Seven Science proven methods to boost your memory

 

I am going to tell you seven science proven methods to boost your memory.

Now let's begin !

Seven methods to boost your memory

1. Meditation

 You live a busy life. Many of your memories get lost in the problems, choices and anxieties that you face on a daily basis. You have so much on your mind at any given moment that your brain loses track of important information.

 So how do you keep track of everything you want to remember ? How do you improve the clarity of your memory ? 

According to a 2019 study in the journal brain sciences quiet meditation is one of the most effective ways to improve your working memory. You spend 15 to 20 minutes thinking quietly to yourself. You find a private space where no one will disturb you and you sit with your own thoughts. 

Yeah, this sounds simple but if you're not familiar with meditation it can be a unique challenge. It's tempting to worry about your problems or rehash everything that happened throughout the day, instead live in the moment and let your mind wander freely drift between thoughts and ideas. 

Don't pay special attention to anything. Don't worry about the outside world. Don't think about how much time has passed or if you're meditating the right way these calming patient moments release stress and provide a much needed period of clarity for your mind.

 If you meditate on a daily basis you may discover your brain feels more organized. It helps to think about your brain like your bedroom if you don't maintain your room it gets messy right it gets crowded with miscellaneous clothes, dishes and trash you steadily lose sight of the important things in your room because there's so much garbage in the way. But what happens when you clean your room bit by bit you find what you're looking for. Your brain works the same way when you meditate. 

You're giving your brain the chance to put everything in its proper place and that helps your brain prioritize important memories and recognize mental mistakes. So give this proven method of boosting your memory a try. It only requires a few minutes but the benefits of meditation help you stay mentally organized day in and day out.

2. Cup of coffee 

We all know coffee supplies a burst of energy. A cup of coffee contains caffeine and caffeine is the most popular energy booster in the world. But did you know that coffee can also improve your memory. 

This comes from a 2014 study in the journal nature. Neuroscience researchers gave two groups of participants a memorization task then they tested each group on the same task. Later in the day they discovered that participants were more enthusiastic and remembered more information when they drank a cup of coffee. 

It turns out that boost of energy helps your brain work faster, make more connections and solve more complicated problems. 

Caffeine isn't a blanket solution to all your cognitive needs but it can have a significant impact on your mental performance. 

3. Eating berries

 

Here's another memory booster that few people use in their daily lives. Some foods are scientifically proven to increase the power of your memory. Strawberries and blueberries for example contain an important chemical called flavonoids which delay the gradual aging and decline of your memory. 

According to Harvard university one study from the annals of neurology unlocked the secret of memory boosting berries in their study. Women consumed extra servings of flavonoid rich berries on a weekly basis.

 Over time these women saw notable improvements to their memories all because they ate a few extra berries. But exactly how many berries should you eat to improve your memory ? Don't worry you don't have to scarf down handfuls of straw berries with every meal. In the same study participants ate only two or more extra servings of berries each week-and.

 They still saw significant improvements. So incorporate your favorite berries into your diet whether you like blueberries on your cereal or strawberries.

 With sugar these flavonoid rich fruits can nourish your memory for years to come.

4. Sleep consolidation

If you want to strengthen your memory you need a healthy sleep cycle. Many people don't realize that your brain stores most of its memories when you're asleep. During a typical 8 hour cycle your brain encodes important memories, discards unnecessary information and helps you process new ideas.

 This complicated process affects every stage of your sleep cycle during non-rapid eye movement or on rem cycles. Your brain is preparing to absorb more information by moving important memories to long-term storage. 

During your rim cycle sleep your brain stores sensory and emotional memories. This perceptual information whether it's a sight, a sound or a feeling has a significant impact on the content of your dreams. So if you don't get enough sleep or keep an irregular sleep schedule your brain misses out on those stages of cognitive storage. 

When you wake up you feel cloudy and forgetful because your brain isn't prepared for another day, full of perceptual stimuli, strong emotions and long lists of information.

 Sleep deprivation is one of the most common causes of lapses in your memory. The problem isn't your brain power or your recall it's your sleep cycle your brain isn't well rested or prepared and that affects your performance. So get a good night's sleep and keep your sleep cycle consistent because your brain needs all eight of those hours to stay on top of its game. 

5. Create mnemonics 

Mnemonics are a flexible and diverse memory tool that can help you remember just about anything. A mnemonic is a pattern of letters, images or ideas that helps you recall more information. These patterns create memorable connections between simple cues and complex topics.

 When your brain sees or hears each cue it recalls a large concept associated with that specific memory. The most common pattern is a one word mnemonic. One word mnemonics like VIBGYOR for example help you remember longer lists of information in a specific order in this case VIBGYOR helps you remember the colors of the rainbow by assigning each color to one letter within this mnemonic word. 

But there are dozens of different kinds of mnemonics, music mnemonics assign larger topics to melodies and songs, sentence mnemonics create longer often strange sounding strings of words. If you're interested in using mnemonics to boost your memory try a few different patterns and see which one works for you.

 Each mnemonic activates a slightly different area of your brain when you finally find a pattern that you like. Make mnemonics of your own because these shortcuts can make your memory stronger than ever.

6. Reduce your stress

Stress has a negative influence on all kinds of cognitive metrics. When you're stressed out, you simply don't perform the way you want to while some people thrive under pressure. Unnecessary stress generally slows your reaction time and clouds your thinking. But does stress impact your memory ?

All right ! let's say you're stressed about a project at work. That stress weighs on your mind creating negative emotions like frustration, self-doubt and anxiety. With these emotions hanging over your head it can be difficult to focus your attention on memorizing something simple like a list of words. 

But emotional stress isn't the only reason your memory suffers, when you're experiencing excess stress your brain releases hormones like cortisol which impair your memory. One study even found that cortisol gradually shrinks your brain.

 Last but not least stress significantly increases your mental fatigue. You're prone to exhaustion and lazy habits which ultimately damage your ability to retain information. So what should you do ? How do you manage the stress in your life and keep your memory working the way it should ?

Luckily there are plenty of tools you can use to not only manage your stress but increase your cognitive performance and most of them are easier than you think. Breathing techniques can help you unravel after a long day, engaging with hobbies can take your mind off of work and help you think through complicated problems, you can also write down your thoughts which strengthens your memory by placing those important emotions down on paper, the longer your stress goes unchecked the more damage it can do to your brain. 

So get control of your stress find a stress management routine that works for you and that way you can keep your memory in tip-top shape.

7. Sensory stimulation

There's a lot of crossover in your brain between your senses and your memory. When you taste a familiar food or smell a familiar scent a wave of memories may come rushing back. Our senses are some of the strongest memory tools we have. 

So, if you want to increase your memory it's time to use your senses to your advantage. Anytime you want to remember something activate one of your five senses, attach an image, a smell or a feeling to that piece of information.

 Now each time you perceive that sensory stimuli your brain may recall the information you wanted to remember. Professional memorizers use this trick to retain huge volumes of information for example you might associate a series of playing cards with a string of strong narrative images as you recall those vivid pictures and activate your visual memory. 

You're also recalling the cards attached to each image and just like that you've memorized a large quantity of numerical information without memorizing a single number.

 So get your senses involved, draw pictures while you study, chew flavorful gum, listen to memorable music, don't rely solely on your eyes or ears to encode all the information you experience on a daily basis because your five senses are the strongest memory tools in your toolbox.