How to fight memory loss and improve it

Memory can falter as people age. Forgetfulness is a scary experience, however, there are ways to fight memory loss and improve your recollections.

"Memory lapses can be both embarrassing and troubling, but the good news is it is never too late to improve your powers of recall,"  Dr David Poulad, a neurosurgeon at IGEA Brain and Spine in Union, New Jersey.

"Your brain continues to develop neurons and build new connections to strengthen memory as you age. There are plenty of strategies that help you improve your memory today and keep it robust for years to come."

Nine Tips to Improve Memory

For many people, memory improvement is possible. The extent to which memory can improve, however, will look different from person to person. Talking to a doctor about the severity of your memory loss can help set a frame of reference for what you want to achieve.

“We often think about preventing or slowing further decline rather than recovery of memory function,” Hayley B. Kristinsson, a neuropsychologist at UCI Health and an assistant clinical professor of health sciences at UCI School of Medicine, said.

“Compensatory strategies are often employed in order to help the individual cope with their short-term memory difficulties.”

Compensatory strategies are techniques that can help you work with and around memory issues – and set you up for success in recalling future memories.

Strategies to boost memory include:

• Repeating things: Repeat things back to yourself, or write it down.
• Making reminders: Put a sticky note on the fridge or write on a calendar, or set reminders on a phone. These can be helpful to keep track of tasks and items on to-do lists. Make a list of tasks that may have become more challenging to remember daily, such as taking medications or other daily activities.
• Using your senses: Mnemonic devices – like acronyms and rhymes – work by tapping into how the brain naturally stores data. For example, give words to visual things you want to remember (people, nature) and attach images to words. To ensure long-term retention, rehearse new information after several minutes, several hours, the next day, then every few days.
• Using visual cues: Visual cues like brightly colored rubber bands or bracelets can be helpful ways to keep track of tasks you’ve completed or have yet to get done.
• Setting consistent routines: reinforce patterns may help with short-term memory loss. Create a routine that includes waking at the same time each morning. Also find time for enjoyable activities on top of personal care and household responsibilities.
• Timing activities strategically: “Difficult or cognitively taxing activities should be completed at the beginning of the day when fatigue is low and attention is at an optimal level, as impaired attention can impact encoding of new material causing short-term memory difficulties. Large projects should be broken down into smaller tasks and take frequent breaks when engaged in a long task,” said Hayley.
• Minimising distractions: A clean living and working environment with minimal distractions may help a person to focus on tasks and remember what they need to do.
• Write down personal experiences: The best way to remember personal experiences is to write about them. Memory research has established that when people write about their personal experiences, they tend to recall those occurrences much better.
• Avoiding multitasking: Doing multiple things at once could adversely affect short-term memory, particularly as people age. A study found that people aged between 60 and 80 have significantly more trouble remembering tasks after they’ve experienced a brief interruption than do people in their 30s and 40s. Research has shown that switching attention from a laptop to a cellphone or texting while watching TV decreases the gray matter in our brains that helps us with sensory perceptions, including decision-making and memory.

Six lifestyle changes to improve memory

Many facets of health can impact memory, including diet, exercise, sleep, social engagement, co-occurring conditions and age. Taking care of your body as a whole may help prevent physical and mental deterioration as you age – including fighting against memory loss. This is particularly true with cardiovascular health, as “what is good for the heart is good for the brain,” Hayley said.

Ways to support brain health include:

• Eating a healthy diet: Foods rich in omega-3s, such as some fish and nuts, and those full of antioxidants, can help prevent memory decline. It is recommended people follow diets similar to the Mediterranean diet, abundant in healthy proteins and fats, for most support. The MIND diet, which is similar to the Mediterranean diet, was designed to support brain health and memory loss.
• Exercising regularly: Daily physical activity is a priority as it optimises blood flow to the entire body, brain included, keeping memories sharp.
• Staying social: Social engagement can foster a sense of closeness and connectedness with others and decrease isolation and loneliness.
• Staying cognitively active: Problem-solving and skill-learning can help with memory. Cognitive exercises like brain games and learning new skills can enhance cognitive function and may work against memory decline. Pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones and learning something new and challenging stimulates the brain, which helps mental sharpness, agility and memory.
• Sleeping well: Aim for seven to nine hours of sleep each night.
• Avoiding excessive alcohol consumption: Drinking alcohol disrupts the brain's ability to form memories.