best for HEALTH
Feeling forgetful? Try these simple techniques to boost your brainpower
1 Use cues around you
You’re getting ready to read in bed before turning off the light, and you realise your glasses are in the kitchen. But when you get there, you wonder ‘why am I here’? ‘It’s easier to retrieve a memory when the context of where you are matches the context of what was there when the memory was formed,’ says Lisa Genova, a neuroscientist. ‘When this happens, go back to the previous room – even in your mind’s eye. Look around at the cues that are there, and they’ll probably deliver the memory of what you intended to get’.
2 Pay attention
‘Attention is the golden ticket of memory,’ says Lisa. ‘It’s the first essential ingredient in remembering anything. We often don’t use this, and then we think we’ve forgotten something. But it’s not that we’ve forgotten – we never created the memory in the first place if we didn’t pay attention,’ she adds. ‘A solution is to say it out loud, because then you’re creating a memory.’
3 Up your exercise
Research from 2022 found moderate and vigorous physical activity was associated with higher cognitive scores, including on memory tests. Besides the physiological benefits of exercise to the brain, the researchers pointed out that structured exercise involves self-motivation, social interaction and planning, all of which are said to be stimulating for cognition.
Brisk walking, HIIT workouts, dancing and swimming all count. ‘As you exercise, you’re building up brain connections and brain reserve and forming more neuronto-neuron connections,’ says Dr Douglas Scharre from the Centre for Cognitive and Memory Disorders in Ohio.
4 Prioritise sleep
Not getting enough shuteye? That can definitely dull your memory, research shows. Here’s why: ‘There’s evidence that sleep is a time when the brain is actively removing and clearing proteins and toxins,’ Dr Scharre says. ‘It’s important to get deep stages of sleep for the most benefit. When y
