Improve memory doesn’t just mean having a good ability to retain information. It is something that is closely related to brain health and, therefore, staying active at a cognitive level throughout life is key to maintaining optimal mental condition. The brain, like the rest of the body’s organs, suffers over time, and natural aging affects neurons. In fact, neurodegenerative diseases have become one of the most feared threats, especially at a time when medical advances have increased people’s life expectancy.
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The Cognitive Reserve
But the brain, like other organs, can be cared for and exercised to keep it ‘strong’ for as long as possible. Having a high cognitive reserve can be of great help in counteracting the effects of the passage of time. What is cognitive reserve? This concept can be described as the accumulation of stimulation of mental capacities, a kind of deposit used to counteract the effects of neuronal aging. This means that if we train memory during life, in old age the deterioration process will be much slower.
How To Improve Memory
Harvard University recommends including three simple habits in our daily lives to exercise the mind and memory. If the brain isn’t consistently exercised, it’s easy to progressively lose cognitive abilities, which means your memory gets weaker and thinking clearly becomes more and more difficult. With proper care this can be prevented and even avoided. Here we reveal the keys of the experts.
Physical Exercise Stimulates Memory
Physical exercise is not only essential to keep the body in shape, inside and out. It is also a very important crucial activity to keep the brain in good condition as long as possible. It has been scientifically proven in many studies that regular exercise can improve cognitive functions in general , as well as the ability to solve problems and concentration, as well as stimulate the memory area. Harvard University recommends that we understand exercise as a mental challenge, focusing on the moment, for example, taking care of breathing, and being aware of each repetitive movement, the muscles that are activated, the position, etc.
Creative Activities
Carrying out activities that require creativity are also highly recommended because they help improve and maintain cognitive functions , such as memory or the speed of information processing. For example, writing stories, poetry, novels, making music, drawing or painting, doing crafts… All the better when it comes to a new activity that forces the brain to do something it is not used to, and the unknown forces it to keep focused and don’t fall for distractions.
New Challenges
In addition to the above, Harvard University recommends that we include mental exercises in our lives that meet some (or all) of these requirements.
- New activities that involve learning something new and that challenge the brain.
- Preferably they have a certain level of complexity, to force the brain to work harder.
- An activity of a day or two is not worth it, it must be constant and practical , so that the brain has to concentrate intensely.
- Some useful ideas can be learning a language (for pure pleasure), sewing, crochet, photography, etc.
Changes In The Routine
In addition to the above recommendations from Harvard University, there are other types of simple exercises that serve as a stimulus for the brain and cognitive functions. For example, changing routines. Although it may seem like an insignificant change, including new habits on a daily basis, or changes in our routine patterns, helps to create new neural connections, because it forces the brain to get out of that ‘automatic’ state that we enter when we do things on the spur of the moment. routine. It is not necessary to make big changes, just choose a new route to go to work, change the decoration of the house, vary the organization of our drawers, etc.
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