a memorable performance.

1. Sleep well tonight to remember yesterdayA healthy eight-hour sleep can work wonders for the memory. Research shows that sound sleep can help people retain memory well into advanced age. Sleep deprivation, on the other hand, can lead to serious impairment of the senses, leading to poor judgement, and as a consequence, poor memory.
2. Memory bites, so eat wellDiet also contributes significantly to building a strong memory power. Eat foods rich in Omega 3 such as seafood, flax seeds, leafy greens and vegetables like spinach and broccoli and ample fruit like mango, cantaloupe or watermelon. Eating well nourishes the brain and improves memory.A glass of red wine can boosts memory and cognitive ability, while green tea and grape juice can also work wonders for your brain to make the right connections.
3. Creative exercises mnemonicsTry unique methods of remembering things by creating associations for key elements. For instance, if you want to remember a name, try and associate it with a visual image or a rhyme. This can be a fun exercise and you can try and remember names without having to write them down. Try recollecting faces that you saw during the day. These could be of total strangers who whizzed past you. Try and vividly remember at least 20 faces to recall later. You could also come up with your own creative memory games. Try memorizing some license plates along with make and model of the cars you see on your way to work.
4. Play memory gamesLearning new languages can really keep your mind flexible and adaptable for new skills. So can crossword puzzles, word acrostics or a rubber of contract bridge or Scrabble. Dedicate an hour for these games and see how well they can serve you right into old age. There is something new one can learn no matter what your age is. Using your hands can activate parts of your brain that you didn’t know existed. So try your hand at learning a musical instrument, pottery or clay modelling.