In life, our greatest treasure is often our memories. We hold lived experiences close to our heart and look back on them fondly as they connect us to others and give us the ability to appreciate things we remember to be fun, kind, or even delicious. Without these, a large part of our personalities cannot manifest as we don’t have recollection of lessons learned in the past. This among other reasons is why we need to actively improve our memory so we don’t have to lose more of them than necessary. Here, we’ll be discussing a few intuitive ways to do so.

The first method is the most obvious: keep your brain active. Like all muscles, working out your brain will ultimately benefit it in the long run, especially in regards to memory. Consistent reading, doing puzzles, learning a new skill/language, and anything that engages critical thinking are all great ways to ensure sharpness of mind. A stagnant brain is more likely to be forgetful than one that engages every day. 

In the same vein, though it’s an adage because it’s not as accessible to some with disabilities or chronic pain, physical exercise can be similarly beneficial as well. Doing this regularly has proven to enhance memory and brain function. Everything in the body is connected, after all, so these two are birds of a feather.

Another suggested way to aid in memory is eating a healthy diet and getting the recommended dosage of vitamins and water per day. When your body doesn’t have to work extra hard to account for nutrients that you unknowingly deprive yourself of, your brain functions with so much clarity. Some foods that have been proven to help include: fish/fish oil, cocoa, anything with a solid polyphenol fat content (i.e. walnuts and avocados), and eggs. 

Giving yourself this care pays off in the long run because it inevitably gives you energy to use your brain at its full capacity. In addition and perhaps a given, getting enough sleep is another important factor. You must have noticed how much easier it is to think and memorize when you aren’t battling exhaustion or yawning the day away. Not many people get their proper 8 hours in this day and age, but it’s a life choice that can absolutely change your cognition. There’s a reason doctors recommend you do certain things to maintain your wellbeing and part of it is to ensure your brain is being properly nurtured.

There are outside influences such as chronic illness that can put a huge damper on your memory, and that is a facet of life we can’t always prevent. However, that doesn’t mean it hurts to still engage with the aforementioned tactics to at least aid in keeping your brain active. It’s pivotal that we do what we can to stay cognizant while we have the time and energy to do it.  And if there’s anything you should really remember, we hope it’s that!

• Written by: Ryshel Constantino
• Images from Unsplash.com Contributors: Laura Fuhrman, Anita Jankovic, Sincerely Media, Jonathan Kemper, Brett Jordan, Emily Underworld, Brooke Lark, Heather Ford, Dan Gold, Gaspar Uhas, Anupam Mahapatra