About 40 percent of US adults who are 65 or older experience age-related memory loss, but we all experience lapses in memory throughout our lives. No matter your age, there are ways for all of us to improve our memories and prevent memory loss throughout our lives. Here are some simple steps you can practice every day:
Daily movement is an important way to keep our bodies, and therefore our brains, healthy. Exercise increases cerebral blood flow and can build new neurons in the hippocampus. Studies have found that aerobic exercise is helpful in preventing Alzheimer's disease later in life.
The food we eat also plays a role in keeping our brains healthy. A Mediterranean diet which includes olive oil, nuts, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is helpful in preventing cognitive decline. Healthy foods also keep our body in good shape, preventing heart disease and diabetes, which are factors that can contribute to mental decline.
Constantly learning new things keeps our minds sharp. Develop daily habits of learning, from reading new books, exploring different languages, deciding to explore an era of history, or taking up podcasts that teach topics like economics or art.
You can also improve your memory with games to help you retain information. For instance, when meeting someone new, it can be easy to forget their name. Try creating a pictorial association of a new person’s name and visualize it in your mind (is their name Laurel? Think of the plant!). You can also practice retaining new information by using a mnemonic device to help you remember. If you were trying to memorize the names of five different tree species in your backyard, you could take the first letter of each of their names and use those letters to form an easy-to-remember sentence.
While technology can make it easier to keep track of things, such as photos that detail what we did on vacation, a grocery list, or a password, try to remember things without the help of technology. When you’re telling a friend about a trip, try not to take out your phone to flip through your photo library, and instead, tell a story based on what you remember that happened. Regularly exercising our memories will help us improve them long-term!
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