Do you have bad memory? Do you forget appointments, addresses, directions, names and a multitude of other things? Do you consistently misplace keys, spectacles, important papers …. even the remote control for your TV?
Do you forget what you've studied for your exams? Would you like to stop forgetting and start remembering? If the answer to any or all of these questions is yes, then you have to find ways and means to turn you from an absent minded professor to a memory marvel.
A good memory is the basis of efficiency and, thankfully, every one has the capacity to develop a better one. Life long learning and brain exercises keep memory loss at bay.
As people age, they engage in less and less learning. Normally, people abstain from learning anything new, soon after they complete their academic studies.
Even a new job or hobby does not drive them to learn new things. Over a period of time, the brain, unchallenged and without proper stimulation, begins to lose its capacity to remember.
By the age of 40 or 50 many otherwise healthy individuals, begin to notice symptoms such as incomplete thoughts, faltering information recall, etc. Medical science has also confirmed that as we age, our memory function can decline by as much as 45 per cent.
Your brain is like a muscle - use it or lose it. Clinical brain scans show that when people use their brains in unusual ways, more blood flows into different neural regions and new connections form.
*Memory loss can be fought effectively by challenging the brain with constant, new learning.
*Exercise to the brain can improve one's memory power. Reading is considered to be a good exercise.
*Diet also plays an important role in determining brain function in later life. Establishing healthy eating habits at an early stage can deliver dividends in old age.
Besides, regular exercises help in significant improvement in reaction time, memory span and measures of well being when compared with non-exercisers.
A healthy brain needs social stimulation too. Do not sit in front of the idiot box. People, who are part of a group, whether it's a church or a book club, age healthier. Declining social interaction predicts declining cognitive function.
According to Dr Robert Wilson of Rush university Medical Centre, "People who have stress, anxiety, chronic distress or extreme worriers are twice as likely to develop some form of dementia." Also, some studies have found that people who are less educated and have a less challenging job are three to four times at risk of getting Alzheimer's disease.
In order to exercise your brain, do any of the following: Do a new type of puzzle, learn to play chess, take a foreign language course, solve vexing problems at work, try to challenge your brain everyday, practice meditation
Tips for better memory
Make an effort to remember. The brain prioritises by meaning, value and relevance. To have meaning, you must understand what you are learning. In order to remember something thoroughly, you must be interested in it and think that it has value and relevance in your life.
Intent to remember: Your attitude has much to do with whether you remember something or not. A key factor to remembering is having a positive attitude, that you get it right the first time. Attention is not the same as learning, but little learning takes place without attention.
Basic background: Your understanding of new materials depend on what you already know that you can connect it to. The more you increase your basic knowledge, the easier it is to build new knowledge on this background.
One must determine what is most important and select those parts to begin the process of studying and learning. You can learn and remember better if you can group ideas into some sort of meaningful categories or groups.
Strengthen neural connections with the following.
*Recitation: Saying ideas aloud in your own words strengthens synaptic connections and gives you immediate feedback. The more feedback you get, the faster and more accurate you're learning.
*Visualisation: The brain's quickest and probably longest-lasting response is to images. By making a mental picture, you use an entirely different part of the brain than you did by reading or listening
*Association: Memory is increased when facts to be learned are consciously associated with something familiar to you. Memory is essentially formed by making neural connections. Begin by asking, "What is this like that I already know and understand?"
Do you forget what you've studied for your exams? Would you like to stop forgetting and start remembering? If the answer to any or all of these questions is yes, then you have to find ways and means to turn you from an absent minded professor to a memory marvel.
A good memory is the basis of efficiency and, thankfully, every one has the capacity to develop a better one. Life long learning and brain exercises keep memory loss at bay.
As people age, they engage in less and less learning. Normally, people abstain from learning anything new, soon after they complete their academic studies.
Even a new job or hobby does not drive them to learn new things. Over a period of time, the brain, unchallenged and without proper stimulation, begins to lose its capacity to remember.
By the age of 40 or 50 many otherwise healthy individuals, begin to notice symptoms such as incomplete thoughts, faltering information recall, etc. Medical science has also confirmed that as we age, our memory function can decline by as much as 45 per cent.
Your brain is like a muscle - use it or lose it. Clinical brain scans show that when people use their brains in unusual ways, more blood flows into different neural regions and new connections form.
*Memory loss can be fought effectively by challenging the brain with constant, new learning.
*Exercise to the brain can improve one's memory power. Reading is considered to be a good exercise.
*Diet also plays an important role in determining brain function in later life. Establishing healthy eating habits at an early stage can deliver dividends in old age.
Besides, regular exercises help in significant improvement in reaction time, memory span and measures of well being when compared with non-exercisers.
A healthy brain needs social stimulation too. Do not sit in front of the idiot box. People, who are part of a group, whether it's a church or a book club, age healthier. Declining social interaction predicts declining cognitive function.
According to Dr Robert Wilson of Rush university Medical Centre, "People who have stress, anxiety, chronic distress or extreme worriers are twice as likely to develop some form of dementia." Also, some studies have found that people who are less educated and have a less challenging job are three to four times at risk of getting Alzheimer's disease.
In order to exercise your brain, do any of the following: Do a new type of puzzle, learn to play chess, take a foreign language course, solve vexing problems at work, try to challenge your brain everyday, practice meditation
Tips for better memory
Make an effort to remember. The brain prioritises by meaning, value and relevance. To have meaning, you must understand what you are learning. In order to remember something thoroughly, you must be interested in it and think that it has value and relevance in your life.
Intent to remember: Your attitude has much to do with whether you remember something or not. A key factor to remembering is having a positive attitude, that you get it right the first time. Attention is not the same as learning, but little learning takes place without attention.
Basic background: Your understanding of new materials depend on what you already know that you can connect it to. The more you increase your basic knowledge, the easier it is to build new knowledge on this background.
One must determine what is most important and select those parts to begin the process of studying and learning. You can learn and remember better if you can group ideas into some sort of meaningful categories or groups.
Strengthen neural connections with the following.
*Recitation: Saying ideas aloud in your own words strengthens synaptic connections and gives you immediate feedback. The more feedback you get, the faster and more accurate you're learning.
*Visualisation: The brain's quickest and probably longest-lasting response is to images. By making a mental picture, you use an entirely different part of the brain than you did by reading or listening
*Association: Memory is increased when facts to be learned are consciously associated with something familiar to you. Memory is essentially formed by making neural connections. Begin by asking, "What is this like that I already know and understand?"