We have all had the experience of walking into a room and forgetting what we may have walked in for, or maybe dialing a number only to forget who we are calling till they pick up! As we get older, such incidents become increasingly more common.
Here are some tips from antiaging medical professionals to help keep your memory sharp and help stave off age-related memory loss.
Read fiction – Reading fiction, particularly mysteries or stories that have puzzles to be solved. Such tales involve maintaining a particular piece of information and moving it around your head, “so it doesn’t just sit there,” the experts say. Non-fiction books don’t quite do the same job because you can jump back and forth and read only the information that interests you, if you want to.
Read and follow recipes to cook – The antiaging experts say that reading and following recipes to cook has the same cognitive effects and cognitive benefits as reading fiction. Following cookbook recipes is a similar concept. There are steps to keep track of and various bowls or pots to coordinate. Once you master the instructions, your working memory allows you to make variations or take shortcuts.
Play games – Poker, bridge, and chess can be helpful. Crossword puzzles, Sudoku, Wordle, and similar games are also good. The experts also agree that a simple game of 20 Questions, in particular, can be very helpful to jog and stimulate memory. All of these games also give your working memory a workout.
Be sure to correct any vision or hearing loss – The experts say that quite often, hearing loss and uncorrected vision loss are mistaken for memory issues or can worsen memory issues because you cannot remember what you cannot see or hear properly in the first place!
Reduce your consumption of alcohol – Though a mild one, alcohol is technically a “neurotoxin,” which means it can lead to the death of brain cells, and if you are trying to stave off age-related memory issues, you want to preserve your brain health as much as possible.
Take naps – Naps help consolidate memories, so if you’re studying or preparing for a presentation, take a sleep break as soon as you are done studying – it can help you recall that information. 15 to 20 minutes is all it usually takes to solidify the info and “reboot” the brain!