Oh! I can’t find my car keys; I kept them on the desk yesterday.
Do you often find yourself forgetting plenty of things and wishing that your memory was a bit sharper?
Whether you are a student, a working professional, or an elderly looking to preserve your memories; effective mental performance is required everywhere.
Fortunately, there are numerous ways to increase memory power.
Notably, the human brain has the ability to adapt and change at any age. This ability is called neuroplasticity.
With the right provocation, your brain can alter existing connections and create new pathways to adapt and react to changing situations.
Nevertheless, consider these 15 ways and learn how to improve your memory power.
15 Ways To Increase Memory Power
Forgetting seems normal sometimes. And although people find it unnecessary, memorization is important for many reasons.
It disciplines your mind, keeps you focused, makes you productive, and helps you in decision making as well.
Here are some of the proven ways to improve memory power.
#1. Practice Some Brain-Boosting Activities
If you practice physical activity to keep your muscles active, then why not work out your brain to keep your mental performance on point.
As a matter of fact, you can exercise your cognitive skills by:
- Playing games
- Solving puzzles
- Learning new things
- Testing yourself every day
The more you utilize your brain, the better it will be for you to process and remember information. Interestingly, you can do brain workouts easily every day.
Although it can be quite challenging at the beginning, you can start with an easy level or you can just think of something you want to learn; a new language, a new dance form, a new game.
Learning new skills requires your full attention; hence, it will keep you engaged and challenge you to perform better.
#2. Don’t Skip Physical Exercise
Doing some brain activity doesn’t give you the liberty to skip physical exercise.
Physical exercise increases blood circulation and improves the oxygen level in your brain. Better oxygen level reduces the risk of memory loss disorder.
Adding to this, as per the studies, it was found that people who exercised regularly showed a lower risk of memory loss disorder and dementia.
Also, exercising stimulates helpful brain chemicals and helps reduce stress. And notably, reducing stress has a lot to contribute to new neuronal connections.
Even doing moderate exercise has full-body benefits including the brain and that too for all age groups.
Some of the exercise tips to boost your brain functionality are:
- Any physical activity is good for your heart and brain health but aerobic exercise is particularly great for the brain.
- Physical activities that require complex coordination like hand-eye coordination can help you improve memory.
- Even a short walk and a few minutes of stretching & jumping exercises are enough to boost your brain and help you get rid of mental fatigue.
#3. Keep A Healthy Diet
A healthy diet is as important for your brain as it is for your body. We all know that a diet that includes fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and lean proteins has a lot of health benefits.
Here are some of the nutritional tips that will help you if you’ve been asking “how to increase my memory power“:
- Eat enough antioxidants.
- Eat less added sugar.
- Consume less saturated fat.
- Limit your calorie consumption
- Eat more fruits and vegetables.
If studies are to be believed, western diets which include high-carbohydrate meals induce poor cognitive function.
Hence, choose natural foods over ready-to-eat meals for better memory power.
#4. Get Some Sound Sleep
Lack of good hours of sleep is associated with bad memories.
In a study done on 40 children aged 10 -14, those who slept between the training and testing performed 20 % better than those who didn’t get sleep.
Hence, even research shows that sleep deprivation can affect your cognitive function.
Moreover, maximum adults need 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep and even an hour’s difference can have a huge impact.
Even a slight disturbance in your regular sleep schedule can affect your memory, cognitive skill, problem-solving ability, and critical thinking.
Adding to this, it’ll also help you release tension and relax.
Here are some of the tips for quality sleep:
- Plan a proper sleep schedule
- Avoid caffeine consumption at least 3 hours before you sleep.
These are the easiest ways to increase memory power.
#5. Stop Smoking
“Smoking is injurious to health”!
It is not merely a quote, but it actually does affect your entire health which includes your brain.
To elaborate, smoking damages your blood vessels which affect its function to carry oxygen to the brain; hence, it hampers memory and other cognitive functions.
Additionally, smoking increases inflammation and oxidative stress which can even lead to stroke and dementia.
Notably, as per the Alzheimer’s society, there’s strong evidence that smoking increases the risk of developing dementia.
#6. Avoid Too Much Alcohol Consumption
If you are a fan of binge drinking, you must know that drinking too many alcoholic beverages is detrimental to your physical as well as mental health.
Alcohol has neurotoxic effects on the brain, and it hampers your ability to think and make better decisions.
While consuming a couple of drinks occasionally is ok, drinking 6 or more drinks frequently is not really how you improve mind power.
Here are some of the tips to control alcohol consumption.
- Limit your alcohol consumption to 1-2 glasses a week.
- Switch from alcohol to freshly brewed tea. You can have 2-3 cups of hot and cold tea. It’ll not only help you relax but its antioxidants will also help you enhance your memory and focus.
#7. Keep A Check On Your Vitamin D levels
Vitamin D is an important nutrient, and it has a vital role to play in your overall health. Be it your hair, bones, skin, or memory, the importance of vitamin D cannot be ignored.
Moreover, vitamin D deficiency is linked with age-related memory loss and dementia.
Notably, lack of vitamin D is common in colder climates, and people with darker skin. Therefore, keep testing your vitamin D level.
Furthermore, you can maintain a proper vitamin D level by following these tips:
- Get enough sunlight with proper sun protection.
- Consume enough Vitamin D-rich foods.
- Consult your doctor for suggestions to increase your Vitamin D level.
#8. Look After Your Weight
Having a healthy body weight is important for essential well-being which includes a good memory function.
Notably, obesity can negatively affect cognitive functions and can even change memory-associated genes.
Adding to this, obesity has the risk of increasing progressive Alzheimer’s disease.
In that condition, weight loss tips can really come in handy.
Here’s what you can do to take control of your weight:
- Exercise regularly
- Eat healthily
- Maintain a work-personal life balance
- Invest your time in playing outdoor sports
#9. Do Some Meditation Daily
Invest at least 30 minutes of your day to meditate.
Meditation has positive effects on health in many ways.
Moreover, making some time for meditation:
- Soothes your mind
- Makes you less anxious
- Makes you more rational and empathetic.
- Improves the quality of your sleep. (Ambien)
Here are some tips that’ll help you meditate properly.
- Meditate for at least 15-30 minutes.
- The best times to meditate are early morning, after the lunch break, at the end of the day, and finally when you feel stressed out.
- Interestingly, meditation right before you sleep will enhance your sleep quality.
#10. Take Enough Omega 3
You must have seen people eating omega 3 capsules to improve their cognitive functions.
These omega 3 supplements have become very popular these days.
While there’s no harm in taking these supplements when consumed with proper consultation, you can even cover your daily requirement of omega 3 with a natural diet as well.
Fish like salmon, mackerel, cod liver is rich in omega 3-fatty acids. And by simply adding them to your diet, you can get enough omega 3 to enhance your memory function.
Adding to this, if you are vegetarian, you can have omega 3 rich veggies and nuts and seeds, such as flax seeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, kidney beans, soybean oil, and walnuts.
#11. Don’t Forget To Socialize Regularly
Who knew socializing regularly could be one of the ways to increase memory power?
Having a fun hangout with friends, enjoying a simple coffee or even a movie can have a lot of positive effects on your brain.
Interestingly, even studies back this theory and imply that a life full of healthy relationships and friends has better cognitive benefits to serve.
Socializing regularly helps you relax, lowers your stress, decreases anxiety, and boosts self-confidence. And here are some of the tips to help you do that:
- Try to make your hangout interesting by adding movies or adventures to your plan.
- You can have pets like dogs and cats. Humans share an unbreakable bond with their pets and they act as a support when it comes to killing isolation and having a fun time.
- If you live alone and can’t have pets as well, try to join a club or you can also do regular video calls to your near and dear ones.
#12. Keep Yourself Organized
Keeping yourself organized is basic when it comes to improving your memory power.
If you keep your things in place, it not only saves you from additional stress but also prevents you from running late.
Additionally, a cluttered, untidy, and messy place creates anxiety and tension.
Hence, try to keep yourself organized.
Here are some of the tips that will help you get more organized:
- Choose a specific place for important things like keys, cards, and watches.
- Immediately place your coat, bags, and shoes in the right place once you reach home, and avoid keeping things to do later.
- Make a to-do list to keep your mind on track.
- Dedicate at least one day of the week to proper cleaning and organization.
#13. Laugh A little More
I’m sure you must have heard “laughter is the best medicine”.
Laughing induces endorphins and boosts the immune system. It also reduces stress and improves memory among people of all age groups.
Interestingly, it improves short-term memory in older adults as well.
You can watch comedy movies, spend quality time with your fun friends, learn to laugh at yourself, or simply spend time with children.
#14. Cut Your Screen Time
Try to spend as little time as possible on the phone and computer.
It is no longer a secret that spending a lot of time with technologies takes away your natural power to memorize things.
For instance, when there were no mobile phones, people used to remember the phone numbers.
Also, when there were no calculators, people used to calculate even the big sums easily, but now everything requires confirmation from a calculator.
Hence, spend only the required time on screens and cut unnecessary use of mobile, tablets, and other technological stuff.
Adding to this, too much screen time also makes you tired and affects your sleep time which eventually affects your memory.
#15. Change The Way You Think
Changing the way you think means practicing mindfulness. Be present and consider your thoughts and feelings. Live in the moment.
Here is what you can do to change the way you think.
- Don’t make early judgments.
- Pay attention to your surroundings to connect to your mind.
- Avoid too much multitasking.
- Involve your senses to create a memory. This way it’ll be easier to recall things for you.
These were some of the easiest and natural ways to increase memory power.
It might take some extra effort, but once you follow these tips, you’d be able to level up your cognitive functions.
Conclusion
Physical fitness is of no use if your mind is not working properly.
While losing some memory is quite common with age, it sometimes is genetic as well.
But thankfully, by following these simple steps, you can easily level up your memory power at any age.
Hope you liked reading the blog. Do share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.