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    How to Improve Your Memory

    Memory refers to the neurological processes used keep and recall information and experiences. Our memories shape us and allow us to learn from our experiences and gain value from them, but how does memory work? The processes of storing, retaining, and recalling information are among the most complex in the central nervous system’s many functions. Although it’s tempting to imagine there’s one place in the brain where all our precious memories are stored, that’s not so. The brain uses several different nerve tracts and clusters to encode memory, while other systems in the brain store memories. Likewise, recalling memory uses another array of brain tissues to pull up those fond—and not so fond—recollections. 

    Memory-Improvement-TipsMemory Mechanisms 

    There are three types of memory: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Memory uses the processes of encoding, storage, and retrieval to create and recall memories. 

    1. Encoding is the process by which we store memory. The information that makes up the memory may be stored by up to four different methods: Tactile encoding (how something feels), acoustic encoding (how something sounds), semantic encoding (what something means), and visual encoding (how something looks). All four processes can be used, or combinations of the four. 
    2. Storage refers to where the information that composes a memory is stored, how long it may be retained, by what means memories are stored, and whether the memory is short-term (STM) or long-term memory (LTM). STM is brief, lasting less than 30 seconds and is limited. Most people can remember only five to nine items. Long-term memory is vast, holding a virtually unlimited number of items, many of which endure as memories for a lifetime. 

    3. Retrieval. Memory retrieval happens by two processes: recall and recognition. Recall retrieves information directly from stored memory. Recognition ties together different stimuli (cues) to prompt the recall of the associated information. 

    The Anatomy of Memory 

    Short-term memory is transformed into long-term memory in the hippocampus, a part of the brain’s limbic system in the process called systems consolidation. Items in our short-term memory are indexed in the hippocampus and then distributed throughout the brain’s cortex as long-term memories. The vast majority of items that are stored in short-term, or working memory, never become long-term memories. 

    When we recall a memory, information flows from the hippocampus to the cortex, but it’s important to understand that memories don’t reside in the hippocampus. The hippocampus helps the brain’s memory index retrieve necessary information, much like a librarian knows how to file and retrieve information, but does not know all of the information. 

    How to Improve Your Memory 

    Thanks to a property of the nervous system called neuroplasticity, we can improve how our mind and memory work. You don’t need expensive “brain-boosting” supplements, either. One of the easiest ways to get a better memory is to review the quality of your sleep and diet. 

    1. Improve your sleep. Getting enough restful sleep is an absolutely essential requirement for a good memory. Much of systems consolidation takes place during sleep. Simply put, without deep restful sleep, information cannot be efficiently and completely transferred into long-term memory. 

    2. Reduce your intake of inflammation-promoting foods. Foods such as sugar, simple carbohydrates, and saturated fats promote inflammation throughout the body, including the brain. This kind of inflammation slows down nerve transmission and interferes with memory, leading to brain fog, which is detrimental to a good memory. 

    3. Add inflammation-fighting foods to your diet. The brain requires a lot of good nutrition to work at its best, and many common foods can help the good health of your nervous system. Fruits and vegetables contain the nutrients your brain needs, including the B family of vitamins and antioxidants. 
      - Fruits and vegetables. Fruits and veggies contain a complete array of vitamins and antioxidants essential for the proper working of the brain. Berries are particularly loaded with chemical compounds the brain requires for peak memory performance.  
      - Increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids. By mass, the brain is about 60 percent made of fat. Omega-3 fatty acids are particularly helpful for keeping the brain and memory in top form. Omega-3 fatty acids come from cold- water fish like tuna, salmon, trout, herring, and sardines, but you can also get omega-3s from flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, and pinto beans. 
    4. Build better cognitive habits. All too often we act as if remembering important information happens automatically, but we can save a lot of stress if we put energy into storing information.
      - Stop trying to multitask. Multitasking isn’t a good approach when it comes to memory. Usually, people try to do too much at once and become distracted. Information we want to remember doesn’t get the attention it needs to be properly stored in memory and thus becomes impossible to remember later on
      - Rehearse what you want to recall. Most information that’s in your working, or short-term memory, won’t get stored into your long-term memory without your expending effort to do so. “Rehearsal” in terms of memory refers to repeating the same information over and over until it can be easily retrieved.
      - Try brain training. Cognitive exercises can help increase your retention of information. Many of these exercises can be found in apps. 

    As with most health improvements, improving memory requires altering our daily habits and improving our health choices.  

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