Originally Published in USA Weekend - August28, 2011 Written by Madonna Behen
Nearly every day it seems, researchers discover new details about the intricate workings of the human brain. In laboratories across the U.S. and abroad, neuroscientists are pinpointing the specific areas of the brain that are involved in memory, learning and other routine cognitive tasks, and identifying techniques that may help us improve those skills.
We culled the most recent research and talked to top experts in the fields of cognition and aging to come up with the latest advice on what you can do to improve your memory, no matter what your age.
Does the list of things you find yourself forgetting seem to grow longer by the day? Maybe it’s the password for your online bank account. Or the title of that new novel your best friend raved about. It might be your co-worker’s name, or the location of your reading glasses. Or possibly it’s the car keys that always seem to go missing when you’re already 10 minutes late for an appointment.
The good news is, you don’t have to resign yourself to a failing memory and just stock up on extra reading glasses.
“If you think of your brain as a computer, then what age does is slow it down a bit,” says Dr. Gary J. Kennedy, director of geriatric psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. “But there are plenty of things you can do that can improve and upgrade your brain’s software, so to speak, and overcome a lot of the changes that come with aging.”
World memory champion Ed Cooke, whose prize-winning techniques are detailed in Joshua Foer’s new book,
“Moonwalking With Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything,” says the secret to improving your memory is all about making it fun.
“If you want to notice and learn more, stop thinking of memory as a boring grey unconscious storehouse, and start thinking of it as a playground for your imagination,” says Cooke.
1. Paint a Mental Picture
“We forget names and dates because they’re boring and have no effect on our imaginations,” says Cooke. “But we never forget vivid and interesting experiences, such as flying a bi-plane under a bridge or accidentally buying a Da Vinci at an auction while scratching an ear absent-mindedly.” So the secret to learning a person’s name, he says, is to “make your experience of it much more vivid than just a collection of sounds.” For example, the name “Andrew Bush” can become A Bush with lots of hands in it, and “Martin Van Buren” can become a Martian in a van that’s burning.
2. Switch Things Up a Bit
If you’re having trouble learning and retaining new information on your computer screen, whether it’s the details of your new insurance plan or a how-to guide to home repairs, try changing the font to a style that’s harder to read. A recent study by psychologists at Princeton and Indiana University revealed that adults who studied complicated information that was printed in unfamiliar fonts scored better on tests than those who read the text in a popular font style. The theory, the authors believe, is that the hard to read font forces your brain to concentrate more intently on the information.
3. Talk to Yourself
We’ve all had those embarrassing memory lapses when you run into someone you know and yet can’t seem to remember his or her name. Psychologist Deborah M. Burke, who studies cognition and aging at Pomona College in Claremont, California, says these “tip of the tongue” memory lapses are more common as we age because the neural connections in our brains tend to weaken. “The reason names are so problematic is that there’s no way around it, while with other words you can usually substitute something else,” says Burke.
The way to prevent these kinds of memory problems is to say the name or word out loud. “For instance, if you’re going to a cocktail party, it helps to rehearse saying the names of the people who will be there.” When you meet someone for the first time, make a habit of saying their name out loud, so you’ll be more likely to remember it later. If you still end up blanking on the name, try to stay relaxed about it, says Burke. “If you desperately start thinking of all the names it could be, it can make it harder to remember the actual name.”
4. Use it or Lose it
What’s true for your body is also true for your brain. The more you work it, the healthier and sharper it will be, experts say. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to start doing crossword puzzles, even though you think they’re about as exciting as watching paint dry. “The only thing that doing crossword puzzles a lot will do is make you good at doing crossword puzzles,” says Burke.What’s more useful, she says, are activities and exercises that increase your use of common language, such as playing scrabble, taking an online course, or learning a new language. In fact, the more languages you know, the better it is for your memory. A recent study by researchers in Luxembourg revealed that older adults who spoke more than two languages were three times less likely to have memory problems than people who were bilingual. Switching from one language to another, experts say, helps to strength the connections in our brains.
5. Don't be a Loner
Numerous studies have shown that the more socially-connected you are, the less likely you are to develop memory problems and other signs of mental decline as you age. To Burke, it makes sense since social interaction involves speech. “We know that word finding problems are reduced when you actually use language more, which is why things like book clubs and other types of discussion groups are so beneficial,” she said. Social activities that don’t involve a lot of talking, such as Bingo or movie excursions, aren’t as good for keeping mentally sharp. Even participating in online social networking activities like Facebook and Twitter is helpful, because all that writing increases your language production.
6. Take a Walk
A growing body of research is showing that physical activity is just as beneficial for your brain as it is for your body. “What we’ve discovered is that exercise helps the brain sprout new connections between neurons,” says Dr. Kennedy. “This is especially true in the hippocampus, which is the part of the brain where our working memory partially resides, and so what exercise is doing is putting new connections in the part of the brain that is most susceptible to problems from aging. And recent studies by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at the University of California, Irvine suggest that regular exercise might actually slow or possibly prevent memory deterioration.
How much exercise do you need? Maybe less than you think. One recent University of Pittsburgh study of adults in their 60s found that those who took a brisk 40-minute walk three times a week scored better on memory tests than those who were sedentary.
7. Get a Good Night's Sleep
Anybody who’s pulled an all-nighter before a big test knows that it can backfire, since the complete lack of sleep can leave you groggy and not thinking clearly. But a new animal study by Stanford University researchers suggest that even getting a full eight hours of sleep the night before a test or performance can impair your ability to remember if that sleep is fragmented or frequently interrupted. “Regardless of the total amount of sleep, a minimal unit of uninterrupted sleep is crucial for memory consolidation,” the authors wrote.
