Did you see a beautiful sunset? Did your kid have a funny retort to a simple question? Did you eat something delicious? But having a sense of what your memory shortcomings are can help safeguard these important items in your memory. Even if you consider yourself a forgetful person, memory is a skill that can be practiced and strengthened, Dellis says.

Before he entered memory competitions, Dellis never considered himself a person with an extraordinary memory. Test yourself, he says, by assigning vivid and unique images to grocery items and try shopping without a list.

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You can also contribute via. Filed under: Even Better. By Allie Volpe allieevolpe Jan 5, , am EST. 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. 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. 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.

Try one of HelpGuide's free Audio Meditations. 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. 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. 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. Get your omega-3s. Research shows that omega-3 fatty acids are particularly beneficial for brain health. 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. 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. 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.

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.

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.

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 , 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. Eating a diet high in refined sugar and fats and leading a sedentary lifestyle may increase the risk of memory loss.

Eating a rounded, healthful diet and exercising regularly may contribute to keeping the mind sharp and reduce memory loss. For example, practicing mindfulness meditation may not only make a person less forgetful but can also reduce stress.

Some activities may boost brain function and connectivity, which may help protect the brain from age-related degeneration. Here are 22 brain exercises…. The diet can have a significant impact on the brain's function. A brain-healthy diet, rich in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids, can boost memory….

Short-term memory refers to small amounts of information that people can remember for a short period of time. Learn more. Memories come in many different forms.

There is still a lot that researchers do not understand about how human memory works. This article outlines the causes of short-term and long-term memory loss and the differences between typical age-related memory loss and dementia.

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Medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, PhD, PsyD — By Jon Johnson — Updated on June 20, Train your brain Exercise Meditate Sleep Sugar Calories Caffeine Chocolate Risk factors Summary There are various ways a person can help to improve their memory.

Do brain training. Share on Pinterest Research suggests that meditation may cause long term changes in the brain that improve memory. Get enough sleep. Reduce sugar intake. Avoid high calorie diets. Increase caffeine intake. Eat dark chocolate. Risk factors for memory impairment. Share on Pinterest Exercising regularly may help keep the mind sharp.

Still, if you find that forgetfulness or your memory is getting worse, reach out to a healthcare provider. Memory loss. Eichenbaum H. Memory: organization and control. Annu Rev Psychol. National Institute on Aging.

Memory, forgetfulness, and aging: what's normal and what's not? NIH News in Health. Sleep on it. National Institutes of Health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Are you getting enough sleep? Davidson P, Jönsson P, Carlsson I, Pace-Schott E.

Does sleep selectively strengthen certain memories over others based on emotion and perceived future relevance? Li J, Pora BLR, Dong K, Hasjim J. Health benefits of docosahexaenoic acid and its bioavailability: A review. Food Sci Nutr. Stern Y, MacKay-Brandt A, Lee S, et al.

Effect of aerobic exercise on cognition in younger adults: A randomized clinical trial. Munro CA, Wennberg AM, Bienko N, Eaton WW, Lyketsos CG, Spira AP. Stressful life events and cognitive decline: sex differences in the Baltimore epidemiologic catchment area follow-up study. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry.

Read S, Comas-Herrera A, Grundy E. Social isolation and memory decline in later-life. Schafer M, ed. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B. Cacioppo S, Grippo AJ, London S, Goossens L, Cacioppo JT. Loneliness: clinical import and interventions.

Perspect Psychol Sci. Loneliness and social isolation—tips for staying connected. Skavronskaya L, Moyle B, Scott N. The experience of novelty and the novelty of experience.

Front Psychol. Cegolon A, Jenkins A. Older adults, cognitively stimulating activities and change in cognitive function. International Journal of Lifelong Education. López-Álvarez J, Sevilla-Llewellyn-Jones J, Agüera-Ortiz L. Anticholinergic drugs in geriatric psychopharmacology.

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By Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen. Medically reviewed by Lindsay Cook, PharmD. Lindsay Cook, PharmD, is a consultant pharmacist working with long-term care facilities. learn more. In This Article View All. In This Article. How To Boost Memory in Your 30s. Improving Memory in Your 40s. How To Boost Memory in Your 50s and Beyond.

Other Ways To Boost Memory. More About Sleep Quality Sleep quality refers to how well you sleep. Your sleep quality is better when you: Feel refreshed after getting enough sleep Can sleep through the night Are sleeping without snoring or gasping for air which are signs of sleep disorders You can get better sleep by practicing good sleep habits, like going to bed at the same time every night and having a relaxing bedroom environment.

How Often Should You Work Out? Loneliness vs. Social Isolation Loneliness relates to feeling alone or separated, while social isolation refers to not having a lot of people to socialize with on a regular basis.

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To get a feel for this, the next time you are in a restaurant, close your eyes for a few seconds and mentally picture the arrangement of the people sitting around you at the nearby tables. The goal is to employ your attentional focus in the manner of a searchlight scanning the night sky.

The more you practise, the greater the breadth and depth of your memory. You will remember more because at a given moment, your memory is encompassing larger swathes of your immediate surroundings.

One step beyond are situational exercises directed inward. Situational exercises involving self-exploration are used in creative-writing seminars. After encountering unfamiliar people in a social setting, the aspiring novelist is asked to incorporate them into the plot of a novel or short story.

As an exercise for remembering an unfamiliar group of people, you can invent a visually vivid story around them. A similar method of looking inwards is used in the training of psychoanalysts. It is referred to as self-analysis. The first patient was none other than Sigmund Freud.

Now turn away and write down as many as you can remember, starting from the left. How many were you able to come up with?

According to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Moca , the gold standard among neuropsychological screening tests, your performance was acceptable if you remembered five or more. But what is the upper limit of numbers that can be remembered by a group of people randomly chosen?

Take another look at the digits you attempted to memorise and arrange them like this:. It should only take a few minutes for you to get the first three phone numbers. But even if you can only remember two of the first three numbers, you have achieved a memorisation of 20 numbers, far higher than the five numbers on the standard neuropsychological test.

The organising principle at work here is called chunking — converting random numbers into a memorable string, like a telephone number, so your brain can come up with a way of imposing impose meaning on a meaningless sequence. If you are using an iPad for instance, you will see the same images as a desk computer with a big screen.

Bigger displays are better remembered in the imagination. Smaller displays lead to a narrower visual focus and, as a result, less memory formation. See how many prime ministers you can think of, starting with Rishi Sunak and going back as far as you can.

Now list their names in alphabetical order. To do this, you have to mentally move the names around and rearrange them. What you are doing is encoding one item while retaining access to items recalled moments earlier.

This is working memory in action. Experts consider it the basis for general intelligence and reasoning. In general, the people who can hold the greatest numbers of items in mind are best at considering multiple aspects of a problem simultaneously.

Finally, one highly effective technique for improving your memory is to keep re-testing yourself on the material you want to remember. Even after you have learned something, your long-term memory for it will be strengthened if you repeatedly challenge yourself to recall it.

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