Improving your memory is an important practice to keep up with when it comes to everyday life. If you’re not looking after your memory, then you’re likely to find you forget things more easily and that can make things difficult when you’re navigating life both personally and professionally.
You should be proactive when it comes to improving your memory and there are many ways in which you can do this. Here are six ways that you can improve your memory moving forward.
Get enough sleep
Sleep is imperative for your body and if you’re not getting enough sleep, you’re going to notice the effects pretty quickly. Not getting enough sleep will result in tiredness, which can impact your attention and focus. You may find yourself becoming more forgetful, as well as forgetting where you were going with the conversation.
The more sleep that you can get each night the better. Personally, having around seven to nine hours would be a recommended amount that helps reset the body, energizing it for the following day.
With plenty of sleep, you’ll likely feel a lot better about yourself, and more importantly, it’ll help keep that memory of yours sharp.
Play games that test short-term memory
Games are a great way to give your brain a bit of exercise, especially when it comes to your memory. Ideally, you want to be playing games that test your memory in the short term but also challenge how long you can maintain that short-term memory across the game.
For example, games like mahjong are useful for improving memory because you need to remember where the images match and which images you found were on the board. There are plenty of games similar to this that can be helpful when trying to improve your memory.
Eat well and eat the right foods
Eating well and making sure you eat the right foods is important for improving your memory. If you’re eating the right foods, then you’re going to be feeding your body the right nutrients required for healthy brain cell growth as well as nurturing all of the other organs within your body.
Eating well is about enjoying food in moderation. Sure you can have food that isn’t necessarily deemed ‘healthy’ but you should be eating it in a moderate manner so that you’re not overindulging or eating more than your body needs.
There are plenty of brain-power foods that you should look at eating more of though and ensuring they feature in your diet. These include:
Wholegrains like oats and quinoa
Green vegetables such as spinach and kale
Dark chocolate
Beans and lentils
Fermented foods like kimchi and sauerkraut
The more of these foods you can incorporate into your diet, the more proactive you’re being in helping boost your brain’s health for the long term.
Exercise regularly
Exercising regularly is good for the body in general but it’s also great for your mental health. While you can’t physically run your brain around the block, you can run your body as a whole which helps your brain health more than you would think so.
Your mental health is an important part of your brain’s health and if it’s being neglected, then you could find your memory recall isn’t as good and that can be frustrating.
It’s improtant to find an exercise you enjoy, rather than just doing something because it was recommended to you by a friend or it’s considered to be a popular exercise or sport. Do exercise you love and it won’t feel so much like exercise when you do it.
Use memory tools to help remember
Memory tools are important to help you remember because life in general can be hectic and we can’t always expect to remember everything that we’re given in the form of information.
With the right memory tools, you can keep on top of everything that needs remembering, which will ensure your brain doesn’t need to work tirelessly to retain the information. This can be helpful when you’re busy with life and work but also as you get older. Using calendars, to-do lists and notes to help plan tasks is worth spending your time on.
Learn something new every day
Finally, be sure to learn something new. A new hobby or skill that you pick up is a great way to train your brain and give it something challenging to take on. From learning a new language to taking a course in something that changes your career prospects. There’s plenty that you can do and learn every day.
These tips will be sure to improve your memory, so make sure you do everything possible to help your brain health.