How to get rid of forgetfulness and strengthen memory?
It is very unpleasant to realize that forgetfulness is gradually becoming a problem. At work, you suddenly think with anxiety: if you turned off the iron or not at home, you don't remember where the glasses have gone, you forget important words or terms at the most crucial moment of the negotiations. Is it possible to cope with growing forgetfulness and restore memory?
Memory, as one of the functions of the brain, is a complex mechanism. It is influenced by both physical and mental factors. And our forgetfulness can be associated with those and others equally.
Psychological reasons may include:
lack of alertness and ability to concentrate due to chronic stress ;
a state of haste or actions brought to automatism, which do not remain in memory, while thoughts are occupied with other things;
apathy or, conversely, an agitated emotional state that leads to inattention, distraction and forgetfulness.
strengthen memoryPhysiological reasons include:
traumatic brain injury or acute illness, ever suffered;
diseases of the cardiovascular, endocrine system (atherosclerosis, hypothyroidism);
improper metabolism;
lack of sleep;
pathology of the nervous system or brain;
improper, malnutrition;
the presence of bad habits;
disorders in the circulatory system.
Having studied the reasons that lead to forgetfulness and weakening of memory, you can step by step develop a methodology for strengthening it.
Lifestyle
A lot has already been written about a healthy lifestyle, but in this case, the state of memory is directly related to it. Adequate supply of oxygen to the brain due to intensive blood circulation has a beneficial effect on all its functions, including memory. Therefore, it is necessary to spend as much time as possible in the fresh air, play sports several times a week, walk for about an hour every day before going to bed, and spend weekends closer to nature.
A good sleep is vital for a person. If you do not regularly get enough sleep for 1-2 hours, then sooner or later the protective reaction of the tired brain will trigger - forgetting. Adequate 7-8 hours of sleep protects the nervous system and brain from overstrain, helps to strengthen memory, in addition, improves metabolism and prevents obesity.
It is very difficult, but it is vital to avoid or smooth out the stressful situations that a modern person constantly encounters at work and at home. You need to try to treat such phenomena, to all kinds of force majeure circumstances calmly or neutrally, using the methods of auto-training and meditation in order to avoid forgetfulness and memory impairment, as a protective brain reaction to stress.
Alcohol and tobacco addiction and bad habits lead to serious problems with the functions of the brain and nervous system, up to encephalopathy. Nicotine and alcohol have a detrimental effect on the thinking process, on short-term memory, which we need every minute (remember the term, phone number and immediately forget), impair the perception of information. Fighting bad habits is one of the ways not only to restore the quality of memory, but also the quality of life in general.
Food
The state of the nervous system, like other systems, is significantly influenced by the biochemical processes constantly occurring in the human body. The correct metabolism, the required amount of amino acids (nicotine, folic and others), iron, potassium, iodine, unsaturated fats, B vitamins, directly affect the state of memory. Therefore, food should be complete and balanced.
The diet must include foods with a high content of protein, amino acids, B vitamins: legumes, fish, meat, milk, eggs, seafood. They are indispensable due to the presence of many substances valuable for the body - tryptophan, tyrosine, lipoic amino acid, vitamin N, and so on.
The source of potassium and calcium in the diet should be bananas, dried fruits, dried apricots, raisins, walnuts, potatoes, cabbage, dairy products, apples. Proteins are found in fish, grains and legumes.
You need to be very careful about your fat intake. The so-called unsaturated fats are "right" and are essential for the proper functioning of the brain. The source of such fats is fish from the northern seas and unrefined vegetable oils. Animal fat is considered a supplier of cholesterol to the body and is considered "bad" fat, as it promotes the deposition of cholesterol plaques in the vessels.
The human brain, like the entire body, needs a certain amount of carbohydrates for normal functioning. Grains and vegetables are a source of slow carbohydrates, which are absorbed by the body for a longer time and are beneficial in contrast to fast ones (white bread, sugar). At the same time, the body is also saturated with necessary microelements: magnesium, zinc, iron. To strengthen memory, it is recommended to periodically take vitamin complex preparations, especially those containing B vitamins.
Exercises to strengthen memory
If you do special exercises every day for 20 minutes a day, then memory can be significantly improved. But first, you need to remember a few general rules that help you be more collected and concentrated, which means less forgetting. Actions that you often perform - close the door of an apartment, a car, turn off the light, iron, close the gas tap, must be done consciously, fixing them in memory. Soon, this memorization will become a habit, and you will stop forgetting these little things associated with everyday routine activities.
Start a diary or write and paste notes around the apartment on the implementation of momentary affairs. Pay for the phone, go to the post office, buy matches, call uncle. So you unload your brain from the need to memorize a lot of useless information.
Play associations by calling someone close to you as your helpers. First, a couple of words are called: cobweb - fly, school - pen, dog - bowl, winter - snow, chicken - egg, spoon - lunch, cherry - jam, sea - rest. Then the first word of the pair is pronounced, and your task is to remember the second.
Imagine in turn several objects, phenomena, animals. For example: an elephant in a zoo, a leopard in a jump, a thunderstorm in a field, a castle on a mountain, a cat near a bowl of sour cream, a football match on TV. Then you need to remember and describe all these images on paper, but in reverse order.
Have your assistant tell you a series of unrelated words. For example: table, apple, goose, computer, mansion, mother-in-law, sea, love, button accordion and so on. Try to memorize not only the words, but also their sequence and write them down on paper or name them first in forward and then in reverse order. Each time you will remember more and more words in the correct sequence.
It helps to strengthen memory and develop intelligence, memorizing poetry, large pieces of prose, solving puzzles and crosswords, reading books, learning foreign languages.