Tips and Exercises to Sharpen Your Mind and Boost
Brainpower
A strong
memory depends on the health and vitality of your brain. Whether you're a
student studying for final exams, a working professional interested in doing
all you can to stay mentally sharp, or a senior looking to preserve and enhance
your grey matter as you age, there are lots of things you can do to improve
your memory and mental performance.
You can boost your brain power at any age
They
say that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but when it comes to the brain,
scientists have discovered that this old adage simply isn’t true. The human
brain has an astonishing ability to adapt and change—even into old age. This
ability is known as neuroplasticity.
With the right stimulation, your brain can form new neural pathways, alter
existing connections, and adapt and react in ever-changing ways.
The
brain’s incredible ability to reshape itself holds true when it comes to
learning and memory. You can harness the natural power of neuroplasticity to
increase your cognitive abilities, enhance your ability to learn new
information, and improve your memory at any age.
By the
time you’ve reached adulthood, your brain has developed millions of neural
pathways that help you process and recall information quickly, solve familiar
problems, and execute familiar tasks with a minimum of mental effort. But if
you always stick to these well-worn paths, you aren’t giving your brain the
stimulation it needs to keep growing and developing. You have to shake things
up from time to time!
Memory,
like muscular strength, requires you to “use it or lose it.” The more you work
out your brain, the better you’ll be able to process and remember information.
But not all activities are equal. The best brain exercises break your routine
and challenge you to use and develop new brain pathways.
Four key elements of a good brain-boosting activity
1. It teaches you something new. No matter how intellectually demanding the activity, if
it’s something you’re already good at, it’s not a good brain exercise. The
activity needs to be something that’s unfamiliar and out of your comfort zone.
To strengthen the brain, you need to keep learning and developing new skills.
2. It’s challenging. The
best brain-boosting activities demand your full and close attention. It’s not
enough that you found the activity challenging at one point. It must still be
something that requires mental effort. For example, learning to play a
challenging new piece of music counts. Playing a difficult piece you’ve already
memorized does not.
3. It’s a skill you can build on. Look for activities that allow you to
start at an easy level and work your way up as your skills improve —always
pushing the envelope so you continue to stretch your capabilities. When a
previously difficult level starts to feel comfortable, that means it’s time to
tackle the next level of performance.
4. It’s rewarding. Rewards
support the brain’s learning process. The more interested and engaged you are
in the activity, the more likely you’ll be to continue doing it and the greater
the benefits you’ll experience. So choose activities that, while challenging,
are still enjoyable and satisfying.
Think
of something new you’ve always wanted to try, like learning how to play the
guitar, make pottery, juggle, play chess, speak French, dance the tango, or
master your golf swing. Any of these activities can help you improve your
memory, so long as they keep you challenged and engaged.
What about brain-training
programs?
There are countless brain-training apps and online programs that
promise to boost memory, problem-solving, attention, and even IQ with daily
practice. But do they really work? Increasingly, the evidence says no. While
these brain-training programs may lead to short-term improvements in whatever
task or specific game you’ve been practicing, they don’t appear to do anything
to strengthen or improve overall intelligence, memory, or other cognitive
abilities.
Improving memory tip 2: Don't skip the physical exercise
While
mental exercise is important for brain health, that doesn’t mean you never need
to break a sweat. Physical exercise helps your brain
stay sharp. It increases oxygen to your brain and reduces the risk for
disorders that lead to memory loss, such as diabetes and cardiovascular
disease. Exercise also enhances the effects of helpful brain chemicals and
reduces stress hormones. Perhaps most importantly, exercise plays an important
role in neuroplasticity by boosting growth factors and stimulating new neuronal
connections.
Brain-boosting exercise tips
- Aerobic
exercise is particularly good for the brain, so choose activities that
keep your blood pumping. In general, anything that is good for your heart
is great for your brain.
- Does
it take you long time to clear out the sleep fog when you wake up? If so,
you may find that exercising in the morning before you start your day
makes a big difference. In addition to clearing out the cobwebs, it also
primes you for learning throughout the day.
- Physical
activities that require hand-eye coordination or complex motor skills are
particularly beneficial for brain building.
- Exercise
breaks can help you get past mental fatigue and afternoon slumps. Even a
short walk or a few jumping jacks can be enough to reboot your brain.
If you
are experiencing traumatic stress or find yourself stuck in repetitive,
unhealthy behavior...
...Try exercising the muscles connected to fight-or-flight with
attention. Exercises that use both your arms and legs—and are done in a focused
way with mindful awareness of your physical and emotional experience—are
especially good at reducing traumatic stress. Exercises like walking, running,
swimming, or rock-climbing, activate your senses and make you more aware of
yourself and others when they are done with focused attention.
Improving memory tip 3: Get your Zs
There
is a big difference between the amount of sleep you can get by on and the
amount you need to function at your best. The truth is that over 95% of adults
need between 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep every night in order to avoid sleep
deprivation. Even skimping on a few hours makes a difference! Memory,
creativity, problem-solving abilities, and critical thinking skills are all
compromised.
But
sleep is critical to learning and memory in an even more fundamental way.
Research shows that sleep is necessary for memory
consolidation, with the key memory-enhancing activity occurring during the
deepest stages of sleep.
- Get on a regular sleep schedule. Go to bed
at the same time every night and get up at the same time each morning. Try
not to break your routine, even on weekends and holidays.
- Avoid all screens for at least an hour before bed. The blue light
emitted by TVs, tablets, phones, and computers trigger wakefulness and
suppress hormones such as melatonin that make you sleepy.
- Cut back on caffeine. Caffeine affects people differently. Some people are highly sensitive, and even morning coffee may interfere with sleep at night. Try reducing your intake or cutting it out entirely if you suspect it’s keeping you up.
When
you think of ways to improve memory, do you think of “serious” activities such
as wrestling with the New York Times crossword puzzle or mastering chess
strategy, or do more lighthearted pastimes—hanging out with friends or enjoying
a funny movie—come to mind? If you’re like most of us, it’s probably the
former. But countless studies show that a life full of friends and fun comes with
cognitive benefits.
Healthy relationships: the ultimate brain booster
Humans
are highly social animals. We’re not meant to survive, let alone thrive, in
isolation. Relationships stimulate our brains—in fact, interacting with others
may be the best kind of brain exercise.
Research
shows that having meaningful friendships and a strong support system are vital
not only to emotional health, but also to brain health. In one recent study
from the Harvard School of Public Health, for example, researchers found that
people with the most active social lives had the slowest rate of memory
decline.
There
are many ways to start taking advantage of the brain and memory-boosting
benefits of socializing. Volunteer, join a club, make it a point to see friends
more often, or reach out over the phone. And if a human isn’t handy, don’t
overlook the value of a pet—especially the highly-social dog.
Stress
is one of the brain’s worst enemies. Over time, chronic stress destroys brain cells
and damages the hippocampus, the region of the brain involved in the formation
of new memories and the retrieval of old ones. Studies have also linked stress
to memory loss.
Tips for managing and minimilizing stress
- Set
realistic expectations (and be willing to say no!)
- Take
breaks throughout the day
- Express
your feelings instead of bottling them up
- Set
healthy a balance between work and leisure time
- Focus
on one task at a time, rather than trying to multi-task
The
stress-busting, memory-boosting benefits of meditation
The scientific evidence for the mental health benefits of
meditation continues to pile up. Studies show that meditation helps improve
many different types of conditions, including depression, anxiety, chronic
pain, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Meditation also can improve focus,
concentration, creativity, memory, and learning and reasoning skills.
Meditation works its “magic” by changing the actual brain. Brain
images show that regular meditators have more activity in the left prefrontal
cortex, an area of the brain associated with feelings of joy and equanimity.
Meditation also increases the thickness of the cerebral cortex and encourages
more connections between brain cells—all of which increases mental sharpness
and memory ability.
Improving memory tip 6:
Have a laugh
You’ve heard that laughter is the best
medicine, and that holds true for the brain and the memory, as well as the
body. Unlike emotional responses, which are limited to specific areas of the
brain, laughter engages multiple regions across the whole brain.
Furthermore, listening to jokes and working
out punch lines activates areas of the brain vital to learning and creativity.
As psychologist Daniel Goleman notes in his book Emotional Intelligence, “laughter… seems to
help people think more broadly and associate more freely.”
Looking for ways to bring more laughter in
your life? Start with these basics:
- Laugh at yourself. Share your
embarrassing moments. The best way to take ourselves less seriously is to
talk about the times when we took ourselves too seriously.
- When you hear laughter, move
toward it. Most
of the time, people are very happy to share something funny because it
gives them an opportunity to laugh again and feed off the humor you find
in it. When you hear laughter, seek it out and try to join in.
- Spend time with fun, playful
people. These
are people who laugh easily—both at themselves and at life’s
absurdities—and who routinely find the humor in everyday events. Their
playful point of view and laughter are contagious.
- Surround yourself with reminders
to lighten up. Keep
a toy on your desk or in your car. Put up a funny poster in your office.
Choose a computer screensaver that makes you laugh. Frame photos of you
and your loved oneshaving fun.
- Pay attention to children and
emulate them. They
are the experts on playing, taking life lightly, and laughing.
Just as the body needs fuel, so does the
brain. You probably already know that a diet based on fruits, vegetables, whole
grains, “healthy” fats (such as olive oil, nuts, fish) and lean protein will
provide lots of health benefits, but such a diet can also improve memory. For
brain health, though, it’s not just what you eat—it’s also what you don’t eat. The following nutritional tips will help boost your
brainpower and reduce your risk of dementia:
- Get your omega-3s. Research
shows that omega-3 fatty acids are particularly beneficial for brain
health. Fish is a particularly rich source of omega-3, especially cold
water “fatty fish” such as salmon, tuna, halibut, trout, mackerel,
sardines, and herring.
- If you’re not a fan of seafood,
consider non-fish sources of omega-3s such as walnuts,
ground flaxseed, flaxseed oil, winter squash, kidney and pinto beans,
spinach, broccoli, pumpkin seeds, and soybeans.
- Limit calories and saturated fat. Research
shows that diets high in saturated fat (from sources such as red meat,
whole milk, butter, cheese, cream, and ice cream) increase your risk of
dementia and impair concentration and memory.
- Eat more fruit and vegetables. Produce is
packed with antioxidants, substances that protect your brain cells from
damage. Colorful fruits and vegetables are particularly good antioxidant
"superfood" sources.
- Drink green tea. Green tea
contains polyphenols, powerful antioxidants that protect against free
radicals that can damage brain cells. Among many other benefits, regular
consumption of green tea may enhance memory and mental alertness and slow
brain aging.
- Drink wine (or grape juice) in
moderation. Keeping
your alcohol consumption in check is key, since alcohol kills brain cells.
But in moderation (around 1 glass a day for women; 2 for men), alcohol may
actually improve memory and cognition. Red wine appears to be the best
option, as it is rich in resveratrol, a flavonoid that boosts blood flow
in the brain and reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Other
resveratrol-packed options include grape juice, cranberry juice, fresh
grapes and berries, and peanuts.
For
mental energy, choose complex carbohydrates
Just as a racecar needs gas, your brain needs fuel to perform at
its best. When you need to be at the top of your mental game, carbohydrates can
keep you going. But the type of carbs you choose makes all the difference.
Carbohydrates fuel your brain, but simple carbs (sugar, white bread, refined
grains) give a quick boost followed by an equally rapid crash. There is also
evidence to suggest that diets high in simple carbs can greatly increase the
risk for cognitive impairment in older adults. For healthy energy that lasts,
choose complex carbohydrates such as whole-wheat bread, brown rice, oatmeal,
high-fiber cereal, lentils, and whole beans. Avoid processed foods and limit
starches (potato, pasta, rice) to no more than one quarter of your plate.
Improving memory tip 8: Identify and treat health problems
Do you
feel that your memory has taken an unexplainable dip? If so, there may be a
health or lifestyle problem to blame.
It’s
not just dementia or Alzheimer’s disease that causes memory loss. There are
many diseases, mental health disorders, and medications that can interfere with
memory:
- Heart disease and its risk factors. Cardiovascular
disease and its risk factors, including high cholesterol and high blood
pressure, have been linked to mild cognitive impairment.
- Diabetes. Studies show
that people with diabetes experience far greater cognitive decline than
those who don’t suffer from the disease.
- Hormone imbalance. Women going
through menopause often experience memory problems when their estrogen
dips. In men, low testosterone can cause issues. Thyroid imbalances can
also cause forgetfulness, sluggish thinking, or confusion.
- Medications. Many
prescription and over-the-counter medications can get in the way of memory
and clear thinking. Common culprits include cold and allergy medications,
sleep aids, and antidepressants. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about
possible side effects.
Is depression to blame?
Emotional
difficulties can take just as heavy of a toll on the brain as physical
problems. In fact, mental sluggishness, difficulty concentrating, and
forgetfulness are common symptoms of depression. The memory issues can be
particularly bad in older people who are depressed—so much so that it is
sometimes mistaken for dementia. The good news is that when the depression is
treated, memory should return to normal.
- Pay attention. You can’t remember something if
you never learned it, and you can’t learn something—that is, encode it
into your brain—if you don’t pay enough attention to it. It takes about
eight seconds of intense focus to process a piece of information into your
memory. If you’re easily distracted, pick a quiet place where you won’t be
interrupted.
- Involve as many senses as possible. Try to
relate information to colors, textures, smells, and tastes. The physical
act of rewriting information can help imprint it onto your brain. Even if
you’re a visual learner, read out loud what you want to remember. If you
can recite it rhythmically, even better.
- Relate information to what you already know. Connect
new data to information you already remember, whether it’s new material
that builds on previous knowledge, or something as simple as an address of
someone who lives on a street where you already know someone.
- For more complex material, focus on understanding basic ideas rather
than memorizing isolated details. Practice explaining the ideas to someone
else in your own words.
- Rehearse information you’ve already learned. Review
what you’ve learned the same day you learn it, and at intervals
thereafter. This “spaced rehearsal” is more effective than cramming,
especially for retaining what you’ve learned.
- Use mnemonic devices to make memorization easier. Mnemonics (the
initial “m” is silent) are clues of any kind that help us remember
something, usually by helping us associate the information we want to
remember with a visual image, a sentence, or a word.
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Mnemonic device
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Example
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Visual image –
Associate a visual image with a word or name to help you remember them
better. Positive, pleasant images that are vivid, colorful, and
three-dimensional will be easier to remember.
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To remember the name
Rosa Parks and what she’s known for, picture a woman sitting on a park bench
surrounded by roses, waiting as her bus pulls up.
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Acrostic (or sentence) –
Make up a sentence in which the first letter of each word is part of or
represents the initial of what you want to remember.
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The sentence “Every
good boy does fine” to memorize the lines of the treble clef, representing
the notes E, G, B, D, and F.
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Acronym – An
acronym is a word that is made up by taking the first letters of all the key
words or ideas you need to remember and creating a new word out of them.
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The word “HOMES” to
remember the names of the Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and
Superior.
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Rhymes and alliteration –
Rhymes, alliteration (a repeating sound or syllable), and even jokes are a
memorable way to remember more mundane facts and figures.
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The rhyme “Thirty days
hath September, April, June, and November” to remember the months of the year
with only 30 days in them.
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Chunking –
Chunking breaks a long list of numbers or other types of information into
smaller, more manageable chunks.
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Remembering a 10-digit
phone number by breaking it down into three sets of numbers: 555-867-5309 (as
opposed to 5558675309).
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Method of loci –
Imagine placing the items you want to remember along a route you know well,
or in specific locations in a familiar room or building.
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For a shopping list,
imagine bananas in the entryway to your home, a puddle of milk in the middle
of the sofa, eggs going up the stairs, and bread on your bed.
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5 Simple Tricks to Sharpen Thinking and Memory
Skills
Using these memory-enhancing techniques can help improve your
ability to learn new information and retain it over time.
1. Repeat
One of the golden rules of learning and memory is repeat,
repeat, repeat. The brain also responds to novelty, so repeating something in a
different way or at a different time will make the most of the novelty effect
and allow you to build stronger memories. Examples of using repetition include:
- Taking notes
- Repeating a name
after you hear it for the first time
- Repeating or
paraphrasing what someone says to you
2. Organize
A day planner or smart phone calendar can help you keep track of
appointments and activities and can also serve as a journal in which you write
anything that you would like to remember. Writing down and organizing
information reinforces learning.
- Try jotting down
conversations, thoughts, experiences.
- Review current
and previous day’s entries at breakfast and dinner.
- If you use a
planner and not a smart phone, keep it in the same spot at home and take
it with you whenever you leave.
3. Visualize
Learning faces and names is a particularly hard task for most
people. In addition to repeating a person’s name, you can also associate the
name with an image. Visualization strengthens the association you are making
between the face and the name. For example:
- Link the name
Sandy with the image of a beach, and imagine Sandy on the beach.
4. Cue
When you are having difficulty recalling a particular word or
fact, you can cue yourself by giving related details or “talking around” the
word, name, or fact. Other practical ways to cue include:
- Using alarms or
a kitchen timer to remind you of tasks or appointments.
- Placing an
object associated with the task you must do in a prominent place at home.
For example, if you want to order tickets to a play, leave a newspaper ad
for the play near your telephone or computer.
5. Group
When you’re trying to remember a long list of items, it can help
to group the items in sets of three to five, just as you would to remember a
phone number. This strategy capitalizes on organization and building
associations, and helps to extend the capacity of our short-term memory by
chunking information together instead of trying to remember each piece of
information independently. For example:
- If you have a
list of 15 things on your grocery list, you can group the items by
category, such as dairy, produce, canned goods, and frozen foods.
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