Boost your Memory by Focusing on these 3 Things
We've all done it. Forgot about a meeting, visitors coming into town, a project at work. It's never a good feeling to know your memory let you down! My theory? Well, if you're a workaholic like I am, we get a little overconfident. We think we can load more and more tasks onto our plate and eventually it backfires in the form of (you guessed it) forgetfulness. And technology plays an interesting role in our memory. We have less of a need to remember everything when we can look it up or put a reminder into our iPhone. In contrast, technology is constantly grabbing our attention so there's a greater and greater chance of being distracted before locking important information down.
Brain farts have been bothering me lately so I figured I'd do a little bit of research on the top three natural ways to boost our memory. Hopefully I don't forget them as soon as I share this post with you!
1. Meditate
We just talked about all the benefits of meditation for keeping us young. What's a better reflection of youth than a speedy memory recall? This made a lot of sense to me. When we take even 5-10 minutes a day to unplug and sit with our thoughts, we can organize them and clean out any cluttering thoughts that lead to forgetfulness. An article on improving your memory from Healthline promotes meditation as a memory boosting method and states that "meditation and relaxation techniques have been shown to improve short-term memory in people of all ages, from people in their 20s to the elderly" (Jillian Kubala, MS, RD, 2018). They explain that meditation isn't just psychologically beneficial, but it literally helps your brain create more grey matter, which can act as a buffer against memory loss.
2. Exercise!
You knew it was coming! It really does seem like anytime it comes to a discussion of improving brain function or maintaining our youth, exercise is a major factor. That's because it is! And it always will be. Let's talk about it! "Studies in both rat and human brains have shown that regular exercise can improve memory recall. Fitness in older adults has even been proven to slow the decline of memory....regular exercise has been shown to improve cognitive abilities beyond memory" (Belle Beth Cooper, 2014).
If you dread the idea of going to the gym, find a way to make it a fun experience for you. Go with a friend and motivate, have a dance party at home with your favorite songs turned up high, have a pool party, or chase your kiddos around at the park. Time flies (and memory soars!) when you're having fun and get moving!
3. And after you exercise... Sleep!
