Improving Memory

How you can improve your recall and recognition

It’s a scientific fact that younger brains work better than older brains, but there are certain techniques for improving memory skills that people of any age can benefit from. Research has shown that our memories can start to decline as early as our 20s and 30s, and that age-related memory loss isn’t uncommon at all for those over 50. But even if you’re already retirement age, you can make improving your memory an easy and even a fun part of your daily life.

Improving Your Memory

Often, what seems like memory loss is really just something that wasn’t learned properly to begin with. Older brains have fewer of the necessary chemicals for remembering and concentrating than younger brains, so though we think we’re paying attention, sometimes our mind really isn’t on the task at hand. You can work at improving short term memory by merely paying very close attention when faced with something new. If you truly learn something, you’re no more likely to forget it in a few days than a younger person.

Organizing tasks, contacts and to-do lists into categories can be a help in improving memory skills. The categorization of an item gives you an opportunity to remember it based on the category it’s in. Also, the very act of writing something down is important for improving short term memory.

Improving Short Term Memory by Playing Games

The standard good-health rules also apply to memory. If you eat right, get enough exercise and sleep enough per day, your memory will improve. But perhaps the best mental technique for improving short term memory is to keep your brain active and stimulated. Playing games that require memory and critical thought are popular tools for improving memory skills. Crossword puzzles, brain teasers, Sudoku puzzles and board games like Scrabble are thought to be particularly effective for improving your memory.

Other games that require strategy like chess or checkers, or that require you to evaluate spatial relationships, like billiards, are also used for improving memory skills. If you have to think about letters, numbers, spaces and steps in a strategy, your mind is put to work, so you’re exercising your brain and improving your memory, all while having fun.