#Delusional & LID 27#U&I'llb 2gether till d end - Page 35

Many of us don't bother a lot about our fading memory. A startling observation has come out in a study carried out by the University of Virginia in the US. Memory problems can surface as early as in somebody's 20s.

Researchers noted that by the age of 27, brain-speed, puzzle solving capabilities and abstract reasoning take a hit in most people. There's no need to ring the alarm bells on reading, it wouldn't happen that you'll forget your girl's name but at the same time it's important that you realise that brain is a vital part of the body and needs your constant attention. Here's how you can keep it fit:

Stay Active

Staying physically fit is favourable for the brain as well. It is very likely to magnify the size of your hippocampus - the region of the brain connected to long-term recall. Jogging and swimming are a boon for the brain, however, anything that gets you blood flowing can be handy.

Eat Healthy

What's good for your heart is good for your head - this may not hold otherwise but it makes perfect sense if you care for your brain. Experts advise an anti-oxidant-rich diet, coupled with omega-3 fatty acids to maintain a healthy brain.

Organise and Visualise

Get involved in various mental exercises. Teach yourself mental prompts. If you need to remember numerous different items, try organisinf them into smaller bunches. Take your credit card number. You probably know it by heart as it is already arranged into groups of four.

Play and Relax

Contrary to what some people say, video games don't ruin your brain. In fact, there are several games which help to strengthen and train your brain. Relaxing is also big stressbuster.

Now while we would all love to have photographic memories, the sad fact is that that so many of us are stuck with memories that resemble old grainy photographs.

It has also been proven that very few people are actually blessed with a photographic memory, also known as an eidetic memory, while others with supposedly great memories owe it wholly to mnemonic tactics. What we do have going for us is that with time and lots of practice, we can train our brains to become capable of retaining huge amounts of information.

What's at Stake?

Whether you want to remember obscure historical dates in order to ace your history test or you merely want to remember the names of all your girlfriends, by following our Xpert tips you will soon be able to experience a boost in your memory.

Be positive

Most people fail in their quest at improving their memory because they have already convinced themselves that they suffer from an exceptionally poor memory – they are either hopeless when it comes to remembering names or phone numbers just tend to slip out of their minds. Erase such negative thoughts from your memory and promise that you would forever strive to exercise your grey cells and improve your memory. It's so hard to keep yourself motivated if you constantly beat your spirits by convincing yourself that you are a failure.

Exercise your grey cells

Though the human brain isn't a muscle, but by engaging the mind into some complex activities, like learning a musical instrument, a complicated board game like chess or learning a foreign language, will spur its growth and result in the formation of new nerve endings which will contribute to enhancing your memory. Apart from such complex tactics you can also keep your brain sharp and active by challenging it with new puzzles and games.

Exercise your body

Apart from just exercising your brain, it's also important to give the body the workout it needs to remain healthy and fever free. Moreover, regular aerobics and jogging also helps in increasing the blood circulation throughout the body, stimulating the brain as well. This helps in warding off the natural loss of memory that most people suffer once they cross the age of 60.

Stress Reduction

Ever noticed how difficult you find it to remember things when you are put under a lot of stress and feel overworked or overburdened by responsibilities? Chronic stress, though it doesn't cause any physical damage to the brain, does make it difficult for the brain to remember things. And the brain suffers some amount of damage when it has to cope with severe stress over a substantial period of time, thereby making it incapable of focusing on concepts and assimilating complex information. To reduce stress, take up yoga and meditation. Doing simple pranayama exercises will help you battle stress and preserve your brain. These don't even take up too much time, so including them in your daily routine should be a top priority if you want to look sharp and think sharp.

Eat Well

Though there are a number of herbal, Ayurvedic and homeopathic medicines that profess to boost the memory, none of them have proved to be effective during clinical trials. However, a regular diet comprising of such memory boosters like broccoli, spinach, blueberries and fish can really help you improve your memory. Here are a few additional Xpert diet tips that can help you increase your brain power.

1. Avoid a diet that's very low in calories as it can severely affect you attention, focus and memory, If you trying to lose weight, the best way of doing so is to gradual in your approach (not more than a couple of pounds per week)

2. If you want to increase your memory or your brain power in general, then include fish in your daily diet. Not only is it low in saturated fat, it also contains omega-3 fatty acids, which are an excellent memory booster.

3. Try to eat six to seven servings of veggies and fruits a day. The antioxidants present in them neutralize free radicals in your body that harm brain cells.

4. Iron deficiency can lead to lowered intelligence, shortened attention spans and a faulty memory. Iron basically assists in transporting oxygen to the brain cells. So make sure your diet is rich in iron. Take lots of lean meats, cereals, and beans, along with food rich in Vitamin C as it helps the body to absorb the iron.

Observe more

We tend to forget things not because we have a poor memory, but simply because we have don't tend to observe things as much as we should. Let's take the example of names and faces. We find it difficult to remember names and faces because when we meet a new person and hear his name, we aren't concentrating hard enough on remembering them. Same goes for faces. If we consciously focus our attention on the facial features of a particular person, the next time we meet them, we will know exactly where we met them earlier and what had we spoken about. One way of training yourself to become more observant is to look at an unfamiliar picture, put it away and write down on a piece of paper as many details about the picture as you are able to remember.

Focus more and imprint the memories in your psyche

In the short term, memories can be very fragile, and any distractions can make you quickly forget something. Be it the number of things that you have to purchase from the market or a phone number, if you aren't paying attention or aren't fully focused on absorbing the information, you will end up forgetting whatever you heard. So when you are trying to remember information, try to avoid getting distracted.

Enjoy remembering the information

Ever heard of the term selective memory? It basically means that the mind likes to remember things in which it's interested. If you just hate history, you will have a hard time memorizing historical dates. But if you go deep into the topic and read of about the significance of the Non-cooperation movement or the Battle of Stalingrad, then remembering the dates of these historical events will become effortless.

Sleep well

As per the latest studies conducted by HarvardMedicalSchool, the human brain needs a minimum of seven hours of sleep a night to function at its optimum level. So never compromise on amount of time you spend in bed.

The brain is inextricably linked to the physical body. If you are in excellent physical shape, exercise everyday, eat a healthy diet, keep time for relaxation, and manage to keep stress levels in check, your memory will never suffer.