One of the most important skills you want to develop is the ability to learn and remember what you learn. And as the world continues to evolve, your capacity to earn more is directly proportional to your ability to develop new skills and improve on existing ones.
Despite what you might think – or have been told – improving your ability to recall information is certainly possible. You just need to know the right ways to do it. And you won’t need to make any significant lifestyle changes to make significant improvement.
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So today, let’s dive straight into the seven natural and highly effective ways to improve your significantly memory.
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- Challenge your brain
When was the last time you stretched your mental capabilities through things like crossword puzzles, Sudoku and memory games? To expand your memory bank, and to make your recall razor-sharp, you need to continually challenge your brain.
There are hundreds of brain training apps that are super-effective for challenging your brain like Peak , Lumosity and Elevate. Used regularly, these apps can enhance your focus, attention span, problem-thinking ability and memory.
If you normally spend a chunk of your week playing computer games, then instead of shooting and killing your enemies, why not let some of them live – while you put your attention into boosting your brain power!
- Meditate
We live in a world of non-stop, 24/7 information. It’s like a waterfall that’s endlessly pouring news, data, facts and figures into our conscious minds. Unfortunately, our brains are not designed to absorb this tremendous amount of information. It’s no surprise then that most people struggle to remember information and recall things.
Fortunately, meditation can help you out. Even if you just meditate for 10 minutes per day, you’ll boost your ability to focus, which in turn, will make it easier for you to remember important facts. And don’t forget, meditation doesn’t just have to be closing your eyes and sitting in a lotus position. Some people prefer to simply take a short walk in nature. This clears and calms their mind, and still provides the all-important boost to their focus.
- Learn a new skill
Imagine you work for a fortune 500 tech company in one of their call centers. You take over 100 calls a day – many of them complaints. When you started the job a few months back, you were excited to be in full-time employment and working for a household name. Unfortunately, your initial enthusiasm quickly turned into frustration. The endless complaint calls began to take their toll on you.
You could decide to put up with the job you didn’t like, and led a dull and frustrated working life for years. Or you decide to channel your dissatisfaction into learning a new skill. It may take you a year or two to get up to speed, but it allowed you to successfully upgrade your career – and the ongoing learning made the call centre job much more bearable.
Clearly, learning new skills gives you impetus, focus and something to aim for. Your brain loves to learn, and you should tap into this by always seeking our new information. And when learning becomes a habit, you’ll find your ability to remember and recall things effortlessly, becomes a habit too.
- Get plenty of sleep
If you’re sleep deprived or have not been sleeping well, then it’s very likely you’re not remembering well either. This is because sleep and memory are intimately connected. If you have a busy life and regularly find yourself not getting enough sleep, then this will negatively impact your cognitive abilities – including your memory.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, you need a minimum of seven to nine hours of sleep per night. If you get this amount of sleep regularly, then within just a few days, you’ll see a tangible improvement to your ability to remember and recall things.
Sleeping is a precious activity. It regenerates your body, clears your mind, and helps with storing and retrieval of information. But, don’t fall asleep just yet. There are still three more great way to increase memory…
- Take more breaks
The trap of life encourages us to work as much hours as possible. You see video like “Why Elon Musk work 14 hours a day”. We are made to believe that breaks are for the weak. To become wealthy and successful you need to shed blood, sweat and tears. But that’s a wrong way to live.
Taking regular breaks is the best way to remain productive, creative and alive to opportunities. It’s also the best way to retain new information.
Extended study sessions are rarely a good thing, as your ability to retain information naturally declines after a certain period of time. It’s similar to physical exercise. You wouldn’t attempt to train vigorously for four hours in a row. Instead, you’d take regular breaks to give your lungs, heart and muscles adequate time to recover. Failing to do this will result in muscle cramps and overexertion.
It’s the same with your brain. If you overload it with information, you’ll suffer from mental fatigue.
What’s the answer? Take breaks as soon as you find yourself losing the ability to focus. Your brain will thank you – and your learning aptitude will move up a level.
- Start working out
If you’re not already working out regularly, then here’s another reason to do so: Exercising for 20-30 minutes three times a week will improve your long-term memory.
Regular exercise increases blood flow in your body and supplies the brain with extra oxygen and nutrients. And a well-nourished brain is a well-functioning brain!
A research has shown that a daily burst of 60 seconds of high-intensity exercise, offered many of the benefits of the longer exercise routines. So, not having enough time is no longer an excuse.
- Eat healthier foods
The food you eat helps determine your brain’s capacity to store and recall information. A poor diet; junk food harms not just your physical health, but your mental health too.
Fortunately, there are several foods that are especially good for your brain and your memory. Anything high in antioxidants will have a positive effect on your brain and memory.
Conversely, highly-processed foods and those loaded with sugar will have a negative impact on your memory.
Want to be mentally healthy? Then eat and drink an abundance of these for brain health:
- Turmeric – helps new brain cells grown
- Broccoli – protects the brain against damage
- Nuts – improves memory
- Green tea – enhances brain performance, memory and focus
- Fish oil – fish oil supplements can increase your brain power
Hopefully, these seven ways to boost your memory will be helpful to you. You don’t need to implement them all. Start with the one that appeal most to you.
But, if you’re serious about dramatically improving your memory, then make a start right now on adopting one or more of the ways suggested in this video.
Which of the methods are you going to adopt? Let us know in the comment section below.
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