How to improve your memory

How to Improve Your Memory Using Meditation

This article was co-authored by Soken Graf. Soken Graf is a Meditation Coach, Buddhist Priest, Certified Advanced Rolfer, and a Published Author who runs Bodhi Heart Rolfing and Meditation, a spiritual life coaching business based in New York City, New York. Soken has over 25 years of Buddhist training experience and advises entrepreneurs, business owners, designers, and professionals. He has worked with organizations such as the American Management Association as a consultant for training courses on such topics as Mindful Leadership, Cultivating Awareness, and Understanding Wisdom: The Compassionate Principles of Work-Life Balance. In addition to his work as a priest, Soken has certifications in Advanced Rolfing from the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration, Visceral Manipulation, Craniosacral Therapy, SourcePoint Therapy®, and Cold-Laser Therapy.

There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

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Meditation has been scientifically proven to increase focus and memory. You don’t have to use any one meditation to help your memory. Using any meditation, such as mindfulness meditation, teaches you to focus your mind. When you’re able to focus better, you’re also better able to solidify concepts in your short-term memory. Therefore, practicing meditation can help you to develop your short-term memory. [1] X Research source

How to Increase Your Short Term Memory

This article was co-authored by Michael Lewis, MD, MPH, MBA, FACPM, FACN and by wikiHow staff writer, Christopher M. Osborne, PhD. Michael D. Lewis, MD, MPH, MBA, FACPM, FACN, is an expert on nutritional interventions for brain health, particularly the prevention and rehabilitation of brain injury. In 2012 upon retiring as a Colonel after 31 years in the U.S. Army, he founded the nonprofit Brain Health Education and Research Institute. He is in private practice in Potomac, Maryland, and is the author of «When Brains Collide: What every athlete and parent should know about the prevention and treatment of concussions and head injuries.» He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Tulane University School of Medicine. He completed post-graduate training at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Johns Hopkins University, and Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Dr. Lewis is board certified and a Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine and American College of Nutrition.

There are 15 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 100% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status.

This article has been viewed 263,467 times.

It’s always frustrating to forget why you walked into a room, or to forget someone’s name right after being introduced. Before worrying that annoyances like these are signs of a memory problem, try out some simple techniques that may naturally enhance your short-term memory. And here’s some more good news—the list of advice and tips provided below is a great place to start!

11 Methods for Improving Your Memory

Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author and educational consultant focused on helping students learn about psychology.

Amy Morin, LCSW, is the Editor-in-Chief of Verywell Mind. She’s also a psychotherapist, the author of the bestselling book «13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do,» and the host of The Verywell Mind Podcast.

Is it really possible to improve your memory? If you’ve ever found yourself forgetting where you left your keys or blanking out information on important tests then you have probably wished that your memory was a bit better. Fortunately, there are plenty of things that you can do to help improve your memory.

Obviously, utilizing some sort of reminder system can help. Setting up an online calendar that sends reminders to your phone helps you keep track of all those appointments and meetings. Creating daily to-do lists can ensure that you don’t forget important tasks that need to be completed.

But what about all the important information that you need to actually cement into your long-term memory? It will take some effort and even involve tweaking or dramatically changing your normal study routine, but there are a number of strategies you can utilize to get more out of your memory.

Before your next big exam, be sure to check out some of these tried and tested techniques for improving memory. These 11 research-proven strategies can effectively improve memory, enhance recall, and increase retention of information.

Focus Your Attention

Attention is one of the major components of memory. In order for information to move from your short-term memory into your long-term memory, you need to actively attend to this information. Try to study in a place free of distractions such as television, music, and other diversions.

Getting rid of distractions might be a challenge, especially if you are surrounded by boisterous roommates or noisy children.

Set aside a short period of time to be alone.

Ask your roommates to give you some space or ask your partner to take the kids for an hour so you can focus on your work.

Avoid Cramming

Studying materials over a number of sessions gives you the time you need to adequately process information. Research has continuously shown that students who study regularly remember the material far better than those who do all of their studying in one marathon session. 

Structure and Organize

Researchers have found that information is organized in memory in related clusters.   You can take advantage of this by structuring and organizing the materials you’re studying. Try grouping similar concepts and terms together, or make an outline of your notes and textbook readings to help group related concepts.

Utilize Mnemonic Devices

Mnemonic devices are a technique often used by students to aid in recall. A mnemonic is simply a way to remember information. For example, you might associate a term you need to remember with a common item that you are very familiar with. The best mnemonics are those that utilize positive imagery, humor, or novelty.

Come up with a rhyme, song, or joke to help remember a specific segment of information.

How to Improve Your Memory

Whether you’re looking to sharpen your mind, boost your mental performance, or preserve your memory as you age, these tips can help.

How to boost brain power at any age

A strong memory depends on the health and vitality of your brain. Whether you’re a student studying for final exams, a working professional interested in doing all you can to stay mentally sharp, or a senior looking to preserve and enhance your grey matter as you age, there’s lots you can do to improve your memory and mental performance

They say that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but when it comes to the brain, scientists have discovered that this old adage simply isn’t true. The human brain has an astonishing ability to adapt and change—even into old age. This ability is known as neuroplasticity. With the right stimulation, your brain can form new neural pathways, alter existing connections, and adapt and react in ever-changing ways.

The brain’s incredible ability to reshape itself holds true when it comes to learning and memory. You can harness the natural power of neuroplasticity to increase your cognitive abilities, enhance your ability to learn new information, and improve your memory at any age. These nine tips can show you how.

Tip 1: Give your brain a workout

By the time you’ve reached adulthood, your brain has developed millions of neural pathways that help you process and recall information quickly, solve familiar problems, and execute habitual tasks with a minimum of mental effort. But if you always stick to these well-worn paths, you aren’t giving your brain the stimulation it needs to keep growing and developing. You have to shake things up from time to time!

Memory, like muscular strength, requires you to “use it or lose it.” The more you work out your brain, the better you’ll be able to process and remember information. But not all activities are equal. The best brain exercises break your routine and challenge you to use and develop new brain pathways.

Four key elements of a good brain-boosting activity

Think of something new you’ve always wanted to try, like learning how to play the guitar, make pottery, juggle, play chess, speak French, dance the tango, or master your golf swing. Any of these activities can help you improve your memory, so long as they keep you challenged and engaged.

What about brain-training programs?

There are countless brain-training apps and online programs that promise to boost memory, problem-solving skills, attention, and even IQ with daily practice. But do they really work?

Increasingly, the evidence suggests no. While these brain-training programs may lead to short-term improvements in whatever task or specific game you’ve been practicing, they don’t appear to strengthen or improve overall intelligence, memory, or other cognitive abilities.

Tip 2: Don’t skip the physical exercise

While mental exercise is important for brain health, that doesn’t mean you never need to break a sweat. Physical exercise helps your brain stay sharp. It increases oxygen to your brain and reduces the risk for disorders that lead to memory loss, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Exercise also enhances the effects of helpful brain chemicals and reduces stress hormones. Perhaps most importantly, exercise plays an important role in neuroplasticity by boosting growth factors and stimulating new neuronal connections.

Brain-boosting exercise tips

Tip 3: Get your Zs

There is a big difference between the amount of sleep you can get by on and the amount you need to function at your best. The truth is that over 95% of adults need between 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep every night in order to avoid sleep deprivation. Even skimping on a few hours makes a difference! Memory, creativity, problem-solving abilities, and critical thinking skills are all compromised.

But sleep is critical to learning and memory in an even more fundamental way. Research shows that sleep is necessary for memory consolidation, with the key memory-enhancing activity occurring during the deepest stages of sleep.

Get on a regular sleep schedule. Go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time each morning. Try not to break your routine, even on weekends and holidays.

Avoid all screens for at least an hour before bed. The blue light emitted by TVs, tablets, phones, and computers trigger wakefulness and suppress hormones such as melatonin that make you sleepy.

Cut back on caffeine. Caffeine affects people differently. Some people are highly sensitive, and even morning coffee may interfere with sleep at night. Try reducing your intake or cutting it out entirely if you suspect it’s keeping you up.

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Tip 4: Make time for friends

When you think of ways to improve memory, do you think of “serious” activities such as wrestling with the New York Times crossword puzzle or mastering chess strategy, or is it more lighthearted pastimes—hanging out with friends or enjoying a funny movie—that come to mind? If you’re like most of us, it’s probably the former. But countless studies show that a life full of friends and fun comes with cognitive benefits.

Healthy relationships: the ultimate brain booster

Humans are highly social animals. We’re not meant to survive, let alone thrive, in isolation. Relationships stimulate our brains—in fact, interacting with others may provide the best kind of brain exercise.

Research shows that having meaningful friendships and a strong support system are vital not only to emotional health, but also to brain health. In one recent study from the Harvard School of Public Health, for example, researchers found that people with the most active social lives had the slowest rate of memory decline.

There are many ways to start taking advantage of the brain and memory-boosting benefits of socializing. Volunteer, join a club, make it a point to see friends more often, or reach out over the phone. And if a human isn’t handy, don’t overlook the value of a pet—especially the highly-social dog.

Tip 5: Keep stress in check

Stress is one of the brain’s worst enemies. Over time, chronic stress destroys brain cells and damages the hippocampus, the region of the brain involved in the formation of new memories and the retrieval of old ones. Studies have also linked stress to memory loss.

Tips for managing stress

The stress-busting, memory-boosting benefits of meditation

The scientific evidence for the mental health benefits of meditation continues to pile up. Studies show that meditation helps improve many different types of conditions, including depression, anxiety, chronic pain, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Meditation also can improve focus, concentration, creativity, memory, and learning and reasoning skills.

Meditation works its “magic” by changing the actual brain. Brain images show that regular meditators have more activity in the left prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with feelings of joy and equanimity. Meditation also increases the thickness of the cerebral cortex and encourages more connections between brain cells—all of which increases mental sharpness and memory ability.

Try one of HelpGuide’s free Audio Meditations.

Tip 6: Have a laugh

You’ve heard that laughter is the best medicine, and that holds true for the brain and the memory, as well as the body. Unlike emotional responses, which are limited to specific areas of the brain, laughter engages multiple regions across the whole brain.

Furthermore, listening to jokes and working out punch lines activates areas of the brain vital to learning and creativity. As psychologist Daniel Goleman notes in his book Emotional Intelligence, “laughter seems to help people think more broadly and associate more freely.”

Looking for ways to bring more laughter in your life? Start with these basics:

Laugh at yourself. Share your embarrassing moments. The best way to take ourselves less seriously is to talk about the times when we took ourselves too seriously.

When you hear laughter, move toward it. Most of the time, people are very happy to share something funny because it gives them an opportunity to laugh again and feed off the humor you find in it. When you hear laughter, seek it out and try to join in.

Spend time with fun, playful people. These are people who laugh easily—both at themselves and at life’s absurdities—and who routinely find the humor in everyday events. Their playful point of view and laughter are contagious.

Surround yourself with reminders to lighten up. Keep a toy on your desk or in your car. Put up a funny poster in your office. Choose a computer screensaver that makes you laugh. Frame photos of you and your loved ones having fun.

Pay attention to children and emulate them. They are the experts on playing, taking life lightly, and laughing.

Tip 7: Eat a brain-boosting diet

Just as the body needs fuel, so does the brain. You probably already know that a diet based on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, “healthy” fats (such as olive oil, nuts, fish) and lean protein will provide lots of health benefits, but such a diet can also improve memory. For brain health, though, it’s not just what you eat—it’s also what you don‘t eat.

The following nutritional tips will help boost your brainpower and reduce your risk of dementia:

Get your omega-3s. Research shows that omega-3 fatty acids are particularly beneficial for brain health. Fish is a particularly rich source of omega-3, especially cold water “fatty fish” such as salmon, tuna, halibut, trout, mackerel, sardines, and herring.

If you’re not a fan of seafood, consider non-fish sources of omega-3s such as seaweed, walnuts, ground flaxseed, flaxseed oil, winter squash, kidney and pinto beans, spinach, broccoli, pumpkin seeds, and soybeans.

Limit calories and saturated fat. Research shows that diets high in saturated fat (from sources such as red meat, whole milk, butter, cheese, cream, and ice cream) increase your risk of dementia and impair concentration and memory.

Eat more fruit and vegetables. Produce is packed with antioxidants, substances that protect your brain cells from damage. Colorful fruits and vegetables are particularly good antioxidant “superfood” sources.

Drink green tea. Green tea contains polyphenols, powerful antioxidants that protect against free radicals that can damage brain cells. Among many other benefits, regular consumption of green tea may enhance memory and mental alertness and slow brain aging.

Drink wine (or grape juice) in moderation. Keeping your alcohol consumption in check is key, since alcohol kills brain cells. But in moderation (around 1 glass a day for women; 2 for men), alcohol may actually improve memory and cognition. Red wine appears to be the best option, as it is rich in resveratrol, a flavonoid that boosts blood flow in the brain and reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Other resveratrol-packed options include grape juice, cranberry juice, fresh grapes and berries, and peanuts.

Tip 8: Identify and treat health problems

Do you feel that your memory has taken an unexplainable dip? If so, there may be a health or lifestyle problem to blame.

It’s not just dementia or Alzheimer’s disease that causes memory loss. There are many diseases, mental health disorders, and medications that can interfere with memory:

Heart disease and its risk factors. Cardiovascular disease and its risk factors, including high cholesterol and high blood pressure, have been linked to mild cognitive impairment.

Diabetes. Studies show that people with diabetes experience far greater cognitive decline than those who don’t suffer from the disease.

Hormone imbalance. Women going through menopause often experience memory problems when their estrogen dips. In men, low testosterone can cause issues. Thyroid imbalances can also cause forgetfulness, sluggish thinking, or confusion.

Medications. Many prescription and over-the-counter medications can get in the way of memory and clear thinking. Common culprits include cold and allergy medications, sleep aids, and antidepressants. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about possible side effects.

Is it depression?

Emotional difficulties can take just as heavy a toll on the brain as physical problems. In fact, mental sluggishness, difficulty concentrating, and forgetfulness are common symptoms of depression. The memory issues can be particularly bad in older people who are depressed-so much so that it is sometimes mistaken for dementia. The good news is that when the depression is treated, memory should return to normal.

Tip 9: Take practical steps to support learning and memory

Pay attention. You can’t remember something if you never learned it, and you can’t learn something—that is, encode it into your brain—if you don’t pay enough attention to it. It takes about eight seconds of intense focus to process a piece of information into your memory. If you’re easily distracted, pick a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted.

Involve as many senses as possible. Try to relate information to colors, textures, smells, and tastes. The physical act of rewriting information can help imprint it onto your brain. Even if you’re a visual learner, read out loud what you want to remember. If you can recite it rhythmically, even better.

Relate information to what you already know. Connect new data to information you already remember, whether it’s new material that builds on previous knowledge, or something as simple as an address of someone who lives on a street where you already know someone.

For more complex material, focus on understanding basic ideas rather than memorizing isolated details. Practice explaining the ideas to someone else in your own words.

Rehearse information you’ve already learned. Review what you’ve learned the same day you learn it, and at intervals thereafter. This “spaced rehearsal” is more effective than cramming, especially for retaining what you’ve learned.

Use mnemonic devices to make memorization easier. Mnemonics (the initial “m” is silent) are clues of any kind that help us remember something, usually by helping us associate the information we want to remember with a visual image, a sentence, or a word.

6 types of mnemonic device

Authors: Melinda Smith, M.A., Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., and Lawrence Robinson

Last updated: January 2021

Get more help

Improving Memory – Understanding age-related memory loss. (Harvard Medical School Special Health Report)

Achieving Optimal Memory (Harvard Health Books)

Don’t Forget! Playing Games With Memory – Games that test memory along with advice for improving recollection. (The Exploratorium, San Francisco)

If Fish Is Brain Food, Can Fish Oil Pills Boost Brains, Too? Evidence that eating fish is more effective than fish oil supplements. (NPR)

Proven Ways to Improve Your Memory (complete guide)

Last updated January 26, 2022.
Edited and medically reviewed by Patrick Alban, DC. Written by Deane Alban.

Improve your memory with these simple but powerful tips and techniques. Based on the latest science, our in-depth guide is the way to build a better memory.

Whether you want to be a better student, maintain your competitive edge at work, or stay mentally sharp as you age, you will benefit from having a better memory.

Until fairly recently, it was believed that once your memory started to slip, there was little you could do to turn it around.

But it’s now known that this is not true.

Every day, your brain has the opportunity to grow new cells and form new neural connections … provided you give it what it needs.

The brain’s ability to change and grow, to get better throughout life is called neuroplasticity.

Simply put, the brain is constantly changing.

And all your daily habits influence — for either better or worse — how well your brain works, including your memory.

How to Get the Most From This Guide

In this guide, we’ve compiled the most effective ways to improve your memory by harnessing the power of the brain’s ability to change.

All 36 tips and techniques are based on time-tested results and the latest scientific evidence.

And we’ve included action items for each tip, so you know exactly which steps to take to start enhancing your memory today.

Improve Your Memory With a Brain-Healthy Diet

The human brain is the most complex organism known.

So, treat your brain like the powerful organ it is and give it the highest quality fuel.

Eating the right foods — and avoiding the wrong ones — should be a cornerstone of any long-term strategy for keeping your memory sound for life.

1. Follow a Proven “Memory Diet”

The Mediterranean diet is widely considered the healthiest diet of all.

People who eat this way rank high in health and longevity and have some of the lowest rates of Alzheimer’s disease.

Following this eating plan has been shown to boost memory and attention and slow the rate of age-related cognitive decline.

Here’s a visual of the Mediterranean diet:

The Mediterranean diet is widely considered the healthiest eating plan of all. (Image courtesy of Oldways.com)

The MIND diet is a version of the Mediterranean diet designed specifically to preserve the mental faculties of seniors.

MIND is an acronym for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay.

In the MIND diet study, over 1,000 seniors were tracked for 8 years.

When study participants rigorously followed the MIND diet, they reduced their risk for Alzheimer’s by an impressive 53%.

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Researchers were surprised that participants who didn’t follow the diet strictly still experienced substantial protective benefits.

Even making modest dietary changes reduced their risk by 35%.

This graphic illustrates the principles of the MIND diet:

Eating according to the MIND diet. (Image courtesy of CanadianLiving.com)

Additionally, following a very low-carbohydrate or ketogenic diet (high in good fats and proteins) also shows promise for memory improvement.

But don’t let these seemingly contradictory diet concepts confuse or discourage you.

The thing to focus on is what all of these diets have in common, not their differences.

They all emphasize eating unprocessed foods, avoiding sugar and trans fats, and including plenty of healthy fats.

Memory Diet

Start eating a Mediterranean-style or other “real food” diet.

You’ll find hundreds of delicious Mediterranean diet recipes at Oldways.com.

Oldways is a nonprofit organization that created the original Mediterranean Diet Pyramid in conjunction with the World Health Organization and the Harvard School of Public Health.

2. Emphasize Foods Known to Improve Memory

A good overall diet has the most positive effect on memory, but certain foods are notable for their outsized benefits.

It may seem like a stretch to claim that eating a particular food can improve your memory.

Yet these foods, when eaten consistently, can:

Here’s a list of the top memory foods and their main brain-enhancing components:

Memory Foods

Add these foods to your grocery shopping list and make them a regular part of your diet.

Learn more about the memory-boosting power of these foods, including lots of practical tips on buying, food prep, and much more, in our brain foods guide directly below.

3. Avoid Unhealthy Trans Fats

Trans fats are unhealthy, adulterated fats found in processed foods.

They contribute to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and other diseases.

They cause inflammation, promote free radical damage, compromise cell membrane integrity, and inhibit the production of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids.

Regular trans fat consumption not only takes a toll on your memory, but increases your risk of depression by up to 50%.

Trans fats are such a health hazard that much of the world has enacted laws to phase them out of the food supply.

Trans Fats

Clear your kitchen of any foods that list trans fats or partially hydrogenated fats on the label.

Next, stop using processed vegetable oils like soy and canola oil.

These oils can contain up to 4.2% trans fats that are created during processing.

0 grams of trans fat on the label doesn’t necessarily mean there is no trans fat in the food.

Don’t be fooled when you see “0 g trans fats” on product labels containing these oils.

The FDA allows processed food manufacturers to round down their figures, so that anything less than 0.5 grams per serving can be listed as 0 grams.

4. Avoid Sugar

White sugar is one of the worst food-like substances for the brain and memory, yet the average American consumes 57 pounds of it every year.

Poor memory formation, learning disorders, and depression are linked to eating refined sugar.

Chronically high blood sugar levels lead to decreased activity in the hippocampus, the part of the brain most strongly associated with memory.

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Sugar consumption negatively affects attention span, short-term memory, and mood stability.

Sugar is highly suspected as a root cause of Alzheimer’s disease which many experts now consider a form of diabetes of the brain.

Sugar

Read the labels of all the foods and drinks you eat and eliminate those with the most added sugar.

This means looking beyond the word “sugar.”

The most ubiquitous sugar alternative is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

But there are over 60 alternative names for added sugar including healthy-sounding names like cane sugar, raw sugar, honey, agave nectar, and fruit juice concentrate.

You’ll find a comprehensive list of alternative names for sugar at Sugar Science, a University of California website.

5. Avoid Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a popular but controversial flavor enhancer added to many processed foods.

In the body, MSG breaks down into two known neurotoxins — formaldehyde and glutamate.

Glutamate is a naturally occurring neurotransmitter but, in excess, it becomes a potent excitotoxin that overstimulates brain cells, sometimes to the point of death.

If you’ve ever felt dizzy, flushed, mentally fuzzy, or gotten a headache after eating at a restaurant, you may have experienced MSG symptom complex.

The US National Library of Medicine has a list of MSG symptoms, ranging from mild to serious, even life-threatening.

Reported side effects of MSG include asthma, headache, flushing, sweating, psychiatric disorders, convulsions, migraines, nausea, fuzzy thinking, diarrhea, heart palpitations, mood swings, burning or tingling, muscle weakness, numbness, chest pain, and back pain.

MSG is extremely common in processed and fast foods including canned soups, snack foods, ramen noodles, and refined soy products.

Check out this list of foods containing MSG and minimize the major sources in your diet.

If you know that you react badly to MSG, accidental consumption is always a concern, but fortunately, there are supplements that can help.

Ginger, vitamin C, and the amino acid taurine protect the brain from MSG-induced toxicity and can reduce symptoms.

6. Keep Your Brain Hydrated

It isn’t just what you eat that affects your memory, it’s also what and how much you drink.

Water might just be the best brain tonic.

The brain is 73% water and it takes only 2% dehydration to diminish memory, attention, and other cognitive skills.

To illustrate how easily mild dehydration can happen, you can lose 10% of your body’s water after a strenuous physical workout.

Mild dehydration causes measurable brain shrinkage with adverse effects on concentration, alertness, and short-term memory.

It’s estimated that 75% of the US population does not drink adequate fluids.

The effects of dehydration on the brain are so pronounced that they mimic the symptoms of dementia.

How much do you need to drink?

The “8 glasses per day” rule is an over-simplification.

A better rule of thumb is to divide your weight in pounds by two and drink that many ounces of water per day.

Use this hydration calculator to determine the amount of water you need to drink to stay hydrated. (Image courtesy of University of Missouri System)

Better yet, check out this online hydration calculator created by Camelbak.com.

It will help you determine the amount of water you need when you exercise by taking into account such variables as your age, weight, gender, activity level, temperature, and even cloud cover.

Hydration

Determine how much water you need, then start drinking!

Get a BPA-free, leakproof water bottle and never leave home without it.

If staying well-hydrated does not come naturally to you, download an app like Waterlogged or Daily Water to remind you to drink enough.

7. Drink Caffeine Strategically

Caffeine is humanity’s favorite mind-altering drug.

People around the world rely on caffeinated beverages to upgrade their memory, mood, focus, and productivity.

And while some caffeine might be helpful, too much can leave you irritable, sleepless, anxious, and even addicted.

Caffeine now meets the criteria for an addictive substance: dependence, tolerance, and withdrawal.

The American Psychiatric Association currently acknowledges four caffeine-related psychiatric disorders.

So, respectfully consume caffeine in moderation from natural sources like coffee, various teas, and yerba mate.

These traditional brews are loaded with antioxidants, flavonoids, and other beneficial compounds that nourish and protect the brain and increase mental vitality.

Caffeine

Drink caffeine in moderation.

Get it from natural sources rather than from sodas and energy drinks which are laden with sugar, chemicals, and synthetic caffeine created in foreign laboratories.

8. Drink Alcohol Moderately

Red wine has a reputation for being the healthiest alcoholic beverage.

It’s a top source of resveratrol, a potent antioxidant isolated and sold as a memory supplement that protects against age-related mental decline.

But it may surprise you that moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages in general — wine, beer, spirits, or champagne — can positively impact memory.

Drinking moderately throughout adulthood protects your memory later in life and significantly decreases your risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s.

It seems that what you drink isn’t as important as how much you drink.

Here in the US, moderate drinking means one drink daily for women and two for men.

Here’s a visual of what constitutes one drink.

Each of these constitutes one drink. (Image courtesy of Lehigh University)

Alcohol

To support your memory now and protect it later in life, enjoy alcoholic beverages in moderation.

You’ll find a comprehensive list of drinking guidelines by country at the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking.

Enhance Your Memory With the Right Supplements

Eating a healthy diet isn’t always enough to get all the nutrients you need to maximize mental performance and memory.

Processed foods, depleted soils, stress, pollution, and medications are just some of the many thieves that rob the brain of nutrients.

Here are some supplements that can help, including two that provide an immediate memory boost that you can notice within minutes.

9. Take an Omega-3 Supplement

DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is an omega-3 essential fatty acid that’s a major building block of the cerebral cortex, the area of the brain responsible for memory, language, creativity, emotion, and personality.

It’s widely agreed that taking an essential fatty acid supplement, specifically DHA, is one of the best things you can do to support brain health and cognitive function.

DHA facilitates neurotransmitter activity and increases the number of neurotransmitter receptors.

Having a low DHA level results in a structurally smaller brain.

Fish oil, a popular source of DHA, has been shown to improve working memory in young adults by 23%.

Omega-3 Supplement

Don’t be among the 80% of the population estimated to be deficient in DHA.

Take supplemental omega-3s in the form of a DHA, fish oil, or krill oil supplement.

10. Ensure Nutritional Balance With a Multivitamin Supplement

Virtually all vitamins are needed in adequate amounts for an optimally functioning brain.

Proper amounts of vitamins C, D, E, K, and B complex in the diet have all been linked to memory enhancement.

The same goes for minerals like magnesium, iron, iodine, and zinc.

But there is no need to take a lot of pills.

Most people can fill in the nutritional gaps in their diet with a high-quality multivitamin/mineral supplement.

Numerous studies confirm that taking a multivitamin alone can improve memory and overall brain performance.

Multivitamin Supplement

If you don’t already do so, start taking a multivitamin/mineral supplement.

If you already take a multi, make sure that the one you are taking is high quality.

Contrary to what many people believe, the FDA does not “approve” supplements or test them for purity or effectiveness.

To make sure you are getting what you’ve paid for (and nothing else), make sure that your supplement meets the criteria in our 10-point supplement evaluation checklist.

11. Try a Memory Supplement

Memory supplements have become a huge business and too many companies are trying to cash in.

Several popular brain supplements have come under fire from the FDA or have had class action suits filed against them for making false claims, not reporting side effects, or failing to comply with Current Good Manufacturing Practices.

And not all supplements for the brain contain ingredients that do anything for your memory.

When choosing a memory supplement, look for one that contains therapeutic dosages of one or more of these proven memory enhancers:

Memory Supplement

Do your homework before taking any memory supplement.

Not all of the above supplements are a good fit for everyone.

Determine which ones best match your unique set of symptoms here: 20 Memory Supplements That Really Work (in-depth guide).

And keep in mind that no memory supplement will take the place of the core nutrients — vitamins, minerals, and essential fats — that the brain needs.

So, we recommend trying a memory supplement after you’ve taken care of all your core nutritional needs.

12. Use Essential Oils for an Instant Memory Boost

Essential oils are naturally occurring volatile compounds extracted and concentrated from plants.

They are rarely taken internally, but instead are inhaled or applied topically.

A few are renowned for their ability to give you an instant memory boost.

Ancient Greek scholars wore wreaths of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) to sharpen their minds.

Science has confirmed that sniffing rosemary essential oil can significantly improve memory, processing speed, accuracy, alertness, and focus on the spot!

Peppermint is another essential oil that can make you more alert and attentive.

This mint’s volatile oils are so intense that you can even get an instant memory surge from peppermint tea, candy, or gum.

Essential Oils

Sniff undiluted rosemary essential oil, inhale with a diffuser, or apply diluted oil to your wrists or temples.

Chew peppermint gum or mints, drink peppermint tea, or sniff peppermint essential oil for an immediate memory boost.

Boost Your Memory With Mental Workouts

Just as the body benefits from physical exercise, the brain benefits from mental “workouts” as well.

Some of the reported benefits of brain exercise include better memory and mood, faster thinking, better vision and hearing, quicker reaction time, and feelings of increased focus, motivation, and productivity.

Here are just some of the many proven ways you can develop your memory by stimulating and challenging your brain.

13. Turn Off the GPS

On a routine commute, the brain is on autopilot and gets very little stimulation.

But taking an unfamiliar route activates the cortex and hippocampus.

The use of GPS technology is making us mentally lazy and destroying vital mental skills that have taken mankind thousands of years to develop.

Don’t let this happen to you.

London cab drivers must memorize a map of London, a feat known as “The Knowledge.”

Astoundingly, this includes 320 main routes, 25,000 streets, and the location of 20,000 landmarks.

As a result, the hippocampus of a London cabby is significantly larger than average.

Put away your GPS devices to exercise your mental navigation skills.

Using your memory instead of relying on maps or GPS will help increase your memory capacity too.

14. Get Familiar With a New Language

Few people will learn a new language for the primary purpose of enhancing their memory.

But fortunately, there’s no need to be that ambitious.

Even a minimal knowledge of a second language can improve your mental abilities.

If you are already bilingual, you have a greater advantage since speaking a second language is one of the most effective ways to keep your mind sharp and protect your memory.

Adults who speak more than one language are likely to have a better working memory and memorization skills.

But you don’t have to master a new language to get those benefits.

It’s estimated that the 100 most commonly used words of any language comprise 50% of the words used in day-to-day conversation and that the top 1,000 words comprise 89% of everyday writing.

New Language

Google “learn 100 core words” and you’ll find a series of free online lessons that teach 100 core words in numerous languages.

Set a goal of learning 3 words per day and you’ll have those 100 core words mastered in three months.

At this rate, you’ll be reading reasonably proficiently in less than a year.

15. Try Out a Brain Training Program

There is a lot of controversy surrounding the multibillion dollar brain fitness industry.

The experts are still on the fence as to whether brain training makes you better only at playing brain games or whether the benefits translate to an overall improvement in mental function.

Most brain training programs contain games specifically for improving memory, but the only way to know for sure if it will help you is to give it a try.

Brain Training Program

If you already enjoy playing games online, then trying a brain training program is a no-brainer.

Sign up for a program that offers games for improving memory and see how it works for you.

Most programs offer a trial period so that you can try them for free.

16. Do Neurobics

Brain exercises don’t have to be high-tech to be effective.

Neurobiologist Lawrence C. Katz, PhD was well ahead of his time when he coined the term neurobics in his book Keep Your Brain Alive: 83 Neurobic Exercises to Help Prevent Memory Loss and Increase Mental Fitness.

This book is the granddaddy of brain exercise, written in 1998 when few people were talking about brain fitness.

To qualify as neurobic, an activity must be new, fun, and challenging, and should engage as many senses as possible.

Neurobics

Try some neurobics.

You can follow Dr. Katz’s prescribed exercises or create your own.

Examples include doing tasks with your non-dominant hand, wearing your watch upside down, folding laundry with your eyes closed, and eating with chopsticks.

One of Katz’s favorite neurobic activities is engaging all your senses by shopping at a farmer’s market.

With this neurobic activity, you’ll have the added benefit of getting the freshest brain foods.

17. Fill Your Life With Music

Music is one of the few activities that engages both sides of the brain simultaneously.

Listening to music, particularly instrumental music, positively impacts memory, focus, attention, language skills, and physical coordination.

Playing an instrument is even better for mental development than just listening.

Kids who learn to play an instrument develop better memories and higher IQs than those with no musical training.

Seniors with dementia are almost miraculously brought back to life when they listen to their favorite music.

Music

Listen, play, sing, and dance to music — it’s all good for your brain.

If you want to listen to music to specifically enhance learning or concentration, check out the free music streaming service Spotify.

They have an entire category of playlists called “Focus” that have been curated to help you do just that.

Or sign up for a free trial of Focus@Will which offers scientifically engineered music channels for enhancing focus based on your personality type.

According to Focus@Will’s studies, the average person increases their focus by 75%, while some improve by up to 400%.

18. Meditate

The average person has a non-stop flow of up to 70,000 thoughts per day.

Meditation might not sound like mental “exercise,” but quieting your perpetual thinking machine is hard work.

Researchers at the UCLA Laboratory of Neuro Imaging have called meditation “pushups for the brain.”

Over 1,000 published studies have demonstrated the health benefits of meditation.

Proven cognitive and mental health benefits of meditation include:

Meditation

Start practicing meditation.

There’s evidence that even as little as two minutes per day is beneficial.

Or try listening to a binaural beats meditation.

Binaural beats sound technology provides a shortcut to get the benefits of meditation more quickly and easily.

19. Take Up a Hobby

You’d expect mentally intensive hobbies like playing chess or computer coding to give your brain an excellent workout.

But craft hobbies such as sewing and woodworking are great brain exercises too.

One study found that any “purposeful activity,” such as knitting, quilting, drawing, photography, gardening, and do-it-yourself home repair, has the power to focus the brain in a manner similar to meditation.

Crafting hobbies of all kinds ward off depression, protect the brain against aging, and increase dopamine, the brain chemical that keeps you motivated.

They can improve memory now and future-proof your memory against age-related decline.

Hobbies

Take up a hobby.

If you aren’t sure where to begin, think back to what you enjoyed when you were a kid.

If you still need a nudge, browse through this list of hobby ideas.

20. Embrace Your Inner Artist

Creating art stimulates your imagination, makes you more observant, and improves your memory.

Art therapy can improve cognitive abilities even in people with serious brain conditions.

Remarkably, it can improve memory in Alzheimer’s patients by up to 70%.

Engage in a creative pastime just for fun. The results don’t need to be fine art.

If you need ideas to get started, check out this list of 100 Art Therapy Exercises.

If you feel that you aren’t artistic, no worries!

Even doodling can help you stay focused, learn new concepts, and retain information.

Doodling while listening to a lecture can increase memory recall by an impressive 30%.

21. Never Stop Learning

Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, “Once you stop learning, you start dying.”

And, in a very real sense, this is true for your brain.

When you stop learning, some parts of the brain start to atrophy, while unused neural connections wither away.

Fortunately, we live in the best time in history to keep up with lifelong learning.

The internet has put much of our knowledge at our fingertips — much of it for free.

Learning

Recall something that you’ve always wanted to learn but have never gotten around to.

Check out websites like Khan Academy and Udemy for online courses.

They have enough online learning material to keep you busy for a lifetime.

Build a Strong Memory With Physical Exercise

Physical exercise helps keep both the body and brain fit.

In fact, physical exercise could be the most important thing you do to keep your brain in shape, even more important than using it to think!

Just as regular exercise builds bigger muscles and a stronger heart, it also increases brain volume.

Exercise raises levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that stimulates the formation of new brain cells and neural connections.

Exercise specifically increases the number of cells in the hippocampus, the brain’s memory center.

The hippocampus gradually shrinks with age, but exercise stimulates its growth.

You may be pleased to know that exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous to build brain fitness.

The best types of exercise are those that just about everyone — no matter their level of physical fitness — can do.

22. Take a Walk

Since the time of ancient Greece, philosophers have made the connection between walking and better thinking.

Now, there’s scientific evidence to support this.

Walking not only clears the mind, it actually builds a bigger, sharper brain.

Walking increases oxygen, encourages the growth of new brain cells, offsets brain shrinkage, and promotes connectivity between brain cells.

Walking

Take one or two 10-minute walks daily.

Two hours of walking per week can measurably increase hippocampus volume.

Plus, you’ll be meeting the US Centers for Disease Control’s recommended 150 minutes of exercise per week.

If you need a little motivation, consider getting a personal fitness tracker or app that measures your mileage or counts your steps.

23. Engage in Mind-Body Exercises

No-impact exercise practices like yoga, tai chi, and qi gong provide significant mind-body benefits.

Just one 20-minute session of Hatha yoga can have a significant, immediate impact on working memory and concentration.

The slow, controlled movements of tai chi and qi gong look easy, yet give both your brain and body a deceptively good workout.

These ancient exercises increase brain volume while improving memory and thinking.

Mind-Body Exercise

The next time you’re feeling mentally foggy, do a few minutes of yoga, tai chi, or qi gong.

The top yoga poses for better concentration include the eagle pose, the prayer pose, and the warrior pose.

You’ll find instructions for these poses at Yoga Journal.

If you don’t currently practice yoga or you want to get the benefits of yoga while at work, try these desk yoga positions.

24. Exercise Outdoors in Nature

Exercising outdoors, even more so than indoor exercise, increases vitality, enthusiasm, pleasure, and self-esteem while lowering tension, depression, and fatigue.

And walking in natural surroundings is more beneficial for memory and mood than walking in an urban setting.

Gardening is a great way to get your daily dose of “vitamin N.”

Exercise Outdoors

Spend some time each day in nature.

It doesn’t have to be wilderness.

Any little green corner of the world, such as a park or garden, will do.

If you can’t get outside, gazing out a window or even looking at pictures of nature can boost cognitive functions.

Surrounding yourself with houseplants is an easy way to improve your mental performance naturally.

Improve Your Memory With a Healthy Lifestyle

We’ve dealt with nutrition and exercise in our first 24 tips and techniques because they are so influential to the state of your memory and general brain health and fitness.

But there are some other lifestyle factors and habits that can dramatically boost your memory as well.

25. Get 8 Hours of Quality Sleep

More than half of all adults have at least occasional insomnia, but getting adequate sleep is not an indulgence.

It’s critical for your health and mental well-being.

Lack of quality sleep will impair memory, creativity, judgment, and attention.

Research done at UCLA found that skimping on just one night of sleep affects mental performance as much as being drunk.

Quality Sleep

Your ability to get to sleep doesn’t depend just on what you do the last few minutes before you go to bed.

Food choices, stress levels, caffeine consumption, light exposure, and other lifestyle factors play a role in how well you sleep.

If you struggle to get a good night’s sleep, check out Mental Effects of Chronic Insomnia (+ how to stop it).

26. Breathe From Your Diaphragm

If you’ve ever watched a baby or a pet sleep, you’ll notice their stomach, rather than their chest, rises and falls as they breathe.

That is because they are breathing from their diaphragm — the way we are meant to breathe.

If you are like most adults, the stress of modern life has you shallowly breathing from your chest instead.

Improper breathing cuts down on the amount of oxygen the brain receives.

This is bad news for the brain since the brain uses a disproportionate amount of oxygen and brain cells can live only a few minutes without it.

Every day, you take tens of thousands of breaths.

You can maximize your oxygen intake with each breath by practicing diaphragmatic (belly) breathing.

Breathing

To train yourself to breathe properly, it’s recommended that you practice this diaphragmatic breathing exercise 5-10 minutes, a few times per day.

Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercise

Sit comfortably or lie down.

Place one hand on your chest and one on your stomach.

Slowly exhale through your mouth.

Then slowly inhale through your nose, concentrating on keeping your chest still while expanding your stomach.

Diaphragmatic breathing technique. (Image courtesy of Amanda Soto, The Washington Post)

27. Spend Quality Time With Friends

People with the most active social lives have the slowest rate of memory decline.

As little as ten minutes of conversation with a friend can result in measurable memory improvement.

And if you have a belly laugh while you’re together, even better, since laughter boosts memory by reducing the stress hormone cortisol.

Friends

Take steps to foster your relationships.

Texting and email do not provide the same cognitive value as having a conversation.

Talk on the phone, arrange a Zoom chat, or talk to your neighbors over the fence.

If appropriate, meet a friend for an alfresco meal or coffee, take a walk together, or engage in other activities you both enjoy.

28. Avoid Medications Known to Cause Memory Loss

Prescription medications are notorious for causing memory loss.

An entire group of medications — the anticholinergic drugs — cause memory loss by blocking acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter of memory and learning.

And it’s not just prescription medications that can diminish memory.

A large study found that the use of over-the-counter (OTC) antihistamines, pain relievers, sleep aids, and remedies for acid reflux significantly increase the risk of cognitive decline.

Medications

Check out Drugs That Cause Memory Loss (& what you can do) to see if you take any memory-destroying drugs.

There, you’ll also find expert tips on how to effectively talk to your doctor about switching medications, lowering your dose, or getting off them completely if possible.

If you are taking any OTC remedies, look for less harmful alternatives.

29. Quit Smoking

Every drag on a cigarette creates million of free radicals (unattached oxygen molecules) that degrade and kill brain cells.

Smoking more than two packs a day increases the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia over 150% and 170%, respectively.

Smoking

If you’ve struggled to quit smoking, you might be low in the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Many people with a low dopamine level self-medicate with nicotine or other addictive substances and activities.

Low dopamine could be an underlying reason why your attempts at quitting have been unsuccessful.

30. Lose Weight

There is a strong correlation between obesity and memory loss.

Overweight people have less brain tissue and, upon examination, their brains appear years older than the brains of people with a healthy weight.

The more overweight you are, the more brain shrinkage and corresponding brain function loss you’re likely to experience.

Weight

You already know if you need to lose weight.

Perhaps understanding that extra weight is also affecting your memory and cognitive functions will help make it happen.

Fortuitously, the best diets for brain health (i.e., the Mediterranean and MIND diets) are also excellent for sustainable weight loss.

Never Forget With These Top Memory Techniques

Memory techniques, also called mnemonics, were first developed and used by ancient Greek teachers and philosophers.

They understood that having an excellent memory is a skill that can be taught and learned.

Back in those pre-book, pre-internet days, having a good memory was essential.

Some of the current world memory champions freely admit that they were not born with exceptional memories.

Instead, they mastered the best memory techniques.

Don’t be concerned that memory techniques will act as a crutch and make your memory worse.

This is an unfounded fear.

As US Memory Champion Joshua Foer explains:

“They (memory techniques) work because they make you work. They force a kind of depth of processing, a kind of mindfulness, that most of us don’t normally walk around exercising. But there actually are no shortcuts. This is how stuff is made memorable.”

31. Assign Abbreviations or Acronyms

From the names of government agencies to chatspeak, our modern world is bursting with abbreviations.

An acronym is a type of abbreviation that forms a word from the initial letters of other words.

They can form a word you’ll find in the dictionary, like radar (radio detecting and ranging).

Sometimes they are an abbreviation that’s spoken as a word such as AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) or NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).

If you grew up in the US, you may have learned the acronym SHOME (“show me”) to remember the names of the Great Lakes.

Use an acronym to remember the names of the Great Lakes. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Acronyms

Create an acronym anytime you need to remember a short list.

If you need to remember to buy milk, apples, carrots, and eggs at the grocery store, just remember “MACE.”

32. Use Acrostics

An acrostic is a sequence of letters to help you remember a set of facts in a particular order.

A popular acrostic is this one for remembering the order of the planets: “Mary’s Violet Eyes Made John Stay Up Nights Pining.”

“Pining” is optional, depending on whether Pluto is considered a planet when you read this.

Use an acrostic to remember the names of the planets.

Acrostics

Use acrostics when you need to remember something in a particular order.

If you’ve ever played a musical instrument, you may have learned that “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge” to remember the notes that fall on the lines of the treble clef.

If there isn’t a well-known acrostic for what you want to remember, make up one of your own.

I can never remember how to spell “rhythm” so I use this acrostic to remember: Rhythm Helps Your Two Hips Move.

33. Use Chunking

It’s generally accepted that the average person’s short-term memory can hold only about four arbitrary pieces of information.

The act of chunking breaks pieces of information into smaller, more memorable bits.

That’s why phone numbers, social security numbers, and zip codes are broken into small groups of numbers.

For example, it’s harder to remember 8034273298 than it is 803-427-3298.

Chunking

Use chunking to remember phone numbers, social security numbers, passwords, and other important numbers that you need to memorize.

Chunking can also be used to create small subgroups of items that are easier to recall.

If you need to pick up 10 items from the grocery store, it’s easier to remember that you need 4 items from frozen foods, 3 from produce, and 3 from the snack aisle than a list of 10 seemingly unrelated items.

34. Use the Mind Palace

The mind palace memory technique, also called memory palace or method of loci, calls upon the brain’s power of visualization.

If you are a Sherlock Holmes fan, you’ll recall that Holmes goes into his “brain attic” to reconstruct events.

Let’s start with a very basic example of using your own home as the location to remember a grocery list.

In your mind’s eye, place the items you want to remember throughout your house, such as apples on the coffee table, carrots on the bed, and lettuce on your desk.

Later, when you want to recall the items as you shop, visualize walking through your house.

You should be able to “see” the items on your shopping list.

Mind Palace

Practice using the mind palace the next time you have to pick up a few items at the grocery store.

If you want a demonstration of how effectively this works, watch US Memory Champion Joshua Foer’s TED Talk Feats of Memory Anyone Can Do.

He guides you through a mind palace exercise so painlessly, you won’t even realize you are doing it.

I think you’ll be impressed at how easily you can memorize a list of items.

35. Use Reminders

There are several kinds of reminders that can make your life go more smoothly.

Make Checklists

Checklists are used by people in a variety of occupations such as surgeons, pilots, and emergency workers.

If people in these high-responsibility, high-stress occupations rely on checklists, maybe you should too.

Take Notes

Compared to taking notes electronically, manually writing them down increases the likelihood that you’ll remember the notes you’ve taken.

Curiously, using red ink seems to work better than either blue or black.

Use Visual Cues

The old “string around the finger” memory tip cliché has some merit.

Put any item out of its normal position as a cue to remind you that there’s something you need to remember.

This works particularly well when trying to create a new habit.

Leaving your athletic shoes by the door is an excellent way to ensure that you’ll remember to take your daily walk.

Create a Mind Map

Mind mapping is a non-linear way to take notes that can help you learn and remember better than conventional note-taking.

Mind mapping is sometimes described as a tree, with the main ideas represented as branches and topics of lesser importance represented as twigs.

A basic mind map. (Courtesy of MindMapping.com)

A mind map can be as simple or as complex as you need it to be.

You can create them by hand or with software.

Below is a fun, colorful mind map that illustrates the process of “how to mind map.”

A complex mind map. (Courtesy of LearningFundamentals.com.au)

Reminders

Make a checklist for any tasks you do regularly at work or home.

Keep a small notepad or sticky notes in your desk, purse, nightstand, car, or anywhere you might have a flash of inspiration.

If you’d like to give mind mapping a try, download the free version of the mind mapping tool Mindomo.

Even if you are new to mind mapping, you’ll find it easy and intuitive to use.

36. Pay Attention

Paying attention may be the most powerful, but overlooked, way to improve your memory.

Why? Because you can’t remember what you never process in the first place.

Yet it’s rare these days for anyone to give a task or person their undivided attention.

You’ll have a much easier time paying attention if you avoid distractions.

Two significant kinds of distractions are clutter and multitasking.

Clutter affects the brain’s ability to concentrate and process information.

Multitasking interrupts one task to focus on another.

This disrupts short-term memory, the capacity for retaining pieces of information for short periods of time.

Attention

If either clutter or multitasking is a problem for you, we’ve got articles on our site that can help.

Read Remove Clutter to Reduce Stress (+ 5-Step Decluttering System) for a simple decluttering plan and other tips to get organized.

Learn two simple but effective antidotes to multitasking in 7 Ways Multitasking Hurts Brain Health and Performance.

How to Improve Your Memory: Take the Next Step

Memory is a skill you can learn and continue to improve throughout life.

The best strategy for lasting memory improvement is to take a two-pronged approach.

First, adopt a brain-healthy lifestyle — the foundation of a fit and resilient brain and a good memory.

Eat brain-healthy foods, make sleep a priority, and engage in both physical and mental workouts.

Take supplements that contain ingredients proven to enhance memory.

Second, utilize the same time-honored memory techniques used by people with exceptional memories.

These techniques work because they make you use your brain in new and productive ways.

Recommended: Upgrading brain health is key to making your brain work better.