How to Improve Your Memory

How to Improve Your Memory
Tips and Exercises to Sharpen Your Mind and Boost Brainpower

A strong memory depends on the health and vitality of your brain. Whether you're a student studying for final exams, a working professional interested in doing all you can to stay mentally sharp, or a senior looking to preserve and enhance your grey matter as you age, there are lots of things you can do to improve your memory and mental performance.

Harnessing the power of your brain
They say that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but when it comes to the brain, scientists have discovered that this old adage simply isn’t true. The human brain has an astonishing ability to adapt and change—even into old age. This ability is known as neuroplasticity. With the right stimulation, your brain can form new neural pathways, alter existing connections, and adapt and react in ever-changing ways.

The brain’s incredible ability to reshape itself holds true when it comes to learning and memory. You can harness the natural power of neuroplasticity to increase your cognitive abilities, enhance your ability to learn new information, and improve your memory.

Improving memory tip 1: Don't skimp on exercise or sleep

Just as an athlete relies on sleep and a nutrition-packed diet to perform his or her best, your ability to remember increases when you nurture your brain with a good diet and other healthy habits.

Can a memory be forgotten and then remembered? Can a 'memory' be suggested and then remembered as true?

These questions lie at the heart of the memory of childhood abuse issue. Experts in the field of memory and trauma can providesome answers, but clearly more study and research are needed. What we do know is that both memory researchers and clinicians who work with trauma victims agree that both phenomena occur. However, experienced clinical psychologists state that the phenomenon of a recovered memory is rare (e.g., one experienced practitioner reported having a recovered memory arise only once in 20 years of practice). Also, although laboratory studies have shown that memory is often inaccurate and can be influenced by outside factors, memory research usually takes place either in a laboratory or some everyday setting. For ethical and humanitarian reasons, memory researchers do not subject people to a traumatic event in order to test their memory of it. Because the issue has not been directly studied, we can not know whether a memory of a traumatic event is encoded and stored differently from a memory of a nontraumatic event.

Some clinicians theorize that children understand and respond to trauma differently from adults. Some furthermore believe that childhood trauma may lead to problems in memory storage and retrieval. These clinicians believe that dissociation is a likely explanation for a memory that was forgotten and later recalled. Dissociation means that a memory is not actually lost, but is for some time unavailable for retrieval. That is, it's in memory storage, but cannot for some period of time actually be recalled. Some clinicians believe that severe forms of child sexual abuse are especially conducive to negative disturbances of memory such as dissociation or delayed memory. Many clinicians who work with trauma victims believe that this dissociation is aperson's way of sheltering himself or herself from the pain of the memory. Many researchers argue, however, that there is little or no empirical support for such a theory.

“The grass is always greener where you water it.” ~Unknown

I’ve had this theory about life for a while now, ever since I embraced simplicity three years ago.

Life, a good life, a life well lived, is about maintenance. It isn’t chance or luck or fate (though I believe in those things, and in magic too); it’s about doing the work to create the life you want, and doing it over and over and over again.

Not that long ago, my writing life resembled un-watered grass. I let the passion I have for writing and words get away from me in my quest for an adult life. I begrudged anyone who had ever done anything creative—they must have more time, more money, more luck, the right connections, or something, anything, I didn’t have.

All my unused creativity turned into bitterness. I’m not one for jealousy or envy, because I know the value of living a happy, grateful life.

Still, all that unused creativity made me feel like I had no purpose in life—looking around I saw dried up, brown grass. What I should have been tending to, lay fallow and ignored.

By mere chance, I picked up a book on simple living at the library. It was spring, and while everything came to life around me, I felt—well, in retrospect, I think I felt nothing. A sort of apathy had taken over. Sitting on the back steps of my patio, flipping through that book, something clicked.

For me, simplicity and creativity go hand in hand. I spent over a year simplifying my life—decluttering, meditating, and becoming very purposeful about what I wanted and needed, and how those two things are different.

Then, one day, I sat down and started writing. Writing so much, in fact, that I finished the first draft of a novel.

Writing (and all creativity) needs space. It needs intention and purpose. Like grass, it needs to be watered, and how can you water it if you’re so busy attending to all the other “things” in your life?

Finding your simplicity edge can take some time and energy. There will be lots of sorting and deciding and donating and throwing away. Making space—physical space—can make a huge difference in your life; it is worth every minute decluttering.

And you deal with all your “stuff”, there is the mental and emotional stuff to be dealt with too: Is your calendar jam-packed because you hate to say no? Are you working a job you dislike to pay the bills you’ve accrued from all those purchases?

Here are 10 tips to find the time, energy, and space for your creative life (essentially, how to water your grass):

1. Say no.

To invitations and purchases, to guilt about disappointing others and items you don’t need. We all have our weaknesses—mine is shoes, my partner’s is helping people—but learning to say no, is really the first step in simplifying your way back to creativity. It isn’t selfish to honor your creative self; it’s self-care.

2. Have fun.

Creativity is about creation, and creation is fun. It should be enjoyable. If it doesn’t appeal to you, don’t force yourself to do it—because “should” is very different than “want.”

3. Keep the editor away.

The editor has her place in creative “work”—like when I write book reviews or polish stories for publication—but she has no place in the creative sphere. Figure out a way to keep her busy or send her packing, and only call on her when her not-picky voice might actually be useful.

4. Be curious.

Embrace your curiosity as a natural state. Curiosity is key. Without it, creativity can’t thrive.

5. Expect and embrace imperfection.

Perfection is creativity’s enemy.

6.  Toot your horn.

I’m terrible at this but I’m learning. People love to talk about creative endeavors—and it is inspiring to see how and what others are doing. Don’t be afraid to say, Hey, I painted that or Hey, I wrote a poem.

7. But don’t compare.

The grass is not greener anywhere else. You’re just looking at it from a different angle, and perception can be deceiving.

8. Keep it simple.

Don’t run out and buy anything you think you need to be creative. Creativity isn’t about items—though you may need brushes or a pencil or paper—it’s about the act. Start small, start with what you have.

9. Allow space and time.

Creativity really only needs space and time, two of the hardest gifts to give yourself. Clear a corner in your home, forgo a night out with friends, and begin.

10. Make it a routine.

This might sound anathema to creativity—it’s all about inspiration right?—but it’s actually the key. The grass doesn’t get green from the occasional heavy watering. It gets green from regular tending.

Creativity is the same: Attend to it everyday—the results are worth the effort.

By Sara Rauch

when u remember past memories ...then take a breath nd say ...."huh , wish it would come back again..

Special Memories of Life Services

Memories are a way in which to immortalize those we cherish in life in their death. Our memories of our loved ones keep them in our lives, and their influence stays with us always. When we are blessed with special events such as weddings, anniversaries, or the birth of children, we naturally seek ways to keep these Special Memories close to our hearts forever.

Special Memories of Life represents a unique approach to arranging and providing services and products to help families capture, share and preserve their memories of a loved one.   We believe that this is one of the most significant and helpful things we can do at the time of your loss.  It is our responsibility to assist you in commemorating a life lived.

We encourage you to feel free to ask your specially trained and licensed funeral director to assist you in capturing your Special Memories of Life.