Can You Rebuild Your Memory?

Rebuilding memory is possible through various mental exercises, lifestyle changes, improvements in diet, and supplementation.

Your memory is like your muscles; it gets strong when you use it and weak when you don’t. We often experience that our memory begins to blur as we age or when life gets too busy or fast-paced. 

Have you ever forgotten your car keys at home or had difficulty recalling where you put your socks? Whether you are a student, a professional, or a retired senior, such minor forgetfulness can become a nuisance.

This article covers some tried and tested tips that can boost your memory and help you stay mindful. We will also include some courses that could help you improve your memory. So stay hooked!

Why would you need to rebuild your memory?

Memory is essential for advanced life activities such as taking a test or performing surgery, but also necessary for the simplest tasks like cooking from an old recipe, speaking a language, or recalling your way back home.

Our memory is one of the most fundamental abilities needed to live a life. Without it, you cannot make sense of the past, present, or future. Also, our brain uses past events from our memories to make decisions. 

Social interaction also depends on our previous experiences. Some people are shy toward strangers, while others are more open to meeting new people. Often the cause is rooted in an old memory.

Furthermore, problem-solving is another primary human function depending on memories. We take cues from our past to solve an at-hand problem. 

Rebuilding our memory helps us with these essential life skills and is also vital for a better living standard. 

People with sharper memory perform better in academics, are often above average in the professional world, and have better mental health throughout their lives. That is why boosting our memory at any age is crucial.

Can memory be improved?

Scientists refer to memory as a skill that one can perfect with practice. There are several ways to improve memory, including mental exercises, changes in lifestyle, a better diet, and some supplements.

According to a study, memory works in three steps. The first step includes building a memory through our conscious and unconscious learning ability and “encoding” it as a memory in our brain. We “retain” that information in the second step and get it out through “recalling,” the third step.

To improve our memory, it is understandable that we need to work on our ability to perform all three of these steps better. Several techniques target them all together to boost our learning and help us be more productive throughout the day.

Why is it important to improve your memory?

Better mental performance, learning ability, and avoiding memory loss with age are just a few reasons you need to start working on your memory. 

The human mind can learn new things at any age. This ability is called neuroplasticity, and it keeps our brains adaptable to changes and new necessary skills despite our age. 

Neuroplasticity works for our ability to remember things, and we can train our minds to memorize better.

Not only is a sharp memory indicative of better mental performance in academics and work, but it is also significant for a healthier personal life. 

So when you start forgetting your anniversary date or the year you were born, it’s time you think about ways to rebuild your memory. Iris Reading offers courses for boosting memory and personal productivity and provides a tool that helps with speed reading.

Ways to improve your memory

If you struggle with recalling stuff from the past or simply want to perform better in life with a sharper memory, here are a few tested tricks to enhance your memory.

1. Indulge in mental exercise

Every time we create a new memory, our brain forms a new neural pathway for it. As we become adults, the tendency to form these new pathways decreases since we become occupied with the same daily routine.

Thus, our brain starts getting weak at making these paths, losing our memory. It is good to keep our brain active by indulging in mental exercises. These can be learning a new skill or a language, playing brain games, or challenging your mental capacity.

Reading, for instance, is an excellent way to stimulate your brain. You can try our course to master the skill of speed reading for better mental performance.

2. Make time for physical exercise

While you focus on working out your brain muscles, it is pivotal that you include physical exercise in your daily routine. 

There are several mental health benefits of physical exercise. It helps increase your brain’s oxygen saturation and reduces the risk of comorbid diseases that can lead to memory loss, such as diabetes.

Moreover, studies show that exercising secretes certain chemicals in the brain that improve our cognitive function and lead to brain cell growth and development.

Aerobic exercises improve blood circulation across your brain and are suitable for brain function. Exercises that involve muscles and eye coordination strengthen the mind. Furthermore, exercising in the morning helps clear our minds for a better start to the day.

3. Get ample sleep

This one is a no-brainer. Sleep deprivation makes us forgetful and dulls our senses. Sleep is vital in retaining our short-term memories and turning them into long-term ones.

Most adults need 7 hours of sleep daily to perform efficiently in their daily life routine. Studies concluded that ample sleep is a precursor to performing better in a memory test.

For a healthy sleep, make sure that you:

• Set an appropriate sleeping schedule that includes going to bed and rising at the same hour daily. Try to stick to your routine, even on weekends, for the best outcome.
• Monitor your caffeine dosage and cut back if you are exceeding a healthy limit. Caffeine can be detrimental to the sleeping schedule of some people.
• Avoid screens at least an hour before bed. Exposure to the blue light from phones, laptops, or television screens triggers our brain and makes it difficult to fall asleep.

4. Practice meditation

Meditation relaxes the brain and helps lower stress, blood pressure, and pain. In turn, it helps us focus more on our memories and improve our cognitive abilities. 

Gray matter is the part of our brain that contains the bodies of neurons. Increasing gray matter improves the chances of new neuron formation and better mental health.

Studies show that meditation can increase the amount of gray matter in our brains, leading to better memory. 

5. Manage stress

Stress can hurt your brain function. Long-term exposure to stress can damage our hippocampus – the part of our brain responsible for creating new memories and recalling old ones.

Here are some tips for managing anxiety:

• Learn how to say no to things that are beyond your control
• Take a break during a long workday
• Avoid multitasking
• Set realistic goals
• Have a balance in your work-life routine
• Take out time to socialize
• Find ways to express yourself instead of keeping your feelings bottled up.

6. Consume less sugar

Added sugar is harmful to your physical health and declines your brain function. Research shows that a high amount of sugar consumption can damage the area of the brain dealing with short-term memory. The result is memory loss and poor mental health.

Here are ways to cut down your sugar consumption:

• Avoid table sugar, syrup, honey, or molasses
• Gradually reduce the amount of sugar you add to your drinks to let your taste buds adjust.
• Switch to less refined options such as jaggery or sweeteners
• Include natural fruits, nuts, or dairy in your snacks to curb sugar cravings
• Avoid sodas and fizzy drinks
• Train your taste buds towards alternate flavors like spices.

7. Eat a balanced diet

You cannot improve your memory by just cutting back on white sugar. Instead, include all the healthy nutrients in your diet and strike a balance between them.

Several studies suggest that consuming more fruits and vegetables lowers the risk of dementia and poor mental health. Some researchers also claim that foods high in refined carbohydrates lead to a decline in the brain’s cognitive functions.

Scientists, in general, believe that a complete diet inclusive of fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, lean proteins, and complex carbohydrates is beneficial for your physical AND mental health.

Here are a few ideas to get the most out of what you eat:

• Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish have been shown to reduce anxiety and stress and impede mental deterioration
• Walnuts, flaxseed, spinach, pumpkin seeds, kidney beans, and broccoli are also good sources of omega-3 fatty acids
• Antioxidants in fruits and vegetables help your brain cope with stress-related inflammation and are hence superfoods for memory
• Excessive amounts of saturated fats such as butter, milk, cream, and red meat can lead to dementia and memory impairment. Try to limit these.
• Antioxidants in green tea are also beneficial in enhancing memory and slowing brain aging
• Limit your alcohol consumption to two glasses for men and one glass for women. Binge drinking can mess with your brain and damage memory. 

8. Supplement your memory

A few supplements and herbal medicines can help fortify your memory. Your doctor can give you a prescription.

Here are a few supplements that are shown to have a strengthening effect on memory:

• Omega-3 fatty acid supplement in the form of fish oil is backed by research to reduce stress and improve memory.
• Vitamin E can help slow down the effects of dementia and related mental health problems.
• Ginseng is an Asian herb that can help reduce anxiety and improve mental function.

Wrapping Up

Humans are intelligent beings, and their intelligence largely relies on memory. Boosting memory is essential for a better understanding of the world, performing everyday tasks, and excelling in the professional world. 

Physical activity, mental exercises, and lifestyle changes can help improve our cognitive abilities. In addition, you can take a few practical steps that can help build a better memory.

So are you ready to take on the world by being mindful and creative? Take our memory maximizing course today because you need your memory for a healthy life!