Does anyone know of a natural way to improve memory?!


Question:

Does anyone know of a natural way to improve memory?

I am fast approaching 42 years of age and am finding it increasingly difficult to retain information as well as remembering my earlier child and teenage years. Even short term memory is operatating at less than capacity. Could it be that I have so much info in my brain that the hardrive is full? Anyway to add a couple of gigs and do something like a defrag on my brain?

Additional Details

1 month ago
WTF
The brain is full comment was tongue in cheek. Cheers!


Answers:

You might want to consider eating more brain foods, getting better sleep, and starting an aerobic exercise program. All of these have a significant impact on memory as recent scientific research has shown. And obviously these are completely natural.

The brain foods generally contain antioxidants, and that is the main benefit. The problem is that over the years, your brain cells are continously attacked by so-called "free radicals" that form naturally in the blood stream but which tend to damage the neurons (brain cells) in your brain. The antioxidants in brain foods form a protective barrier in the brain, which allow your brain cells to begin repairing themselves. Much research has shown that memory loss in those who are beginning to age can be stemmed by consuming a variety brain foods regularly. Examples include blueberries, avocados, and salmon.

Sleep, of course, is critical for consolidating the new memories that are formed each day into long-term memory. In addition, if you are not getting sufficient sleep, your concentration may not be at its best, which can affect memory.

Regarding exercise, several recent studies have shown that regular, intense aerobic exercise such as running can cause new neurons to grow in the memory areas of the brain. Scientists guess that this is an evolutionary response. In difficult times, our ancestors had to run and/or be much more active in lean times when food was scarce. It paid off back then if you could remember how to hunt effectively, knew where to find water sources, and so on, and so the brain was naturally stimulated to grow memory cells in those situations.

You also might want to start meditating a few minutes per day. This is easy to do, and helps clear the mind. By improving your concentration, meditation improves memory. Mindfulness meditation is a very common form of meditation in many Western countries. It is based on observation of your breathing. Studies show that meditation also improves memory directly, by increasing blood flow (and therefore nutrients) to the memory centers of the brain.

Finally, learn to use memory skills. These provide a way for you to create a mental "handle" whenever you learn something new. Then, to recall the information, you think of the handle and it reminds you of the details. These skills work very well for remembering just about any type of information, including numbers, people's names, stories, lists, and so on.

A site that discusses all of this is below.

Good luck!




The consumer health information on answer-health.com is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions.
The answer content post by the user, if contains the copyright content please contact us, we will immediately remove it.
Copyright © 2007-2011 answer-health.com -   Terms of Use -   Contact us

Health Categories