How to improve memory?
Memory is a person's ability to store information in consciousness and reproduce it as needed. The active work of memory is associated with the acquisition of life experience, the formation of the necessary skills and abilities. As a mental process, memory contains features at each age stage and changes significantly throughout the entire time period. To improve memory, it is necessary to create the right environment for the functioning of the brain. Let's take a closer look at how to improve memory.
Ways to improve memory
The amount of memory determines the number of nerve cells involved in the process of storing information. Scientific research shows that the capabilities of the human brain are used only by 10%... The fact that information is periodically forgotten is a normal and sometimes even necessary process. So the overstrained nervous system is unloaded from the excess of unclaimed information. But increased forgetfulness leads to absent-mindedness or even memory lapses.
These short-term memory impairments can lead to permanent memory loss, so it is necessary to take the necessary measures in time.
Over the centuries, mankind has learned to use many ways to improve its memory. These can be professional training techniques or techniques that require additional knowledge and even wisdom - meditation and mantra.
It is possible to train a person's memory at any age using neurobics methods - exercises for the brain.
These effective daily exercises sharpen your memory. Of course, everyday routine activities of the same type make it difficult to use special exercises.But they need to be done simultaneously with routine activities, since memory requires constant work to improve it. And the maximum result will be given only by the complex application of neurobics.
Visualization
Visualization is a great way to train your visual memory. You can remember a lot if you visualize the memories. Information stored in memory can be retrieved using visual images. For example, if you need to remember a phone number, you need to imagine how to dial it. When you need to keep a shopping list in mind, you should present each package that you need to buy.
Associations
Associations - an effective memorization technique that helps develop memory. Unusual associations are needed, since banal ones are ineffective. With the help of the associative row, new information is linked to the already known. For example, if you need to memorize a new topic, then it must be associated with the material already covered. You can remember a word in a foreign language if you associate it with an image.
If it is necessary to remember a new surname, then the image of this person should be displayed in the mind. Associations arise when the memorized objects or phenomena are somewhat similar to each other.
Organization of information
The quality of memorization often depends on how well the information is organized in a person's memory. With a systematic approach, it will always be easy to restore the necessary information in memory.
Cicero's technique
It is also called Roman room system. Cicero did not use the notes, but he remembered a huge amount of various information. To do this, he came up with his own method of memorizing it. He mentally distributed the entire amount of information in the room of his palace in a strictly defined sequence. During his speeches, he also mentally walked around the room, reproducing information from those places where it was placed by him. In order for the method to be fully mastered by any person, just a few trainings are enough.
Meditation
The practice of meditation and proper breathing helps to learn relaxation during complex mental activities, which will have a beneficial effect on health. Memory will also become more efficient. Meditation can also help develop mindfulness as it is a mental habit. It must be applied in any situation, which will improve the performance of recognizing objects in the mind.
Mantra
A mantra is also used to activate the brain. It is created according to certain canons and is pronounced a certain number of times. For example, for the development of memory, the mantra is recommended to be pronounced for up to seven days, 21 times. Practitioners of this type of technique claim that it starts working from its first repetitions. It allows you to concentrate, develops the mind and understanding, removes fatigue and gives an improvement in all brain activities. It promotes the development of thinking, memorization and many other brain functions.
Teaching poetry
The most famous way is teaching poetry. If you teach a little at first, gradually increasing the volume of material, then over time you will notice that you can remember more and more easily. It is useful not only to memorize poetry, but also to declare them out loud.
For example, it is useful to retell the grandchildren read tales and poems.
Reading of books
Reading books will also help develop memory. Another efficient way is study of foreign languages. You need to memorize a few words every day, and then use them in speech, stimulating the brain. A variety of puzzles and crosswords will teach you to think logically.
Playing a musical instrument
This is a good way to improve the structure of the part of the brain that is responsible for remembering. There are many options: you can practice choral singing, purchase a musical instrument and learn how to perform musical works on it. All of these techniques will cause long-term positive changes in the brain.
What else needs to be done?
It is known that to restore mental performance can a healthy lifestyle of a person, including timely rest, good sleep, correct regimen and balanced nutrition from natural and high-quality products, as well as giving up bad habits, destroying brain cells responsible for memory, such as alcohol and tobacco smoke. In addition, maintaining a healthy weight through a balanced diet is the most important factor in solving the problem of restoring memory and keeping it active.
Nutrition
A diet high in refined carbohydrates found in breads, pastries, biscuits, and white rice is unhealthy. Such a diet leads to the development of dementia and decreases cognitive function. But a complete rejection of sweets, even fruits, will lead to a weakening of memory. That's why refined carbohydrates should be consumed in a reasonable and balanced way.
Foods that give the brain energy are whole grains, bran, "brown" cereals.
The usual diet needs nuts, especially walnuts, soybeans, chia seeds, flaxseeds. Most often, it is recommended to eat sea fat fish, dark green vegetables, broccoli and tomatoes. Choline-containing eggs are indispensable. Among the berries, black currants, blueberries and blueberries should be noted. Be sure to include green tea, dark chocolate and cocoa in your diet. Herbal preparations, tinctures and decoctions of traditional medicine have a preventive, curative effect on the brain, saturating it with vitamins, and strengthen the immune system.
These include the following:
- tincture of ginseng, from clover, red rowan bark, Rhodiola rosea;
- herbal preparations from the leaves of raspberries, lingonberries, oregano and bergenia, from sage and mint;
- a recipe for traditional medicine from pine needles, onion husks and rose hips;
- a turmeric seasoning containing a substance called curcumin, which improves the functions of the mind.
Pharmacological agents for improving memory include the following:
- creatinine;
- caffeine L-theanine;
- piracetam choline;
- L-tyrosine;
- acetyl-L-carnitine;
- phenotropil.
The best dietary supplements for improving brain activity include the following:
- amino acid glycine;
- food supplement "Phosphatidylserine";
- ginkgo biloba - herbal remedy;
- brahmi (bakopa monye) is a herbal remedy used in Ayurvedic practice.
Relief from stress
Short-term stress benefits human health. Short-term stressful situations increase intellectual ability and also improve learning skills. But as soon as it becomes long-lasting, the situation changes dramatically and it really does harm to health. A prolonged stressful state suppresses the protective functions of the body, sharply reduces attention and the process of memorizing information worsens, real memory lapses begin. That's why one of the rules of good memory is less stress, more positive emotions, which is why it is so important to learn to experience stress in a philosophical way.
Healthy lifestyle
Fresh air, exercise and adequate sleep are important factors for normal memory function. Daily airing of rooms and walks in the fresh air saturate the blood with the necessary oxygen. You need to learn to enjoy nature, which eliminates distraction. This theory is confirmed by numerous studies of domestic and foreign scientists.
Excessive body weight adversely affects the processes occurring in the brain. British scientists have experimentally proven the direct relationship between weight and memory.Therefore, bringing your weight back to normal is a vital task of an obese person. Walking and swimming, cycling and exercise equipment are great helpers for overweight people.
The phenomenon of improving memory in the process of full sleep has been known to scientists for a long time. When a person sleeps, the process of storing information is going on in his brain. The sleep rate for an adult is at least seven hours a day. Elderly people need six hours to get enough sleep.
It is worth noting that it is advisable to go to bed at the same time.
Vitamins
Lack of vitamins in the body is often the cause of impaired memory. To prevent this from happening - it is necessary to provide the brain with the supply of provitamin A or beta-carotene, vitamins B1, B6, B9, B12, C, D, K and unsaturated fatty acids omega-3, -6, -9. In addition, brain activators are macro- and microelements such as glucose, iron, lecithin, calcium, magnesium, potassium and zinc.
Recharge your brain
The brain needs recharging to get rid of stale, unnecessary, obsolete information. This is vital to him. The fastest recharge occurs when exposed to sound. Sounds of nature, birdsong, sound of waves, songs, classical music saturate the brain with energy. Another great way to warm up is to try doing everyday things in new ways, activating new brain sections, which will create new neural connections that improve coordination and strengthen memory.
Important! Modern programs of online simulators, as well as mobile applications, online services, and electronic games can help to ensure that training takes place on a regular basis.
Recreation
In the modern world, people suffer from information overload, from which they need to give themselves a break. Thanks to the experiments, it became clear that people need psychological relief. It is important to be distracted from time to time to relieve the brain. It is necessary to alternate intellectual activity with physical work or physical exercise. These unloading gaps in brain function replenish the reserves of mindfulness, strengthen memories, and encourage creativity. Rest replenishes the resources of the brain and increases its efficiency.
Best Exercises
Brain health depends primarily on the person himself. Canadian researchers have experimentally proven that Regular strength training, aerobics, and walking can stimulate brain function. Active exercise improves brain function by increasing blood flow and protein production. Neural connections grow and strengthen, memory and activity improve.
There are many exercises for improving memory at home for an adult. But before you start memorizing something, you need to set yourself a clear goal - remember it for a long time, if not forever. Such an attitude will provide a more conscious, and therefore better, memorization. Before you start exercising, it is necessary to use the sequence of its implementation: understand, establish a logical sequence, break the material into parts, find a key concept in each and use it as a guide.
The choice of methods for improving memory depends on the age of the person and his individual abilities. Experts suggest starting your memory training with simple but effective exercises. For example, read two dozen words or numbers and play them back from memory in the desired order. You can multiply two-digit numbers in your head or pronounce the words in reverse.
Psychologists also recommend keeping a diary and writing down all daily events.
This focus on memories will help you recall and remember important ones. It is useful not to dwell on negative moments and emotional experiences. If you do this all the time, you can soon feel a beneficial change in memory.And if even in the evenings before bedtime you plan further things and analyze their implementation, then your memory will work with maximum efficiency. It is very important to try to constantly remember the forgotten, without resorting to your notes or your smartphone. Such a technique will quickly increase capabilities and strengthen memory.
All kinds of exercises are useful - from beading to regular asymmetric or finger gymnastics.
The load of several body systems immediately affects a number of parts of the brain, the active work of which contributes to the processing of information and the formation of synapses between neurons. This explains the effect of fine motor skills on memory. Craftsmanship directly affects intelligence. Sewing, knitting, embroidery, sawing things out of wood, modeling clay - these creative activities are very useful for the development of fine motor skills of the hands, which interacts with thinking, imagination, motor memory and observation.
Scientists have done a lot of research and realized that everyone, without exception, needs to draw and sketch, regardless of the presence of talent and special education. Drawing improves brain function. While drawing, both hemispheres of the brain function, which is important for the harmonious development of thought processes and for maintaining brain health.
Art acts on the brain at the neural level and improves the connections between neurons in the human brain... When a person draws, his brain develops, new neural connections appear. According to scientists, this helps to better focus on the subject and quickly assimilate new knowledge. The tired brain will finally rest. In addition, when a person draws, the brain perceives it as meditation. Therefore, being creative reduces stress and anxiety. Psychologists say that drawing is the prevention of senile dementia and brain diseases.
It is possible and even necessary to change your life habits. New habits will reveal the hidden potential of our brain. It is necessary to force the memory to strain. It is extremely useful for the brain to comprehend, compare and analyze something. If we break old habits and create new ones, we thereby change the neurophysiological processes of the brain.
At any age, a person should always set ambitious goals for himself and remain involved in what is happening around him. In this case, the brain also responds by forming more neural connections.
You need to leave your comfort zone more often. The brain will stay young longer if you strain it with different tasks.
For the same reason it is recommended to introduce new habits more often. This is called neuroplasticity. For example, doing traditional daily activities in a different order. It is recommended to transfer things and objects to other places. Do the usual work in other ways.
These techniques increase concentration and improve memory.
With the help of modern methods of neurolinguistic programming, which are based on the methods of the most effective psychotherapists in the middle of the 20th century, it is also possible to develop memory. This psychological teaching has proven its effectiveness over the years. It is based on disclosure of figurative thinking. Exercising for just an hour or an hour and a half a day, you can very soon notice that even the perception of the world is changing for the better. It will become easier to communicate, work with new information, leave the comfort zone and reach heights in professional and personal growth.
Useful Tips
Everyone is familiar with many helpful tips for strengthening the brain and overall health. However, there are a number of effective tips and tricks that not everyone can know about.
Keep in mind that the more advice we apply, the more benefit we get.
With age, a person's social circle narrows. You cannot lead an uncommunicative life.You need to spend more time with people throughout your life. We must use all available means of communication. Life provides enough opportunities.
This can help trips. Their benefits are undeniable, they make our brains work more productively. Scientists have found that traveling less than twice a year is harmful to human health. To energize your brain, enlarge parts of it, acquire fresh neural connections and increase emotional awareness, you just need to go on a journey.
Leaving the familiar environment, even for a short time, a person broadens his horizons. Traveling becomes a good school of life, you have to make difficult decisions and without anyone's help, instantly react to problems and non-standard situations. A change of scenery will become a powerful regulator of higher functions responsible for mental and intellectual flexibility.
Scientists in their scientific publications prove beneficial effect on memory aromatherapy and the most effective are rosemary, sage and lavender. In the room in which the workplace is located, it is advisable to carry out aromatization with lavender oil or a mixture with cedar, mandarin, basil, lemon and juniper oils. Aromatic oils will improve your well-being, mood and prevent age-related memory loss.
Important! We must not forget about a positive attitude. This is practically the key to success. A positive attitude will make it easier to deal with any problem.
Many people have learned on their own that it is useful to do acupressure or acupuncture. There are several types of massage that can strengthen memory, for example, Japanese massage with the effect on the fingers. And the Chinese discovered a magnificent natural system of self-regulation of the body with the help of acupressure to biologically active points.
Qigong head massage with mechanical acupressure helps a lot.
The idea that one of the most important functions of sleep is to streamline the acquired experience is supported by many experiments. Today, the scientific community no longer doubts the very fact of the need for sleep to effectively memorize new information. Californian scientists have found that 60–90 minutes of nap time helps to better capture new information in long-term memory. Research into the benefits of sleep has convinced executives in some California companies to allow employees to sleep for a few minutes during work hours.