Top 3 ways to boost your memory, today
Last Updated: Dec 2 2024
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There are lots of things you can do to boost your memory today, while you work to solve preventable or reversible causes of your memory problems with our other guides.
This article will walk you through the 3 ways to help your brain access memories better: boost the signal, widen the path, and make the message simple.
We’ll explain using a helpful analogy.
The Brain is a Highway
You can think of neurons in the brain like a busy highway.
Memory problems come from the buildup of abnormal proteins in the brain which damage your neurons and prevent signals from getting through (you can read more about it here).
This is analogous to what happens when cars build up on a freeway.
The brain has lots of roads (neurons).
Imagine trying to shout across a freeway full of traffic and honking horns. There is too much other noise in the way, and the message has a hard time getting through.
If you were trying to tell a friend when and where to meet, odds are your friend wouldn’t get the message.
This is what happens in the brain when your neurons try to send a signal - i.e. tell you when your doctor’s appointment is - but there is too much noise in the way for the message to get through.
Researchers are trying to figure out how to forcibly remove the “noise” from your neurons with new drugs approved in the USA, but these drugs aren’t available everywhere, and their impacts aren’t clear yet.
However, the good news is that there are things you can do right now to boost your signal and overcome the cars, without medications.
#1 Boost the Signal
Imagine if you were handed a megaphone to get your message across to your friend. There is a much better chance that they would hear you over the din of honking cars.
There are several real-life “megaphones” you can use to boost the signals in your brain and improve your memory.
They include:
1.Sleep
This is the most important one. Get 7-9hours of sleep at night (read this for tips). This helps to replenish the signals used by your neurons, so that there are enough signals to send a big, loud message.
Sleep is the most important way to boost the signals needed in your brain for a clear memory. Get between 7-9 hours a day.
2. Exercise
Exercise for 20 minutes in the morning (read this for tips). This helps by boosting blood flow to the brain, which can move the signals around more effectively.
3. Nutrition
Eat a mix of fruit and vegetables each day (read this for more food tips), which are needed to fuel your brain and send signals.
4. Use Technology
Another way to boost the signal is to get someone else to do the yelling - namely a home-assistant like Alexa or Google Home.
You can simply say “Hey Alexa, remind me to take out the garbage tomorrow at 6pm”. She’ll tell you when it’s time.
Boost the signal artificially by buying yourself a second brain… like Amazon’s Alexa or a google home.
#2 Widen the Path
We all know that traffic gets better when the road is wider, because the cars can spread out and the din of honking horns dies down.
The brain is the same way - if you can make the path wider by recruiting more neurons and connections in the brain (called neuroplasticity) - it’s like creating more room for the signal to get through.
Here are some ways you can challenge your brain and build yourself a bigger path so that the messages you need can easily get through.
1.Discover a new genre
Starting with a fun and enjoyable option, simply read a book or watch a movie from a genre that you don’t normally engage with.
This recruits new neurons in your brain to process the information.
Get out a movie theatre and see something you wouldn’t normally watch.
2.Get outside your comfort zone
Doing something new on the edge of comfort is where the biggest strides in road-building can be made.
This could be something like visiting a new neighbouring town with your friend to check out some local coffee shops, or joining a new dance or exercise class (double points, because this will also help to boost your signals).
Get creative and think of something new to do that makes you feel just a little bit on edge. If you feel totally comfortable, you aren’t building the road as wide as you could be.
Visit a new place with a friend on a bright Saturday morning.
3. Create Something New
Being creative is a great way to recruit, strengthen, and build many neurons and pathways in your brain.
This could be music, drawing, painting, writing poetry or a short story, knitting, beading, or any other artistic endeavour that interests you.
The act of creation requires you to pull together things you already know and join them to build something new. This is a highly intellectual and emotional process, and can truly light-up your whole mind.
Express your mind, body, and spirit through art - and recruit and strengthen more neurons in the process.
4. Get Academic
If you’re still looking for a challenge to strengthen the brain, try auditing a first-year university class.
Again, pick something that you don’t know much about - history, politics, biology, neuroscience, art history, etc. Many universities allow people over age 65 to listen for free.
Audit a course for free at many Canadian universities.
#3 Make the Message Simple
What message do you think will get through when yelled across a busy road?
“Meet at 6pm!” or… “I need to run an errand and then finish groceries, so meet me at the clocktower at 6pm!”
Obviously, the first one.
For your brain, make it simple, get organized, and streamline what you need to remember.
Simple messages stick in the mind.
1.Make it Routine
Stop misplacing items around your house by putting them in the same place every time.
Keys at the front door; medications on the kitchen table; phone by your bedside.
2. Make a Simple Storage System
Write down important dates in a calendar - doctors appointments, birthdays, activities, etc. Keep this in one place, and look at it every morning and before bed so you know what’s coming the next day.
3. Do one thing at a time
Give your full attention to one thing at a time. Divided attention can distract your neurons and create a lot of noise.
As much as I love to read, try to do just one thing at a time. Eat the cupcake. Then read.
In closing…
You can overcome the noise and cars blocking your highway - the neurons in your mind - by boosting the signal, widening the path, or simplifying the message.
With these tips you can improve your brain’s access to memories, while working to reverse or slow down the change with Aldora.
Take back control and power up your mind!
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