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Pawan Babel
Trusted guide to mental, emotional & social health

How to Improve Your Memory

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.

Improving your memory: 9 tips for boosting 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. These 9 tips can show you how:

1. Give your brain a workout

2. Don't skip the physical exercise
3. Get your Zs
 4. Make time for friends
5. Keep stress in check
6. Have a laugh
7. Eat a brain-boosting diet
8. Identify and treat health problems
9. Take practical steps to support learning and memory

Tip 1: Give your brain a workout

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.

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 (/articles/healthy-living/how-to-start-exercising-and-stick-
to-it.htm) 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 (/articles/ptsd-trauma/traumatic-stress.htm). 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.

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 (/articles/sleep/getting-better-sleep.htm) 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.
 (/articles/sleep/getting-better-sleep.htm)
How to Sleep Better: (/articles/sleep/getting-better-sleep.htm) Simple Steps

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.

Tip 4: Make time for friends

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 (/articles/relationships-communication/making-good-friends.htm) 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 (/articles/healthy-living/volunteering-and-its-surprising-
benefits.htm), 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 (/articles/mental-
health/mood-boosting-power-of-dogs.htm)—especially the highly-social dog.

Tip 5: Keep stress in check

Stress is one of the brain’s worst enemies. Over time, chronic stress (/articles/stress/
stress-symptoms-signs-and-causes.htm) 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 stress

Set realistic expectations (and be willing to say no!)

 Take breaks throughout the day

Express your feelings instead of bottling them up

Set a healthy 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.

Tip 6: Have a laugh

You’ve heard that laughter is the best medicine (/articles/mental-health/laughter-is-the-
best-medicine.htm), 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 ones having fun.

(/articles/mental-health/laughter-is-the-best-medicine.htm)
Laughter is the Best Medicine: (/articles/mental-health/laughter-is-the-best-
medicine.htm) Health Benefits of Humor and Laughter

Pay attention to children and emulate them. They are the experts on playing, taking life
lightly, and laughing.

Tip 7: Eat a brain-boosting diet

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 (/articles/healthy-eating/choosing-
healthy-fats.htm) (such as olive oil, nuts, fish) and lean protein (/articles/healthy-eating/
choosing-healthy-protein.htm) 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

seaweed, 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.

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 (/harvard/whats-
causing-your-memory-loss.htm). 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 it depression?

Emotional difficulties can take just as heavy 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 (/articles/depression/coping-with-depression.htm),
memory should return to normal.

(/harvard/whats-causing-your-memory-loss.htm)
What's Causing Your Memory Loss? (/harvard/whats-causing-your-memory-loss.htm)

Tip 9: Take practical steps to support learning and memory

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.

6 types of mnemonic device

1. 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

Example: 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.

2. 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.

Example: The sentence "Every good boy does fine" to memorize the lines of the
treble clef, representing the notes E, G, B, D, and F.

3. 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.

Example: The word "HOMES" to remember the names of the Great Lakes: Huron,
Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior.

4. Rhymes and alliteration - Rhymes, alliteration (a repeating sound or syllable), and

even jokes are memorable way to remember more mundane facts and figures.

Example: The rhyme "Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November" to
remember the months of the year with only 30 days in them.

5. Chunking - Chunking breaks a long list of numbers or other types of information into
smaller, more manageable chunks.

Example: Remembering a 10-digit phone number by breaking it down into three sets
of numbers: 555-867-5309 (as opposed to 5558675309).

6. 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.
 Example: 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.

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.

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

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.

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.
 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.

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.

Authors: Melinda Smith, M.A., and Lawrence Robinson. Last updated:

July 2018.

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