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Tired of Forgetting Stuff? Neuroscience Says 4 Habits Will Drastically Improve Your Memory and Brain Function

If you’re not regularly doing these things, your memory is probably on the decline.

Expert Opinion By Marcel Schwantes

The harsh reality is that we’re not getting any younger, and with aging comes consequences, like losing your mental acuity. Ever forget the names of people or places, or even what you had for lunch yesterday?

OK, I’ll speak for myself. But it does happen more frequently now than in my 30s. Your memory plays a vital role in staying on top of your game, making critical decisions, and driving business success. The good news is that memory can be improved through brain habits that can catapult your memory power and give you a competitive edge. For example:

Get regular exercise

Physical activity can improve your brain and mental health. Research shows that regular physical activity increases the size of the hippocampus, a key brain region responsible for memory formation. Exercise also enhances blood flow to the brain, promoting the growth of new neurons and enhancing synaptic connections. Making exercise a priority can boost your memory and sharpen your focus during a busy and productive day.

Eat healthily

Substantially increasing the chances that your brain will stay sharp and functioning at a high level may have everything to do with what you put in your body. According to an article published in Better Nutrition, a regular diet of fish and vegetables can actually “slow down cognitive decline by the equivalent of up to 19 years.” One study that followed 27,860 people in 40 countries for five years found that people with the healthiest diets were 24 per cent less likely to have cognitive decline than people with the least healthy diets. If you want to protect your brain against memory loss so you’re super sharp every day for years to come, experts recommend feeding your brain blueberries, coconut oil, spinach, and lean beef.

Stimulate your mind

Challenging your brain with mental exercises can improve memory and cognitive abilities. Activities like puzzles, reading, learning new skills, and playing strategic games help keep the brain active and enhance neural connections. A systematic review of 22 population-based studies estimated that complex mental activities, such as reading books, playing checkers, and completing crosswords or other puzzles, reduced overall incident dementia risk by 46 per cent during a median seven-year period.

Manage your stress

Chronic stress and anxiety can impair memory and cognitive function. Stress management techniques such as meditation, deep breathing exercises, mindfulness, and relaxing activities can help improve memory. One of the best ways to manage your daily stress at work is to calm your brain down and take a break. Neuroscience recommends that, for every 80-120 minutes, we need to take a 10-minute break to calm down our brain activity so we don’t get overstimulated and lose our sharpness. I recommended (among others) activities that can take as little as five to 10 minutes, including: