Diseases such as dementia or Alzheimer’s are hazardous because they account for one-third of the death rate in the elderly, more than both breast and prostate cancers. Moreover, the number of people suffering from the diseases mentioned above is increasing, and their age is getting younger. However, you still have a way to train your body and brain to prevent infection. To understand and make good use of ways to improve your memory, you first need to know how the brain works. Memory operation process has three processes:
1. Create a memory
Our brain sends signals in a specific pattern related to the events we are experiencing and creates connections between neurons, called synapses. Synapses are parts that determine one-way communication in nerve fibers.
2. Consolidate memory
If we do nothing more, that memory will be logged into the brain again, merging with the long-term memory area to store and remember longer.
3. Recalling the memory
Memory recall is what we think about when we talk about most memory. It is easier to recall the information stored in mind if it is reinforced over time.
When your brain is no longer able to recall memory, we go into the stage of memory loss. The severity of this stage varies from person to person. So, how to improve mind uses to strengthen and enhance their memory.
Memory is always an important key to help you solve all problems. As people get older, people’s mind decreases. That is why we need to train our memory every day. Here are the easiest ways for you to improve your brainpower.
Eat a healthy diet
Eating a healthy diet may sound like a simple idea, but it can have a significant impact on your brain health. Make sure at least 75% of your daily intake is colorful foods like red, orange, yellow, green. These foods contain many compounds that enhance brain function and antioxidants. Oxidation helps prevent the damage of free radicals.
Eat lots of green vegetables, fruits
According to a study by Harvard Medical University, the US, green vegetables like kale, leeks, cauliflower, and cabbage are foods rich in phytochemicals, which stimulate brain cells to activate. Therefore, you should make a habit of putting green vegetables and fruits in your family’s daily meals to help boost the memory of your loved ones! Some fruits and vegetables you can choose are blueberries, turnips, tomatoes, kale, spinach.
Drink water after waking up
Your body has no water for 6-9 hours. Water is needed to filter waste and balance the liquid. Studies in children show that drinking lots of water increases your ability to fight mental health risks. Make sure your brain doesn’t get dehydrated when a new day starts.
Drink coffee
A recent study has shown that drinking a cup of coffee after completing an exercise can improve memory up to 24 hours later.
Participants in this study must memorize a set of images. Then, they can view another collection of paintings, including images similar to and similar to the vision they have just remembered. Their task is to pick out exactly which pictures they have seen before. As a result, those who drank a cup of coffee then were able to pick out more accurate images than those who didn’t drink coffee. The effect of coffee, in this case, is explained by scientists as a way to improve memory through caffeine acting on memory consolidation, thus helping the brain to store information better.
Eat dark chocolate
A recent study published in the journal Appetite shows that eating chocolate can improve memory, reasoning skills, and help you smarter.
The scientists analyzed data on eating habits, the cognitive function of the brain, and the risk of cardiovascular disease of 968 people aged 23 – 98.
Results showed that those who regularly eat chocolate have better cognitive ability and memory than others. According to experts, the flavanols in chocolate have a positive effect on the cognitive function of the brain, and this substance is found in dark chocolate. Besides, regular intake of flavanols helps protect the brain and prevents age-related cognitive decline.
Increase the amount of vitamin E
Foods rich in vitamin E needed to protect nerve cells. Antioxidants reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive impairment diseases. Foods are rich in vitamin E such as olive oil, dried fruits, peanut butter, whole grains, etc.
Increase your intake of omega-3 rich foods
Omega-3 is an indispensable nutrient in the diet to protect the brain. This is a healthy fat that contains docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) which has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects that protect nerve cells. Daily use helps reduce age-related memory loss and prevents cognitive decline.
You should eat fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel about two times/week. They contain a lot of omega-three fatty acids, including DHA that help support the transmission of information between brain cells.
Also, you should eat more fat because fat makes up about 60% of the brain. This is also why low-fat diets can cause fatigue, distraction, mood swings, and a host of other uncomfortable symptoms. Therefore, add a lot of healthy fats like fresh fish, grass-fed meat, avocado, olive oil, coconut butter, nuts, and cereals.
In addition to vegetables and fat, providing protein for the body is also a meaningful way to improve memory. On average, we need about 30g of protein at each meal to build strong muscles. Lack of protein will make you age faster and negatively affect the brain, so make sure you get enough protein in your body.
You should also avoid foods that are high in fructose or high in sugar, trans fat, additives, and preservatives. All of these substances are harmful to the brain and disrupt biochemical processes. Alzheimer’s disease is now also known as “type 3 diabetes” because this type of neurodegeneration is related to insulin resistance. So, you should even eat foods with the low glycemic index.
Do exercise
Aerobic exercise is the first thing you should do to improve your memory. Numerous studies have shown that exercising to help the heart beat faster is beneficial for the brain and increases the ability to concentrate. Even if your schedule is full, go out for a walk instead of talking on the phone. Or walk to the store instead of driving.
Research from the University of California (USA) and University of Tsukuba (Japan) recently showed that gentle exercise only 10 minutes such as walking, yoga, tai chi for both young and old Memory enhancement effect. Use increases oxygenation of the brain and reduces the risk of disorders leading to dementia, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Exercise also enhances the brain’s beneficial substances, reducing stress hormones. Most importantly, exercise plays an essential role in neurodevelopment by promoting growth factors and stimulating new neural connections.
You do not need to go to the gym. Just do whatever form you find exciting and relaxing, like walking, climbing, yoga. You need to get the whole body active. Exercise is essential for maintaining a healthy brain. Also, it helps improve blood flow, boost metabolism, increase insulin levels while improving brain structure and function even in older adults.
Being sociable and connecting with people is also an effective way to increase cognitive function. Because isolation, solitude has adverse health effects, including memory loss, so practice with your friends for maximum memory improvement.
Take time to rest for yourself
Stress is one of the problems that harm the body in several ways, including damage to your brain. Stress hormone affects the memory center in the brain, thereby causing memory loss and cognitive decline. Prolonged stress will also worsen Alzheimer’s disease. So find ways to manage stress to protect your memory.
Do not skip nap
Napping is very good for health, especially for intellectual workers. Napping helps provide time for cell regeneration and recovery, an effective way for you to increase alertness and productivity in the afternoon. Accordingly, an excellent siesta nap is about 15 – 30 minutes will help you reduce feelings of drowsiness, reduce stress, fatigue, refreshed the spirit. Especially for the elderly, napping will help them consolidate memory, minimize confusion.
Sleep is also an essential factor for the health of the brain because this is the time our mind rest and eliminate toxins. Not only that, but sleep deprivation also negatively affects the connections between nerve cells in the brain’s memory center.
Take time to rest, lessen your work, and avoid taking it home, go for a walk outdoors, meditate, have a tea, or read a good book. Besides, you also need to create a good sleeping habit by turning on the light soothing, away from the screen of electronic devices and sleeping for 7 to 8 hours a day. If you do the above things, your brain will be healthy even as your age increases.
Dementia is a sign of aging that you can completely prevent. Therefore, train these good habits to improve memory when it is not too late.
Read books every day
Reading every day not only helps you enrich your knowledge, reduce stress, fatigue, but also an excellent way to enhance memory. When reading a book, you must remember each character, personality, appearance, as well as the details, developments in each story. Your brain will quickly recognize this. Once the mind is continually working with information, processing information, the ability to capture and sensitive to information also increases. From there, your memory is also improved better. Therefore, you should reduce the time to watch movies, surf the web every day, and increase the amount of time to read to exercise your memory!
Learn a new foreign language
According to a study published in the journal Annals Neurology (USA), people who know two or more foreign languages can enhance memory when you get older. This benefit is maintained even when you start learning. Second foreign language at an older age.
Learning new foreign languages becomes an excellent exercise for the brain, helping you to enhance memory more effectively. Also, this is an opportunity to improve your career to become more advanced in the future.
Laugh more
You have heard laughter is the best medicine, of course, that holds for both your brain and your memory and body. Unlike other emotional responses that are limited to specific areas of the brain, laughter engages in many cities throughout the brain. Take time for yourself to have fun, funny moments with relatives and friends. You will find that your mind becomes much more energized.
To bring more laughter in your life? Start with these basics:
Laugh at yourself:You should share your embarrassing moments. The excellent way to take ourselves less seriously is to talk about the times when we took ourselves too sincerely.
When you hear laughter, move toward it:People are pleased to share something funny because it allows them to laugh again and feed off the humor you discover it. When you hear waves of laughter, seek it out, and try to join in.
Spend time with fun, playful people:These are people who laugh —both at themselves and life’s absurdities—and who routinely find the humor in events. Their funny point of view and laughter are infectious.
Surround yourself with reminders to lighten up:You should keep a toy on your desk or in your car. And, put up a funny poster in your office. You choose a computer screensaver that makes you laugh. Also, frame photos of you and your loved ones having fun.
Pay more attention to children and emulate them:They are the experts on taking life lightly and laughing.
Manage chronic conditions
You need to follow your doctor’s treatment recommendations for medical conditions, such as depression, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, and hearing loss. The better you take care of yourself, the better your memory is likely to be. Besides, review your medications with your doctor regularly. Various drugs can affect memory.
When to seek help for memory loss
If you are worried about memory loss primarily, or if you notice your memory getting worse, talk to your doctor. You will likely do a physical exam, as well as check your mind and problem-solving skills.
Sometimes other tests are quite needed as well. Treatment will depend on what’s contributing to your memory loss.
Thank you for taking the time to read our article.If you have any questions you need, please feel free to comment under the comment section, we would answer you as soon as possible. You also can read about“how to get rid of bed bugs”, “how to get rid of ants quickly and effectively” or “how to get rid of cockroaches”,”How to build stronger bones?”and more!
