Do you have a hard time remembering where you placed the car keys, your wallet, or anything else for that matter? Personally, I find that I am more forgetful as I age (those brain cells are disappearing a little at a time perhaps?) Yet when I speak to others, in a variety of age groups, many often complain of memory loss or lapses, and general lack of focus and clarity.
Both the human mind and human body are meant to be kept active. We get into patterns and habits where we are running on automatic. Our brains are not challenged, and that is unhealthy for us! Life is overly busy and fast-paced, and our brains have to coordinate and process all that is happening around us and within us.
So what can we do to stay vital and keep our minds strong and clear? First of all, exercise your brain! It has been scientifically proven that an active brain continues to grow, and creates new nerve cells that communicate with other cells. In this way, your brain can store and retrieve information more efficiently – the essential task of our memory.
Learning new skills of any kind will challenge your mind and keep it sharp. It is important to actively continue the learning process throughout your entire life and consciously make an effort to keep up your “mental education.” The Mayo Clinic web site offers some of the following suggestions, and I have added several of my own:
- Learn a new language or pick up on the one that you learned in high school and can’t remember anymore! Take a refresher course.
- Use gaming to sharpen your brain cells: crosswords, Soduku, any word puzzles or other mind-challenging games.
- Take up a new hobby or pastime — painting, crafts, cycling, tennis, swimming — anything that interests you.
- Learn to play a musical instrument. It’s never to late and you may totally enjoy yourself!
- Reading — do this every day, whether it be books or articles in print, articles on the internet, your Kindle, etc. This keeps your mind engaged.
- Volunteer somewhere and meet new people while giving an altruistic contribution to the community.
- Organize your life and your environment. De-clutter your surroundings and make sure there is a dedicated place for everything — such as your keys, cell phone, etc. It helps to verbalize out loud when you place something down, especially when it is an item not as often used. I kept losing my headphone jack for the land line phone because I would just throw it anywhere. So I bought two of them and now keep each in a specific drawer. When I put one away, I say “Okay, I am now placing the headphone back in its place,” to signal my memory to file this fact away.
- Focus – pay attention to one thing at a time. The volume of multi-tasking in our lives tends to distract us. So try to keep your attention on the one specific task at hand.
- Positive Thinking – one of my favorites! Do the inner work of keeping your thoughts optimistic and upbeat. This conscious brain/emotion work will help keep your mind busy with enthusiastic, joyful ideas. Be creative with your happy thoughts!
- Social interaction – Keep busy with friends and family. Keeping your social calendar filled will help keep away depression, sadness and stress — all of which can contribute to memory loss. So get out there and visit with people; invite them over — and take the initiative to make new friends!
Don’t forget to stay physically active! Research has clearly shown that keeping your body active, mobile and performing well is linked to a clear, healthy-functioning mind. So take time to exercise and keep your physical self in great shape.
What was the first tip I listed – can you remember? If not, get to work on incorporating some of these suggestions into your life in order to maximize your memory and brain power!
Affirmations to help supercharge your memory:
- I am clear and focused in all that I do.
- I keep my mind active and vibrant by trying new skills and activities.
- It is easy for me to release clutter and joyfully organize my life and environment.
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