8 Proven Ways to Increase Your Memory

Your memory is one of the greatest assets you have as a human being, and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who wouldn’t want to improve it. Whether it’s to remember someone’s name or an important appointment, memory can play an important role in your success and your day-to-day happiness and productivity. Here are eight proven ways to increase your memory. You won’t believe how simple these methods are!

1) Train your brain with puzzles

Memory increases with brain training puzzles and activities. Puzzles that train your spatial sense will help you remember objects and where they are in space better. Doing verbal puzzles or having someone speak while you try to recall as many words or phrases is also a great way to increase your memory! Practice memorizing common, everyday items by grouping them into categories such as fruits, vegetables, utensils etc. Each category should have 5-10 items so you can get the hang of remembering the specific names of these items without forgetting any of them. You can also use this method to memorize people's names, shopping lists or anything else you want to remember!

2) Sleep more for better recall

Many people falsely believe that it is hard for them to increase their memory. But the truth is that there are many effective methods of increasing your memory power and enhancing your memory in a safe and effective way. 

The first way of improving your memory is making sure you get enough sleep. Memory retention increases when you are sleep deprived, but decreases when you get enough sleep. Getting enough sleep every night can help you remember anything much better than being awake half the night or getting some random bit of rest here and there. Therefore, adequate levels of restful sleep helps improve memories by strengthening connections between nerve cells in the brain.

3) Take breaks from technology

According to Pam Wedgbury, memory increased after she eliminated her smartphone and tablet usage. She argues that we need time away from technology to decrease our dependency on it. This leads to better concentration, focus, and mental health. In order for your memory increase skills you need opportunities for creative thinking. When creating your own material (journal entries or thoughts) use mnemonic devices or number lists.

4) Exercise – even just 15 minutes can make a difference

Maintaining your physical health is just as important as the mental, so get active! Studies have shown that sitting for long periods of time increases your risk of cancer and heart disease. Plus, exercise releases endorphins which make you feel great, plus it helps with focus! Studies show that people who work out are better at remembering tasks. They found that when volunteers exercised before taking a memory test, they performed significantly better than those who didn't. Scientists believe this may be because oxygen-rich blood flows to the brain more easily during exercise, or because exercise reduces stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline levels in our bodies. Exercise also increases levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin which promotes feelings of well-being and can increase cognitive abilities like attention span and learning speed! 

The study found that even if you don't do vigorous workouts but simply take a 10 minute walk around the block or up some stairs, this simple activity can greatly increase your ability to remember things from five minutes after exercising until at least one hour afterwards.

5) Get enough vitamin D

Vitamin D is important for more than just your teeth and bones, it's essential for overall brain health too. One study found that low levels of vitamin D was linked with an increased risk of dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Getting enough vitamin D may help support memory function and keep it from declining later in life.

6) Play games (e.g., crosswords, chess, Scrabble, etc.)

One of the most popular ways people try to improve their memory is through the use of games. When it comes to improving your memory, one game that has been recommended is called Chairs. There are a number of variations of this game, but essentially you're given a list of words or phrases and you need to find as many matching pairs from that list in a set amount of time (usually between 1-5 minutes). The word chairs would only have one matching pair because there's only one c word on the list. Doing this for 20 minutes can result in an improvement in working memory and other related aspects such as mental acuity.

7) Do mind exercises (such as word searches and logic games)

•  Challenge yourself with puzzles and games that require thinking, such as word searches and logic games. These exercises will encourage your brain to grow new neurons and synapses, or connections between your brain cells. 
•  Get a pet! Pets can provide companionship while you're trying to concentrate on a difficult task like studying for an exam. The benefits of pets in the workplace have also been proven by researchers at the Cornell University School of Veterinary Medicine who found that employees who bring their pets into work are happier, more productive, and suffer fewer mental illnesses than those who don't bring their pets into work.

8) Try Supplements (fish oil pills have shown promise in recent studies)

Supplementing your diet with fatty acids like DHA and EPA can help improve your memory as well. Additionally, there are a few supplements that you can take which could be beneficial. Vitamin B12 has been shown to reduce the number of brain shrinkage in people with mild cognitive impairment or dementia. Bacopa monnieri is a natural herb from India which has been shown in studies of people who have age-related memory decline to improve the speed of memorization and retention.

Foods that Enhances the Memory

Improving your memory can be as simple as changing your diet. Eating the right foods not only helps boost your brainpower, but it also ensures that you have all the nutrients necessary for your body and mind to function at their highest level. Here are some of the best food choices for improving your memory Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of polyunsaturated fat which are essential to good health. Research has shown that they help improve learning, thinking, problem solving skills and mood while protecting against heart disease. Foods high in omega-3 fatty acids include oily fish like salmon, mackerel and sardines; plant sources such as flaxseed oil or walnuts; soybeans; tofu; peanuts; eggs; avocados or green leafy vegetables like spinach or kale.