This article was developed via a partnership with BetterHelp.
Alzheimer’s Disease is a well-known disease that usually affects older people. It famously causes issues with memory.
If you have concern about Alzheimer’s, you’re certainly not the only one. It’s a frightening disease, and you may have some family history with it or other mental health issues that may affect memory.
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So, what can you do if you’re worried about Alzheimer’s? Since it has to do in part with genetics, you can’t control everything. But you can do certain things to try to protect yourself, like sleeping enough, eating well, exercising, and socializing.
Apart from that, you can also work on improving your memory. So, read on to learn four easy ways that you can actively protect and improve your memory.
Memory 101
Let’s start with memory, which is a rich and complex topic of discussion and scientific research.
As you might expect, memory is stored by the brain. This storage itself carries out three primary roles: the acquiring of information, the storing of information, and its eventual retrieval.
Furthermore, there are three basic types of memory:
- Sensory – This form involves the senses and is the shortest form of memory
- Short-term – Short-term memory is essential for a brief period of time but generally doesn’t need to be remembered beyond that (e.g. a grocery list)
- Long-term – Long-term memory is arguably the most important form. It occurs when short-term memory is consolidated into a longer-term form of retention so that the information remains accessible
In general, our memories function just fine. But why do certain people seem to have poor memories compared to others?
Memory loss can be explained in different ways. Some possibilities for a diminished memory include stress, a lack of sleep, depression, and excessive alcohol (and other substance) use.
It’s though that some medications may affect memory, and researchers believe that hypothyroidism (when the thyroid isn’t active enough) may also contribute to a diminished memory.
You can start to see how memory is a complicated subject and greatly affects our overall well-being. If you would like to learn more about memory and Alzheimers, you might want to consider the useful resources available online through BetterHelp.
Now, let’s examine four simple tips that can help you improve your memory.
4 Easy Tips for Improving Memory
Brain Teasers
Brain teasers and other hobbies that “work out” your mind are a great way to keep your brain active. Studies suggest that it’s especially important as we age to keep challenging our brain for optimal cognitive function (which includes memory).
Puzzles may be particularly useful. There are all kinds you might try, whether that’s traditional puzzles, crosswords, or the trendy new game Wordle.
Repetition
Did you ever make flashcards to memorize vocabulary terms? There’s a reason why they work, and it’s simple repetition.
It’s the same reason why you can remember lines from a movie that you’ve seen five times or song lyrics that you’ve heard over and over.
Repetition is critical for the retention of information and it’s also a simple practice. Simply repeat the information, whether that’s out loud, or written, or both. Research suggests that writing information down may help us retain it better than when it’s typed or spoken.
Get More Sleep
Getting adequate sleep is fundamental to our overall well-being in so many ways. Yet another important aspect of sleep is that it helps us with our memory.
Without enough sleep, memory is easily diminished (as with other cognitive functions). Simply getting more sleep is one way that you can improve your memory. Aim for 7 to 9 hours and try to establish a regular sleep schedule.
Meaning
Memory is all about meaning in many ways. After all, we simply don’t have the storage space to remember every meaningless thing that has ever happened to us.
So, when you want to try to remember something, try assigning a particular meaning to it.
Conclusion
We all depend on memory every day to thrive. If we lost it entirely, we would wake up without knowing who we were or where we were.
Since Alzheimer’s can diminish memory, it makes sense to take actions to try to protect and strengthen your memory as you age.
Take the above tips into consideration for simple ways that you can start to boost your memory, no matter what stage of life you’re in.
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