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Memory boosters

TIP of THE tongue
Last Updated 24 June 2016, 19:03 IST

Does it take you longer these days to hit on the word you’re searching for? Are you suffering more of those ‘tip of the tongue’ moments, or embarrassing exchanges with people whose names you’ve forgotten?

Our speed of thought naturally declines with age, says Dr Michael Wassman,
a leading researcher in ageing and contributor to a new book, Staying Sharp for Dummies. “It’s common to experience age associated memory impairment — where you walk into the kitchen and can’t remember what you came in for. As we get older, that does happen more frequently, but it’s not an indication that there’s something wrong with your brain.” Equally, if you’re finding it frustrating, there are some simple tools to improve your recall and speed of thought.

Seek variety and challenge

Brain games, crosswords and other puzzles are all good ways to exercise the brain and keep it sharp. But it’s a waste of time if you don’t find it challenging. “It’s just like exercising the body — you don’t strengthen your muscles unless you lift a weight you find hard,” says Dr Michael. So whatever you do, make sure it’s slightly above the level you find comfortable. Variety is important too: try out unfamiliar subjects, take a different route to work, spend time with people outside your familiar circle. The activity with perhaps the best evidence of all for its effects on cognition and memory is to learn a new language.

Stop multitasking

When our memory fails us, it’s often because we weren’t fully paying attention when we first took the information in. This explains those moments when you get to work and can’t remember whether you locked the front door  — you were distracted by other thoughts while you were doing it. So don’t fall for the illusion of multitasking. Be mindful, and concentrate on one thing at a time. “If you’re trying to pay attention to two things, you’re not going to remember either of them as well as you would if you actually focused on one subject,” says Dr Michael.

Exercise
It’s now widely agreed that a healthy diet — rich in fruit, vegetables and healthy fats from nuts, fish, and olive oil — and regular exercise are vital for healthy brain function. In a study at the University of British Columbia, researchers found that regular aerobic exercise boosts the size of the hippocampus, the area of the brain involved in verbal memory and learning. Try brisk walking or jogging.

Meditate

Stress is terrible for memory — not only because excessively high levels of stress hormones such as cortisol seem to impair function, but also because when we’re stressed, we’re less able to take information in, and thus more likely to forget things later. Scientists at Harvard Medical School have found that meditating has positive effects on our ability to remember and incorporate facts. They report that people who practise meditation are more able to screen out everyday distractions, so that more important information can be processed.

Nap

Sleep is vital for consolidating memories, and research shows that taking a nap after learning some information helps us to retain it. A 2011 trial at the University of Lubeck in Germany found that people who took a nap after looking at a set of picture cards could remember 85% of the images as compared with 60% among those who didn’t take a nap.

Write by hand

Many people report that simply writing something down — a shopping list, for example —  helps them remember it later. “It serves as a visual cue for the brain,” says Dr Michael. Studies at Indiana University suggest that handwriting activates more regions of the brain than typing. This is probably because the brain has to process and reframe the information before writing it down. So pick up a pen.

Take regular tech-breaks

Smartphones and devices vie for our attention, making it harder for us to
concentrate on a task and think clearly. Research by the psychologist Glenn
Wilson has found that working on a task while knowing an unread email is sitting in your inbox can reduce your effective IQ by 10 points. So resist the urge to constantly check your messages and notifications and take regular digital detoxes.

Chew gum

Some studies suggest that people do better on short and long-term memory tests when they chew gum throughout. It’s not clear why — but it may simply be that chewing increases heart rate, which increases the oxygen supply to the brain.




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(Published 24 June 2016, 15:21 IST)

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