Improve your ability to remember life's little details with these simple techniques. If things seem to be slipping your mind more often as you age, it's probably nothing to worry about. "Some neural pathways are more prone to changing over time," says Faraz Farzin, Ph.D., a research scientist with Lumosity. On the plus side, an older brain does a better job at making accurate decisions with limited information. "Some people call that wisdom," says Cynthia Green, Ph.D., founder and president of Memory Arts and author of Total Memory Workout.
Luckily, the brain is trainable. Activities such as learning a new language, reading, and taking up new hobbies through the years strengthen your memory muscles. Whatever you do, though, there will be times when you'll just go blank. Here are tips to help you avoid the most common memory mishaps: The Name Game When you're at a party, meeting many people, it can be difficult to remember names, even shortly after you get an introduction. One reason is anxiety. it's common to be nervous in social situations. "A good way to remember someone's name is to really pay attention to it," says Mark McDaniel, Ph.D., professor of psychology and codirector of The Center for Integrative Research on Cognition, Learning, and Education. Say the person's name out loud to them a few times during your conversation, starting as soon as you're introduced. This way, McDaniel says, you are more likely to store the name in long-term memory as opposed to your more fragile short-term memory.
If you are more of a visual learner, try imagining a video that matches the new name. "Visualize a group of frankfurters marching over a hill if you meet someone named Frank Hill," Green says.
Grocery Amnesia
You pop into the grocery store on your way home from work, but you forget what you planned to buy there. For times when you can't make a list, using your imagination can help you remember what you need. "Visualize the smooth, waxy surface of a pepper and the cold carton of sweet, tangy orange juice," Farzin says. The more sensory details you can imagine, the better your chances of remembering. You might also want to try to trigger your memory by thinking about the meal you want to make, Green says. If you know you are making tacos, you can make a mental list of the ingredients, such as tortillas, ground meat, salsa, and cheese.
The Keys Conundrum
It's estimated people spend some 36 hours per year searching for missing keys, so you can save a lot of time by remembering where you put them. "Automate it put them in exactly the same place every time," McDaniel says. When something is ingrained as a habit, you don't need to rely on your memory. As obvious as this seems, it works.
Dueling Dates
It's happened again: You said you'd meet a friend for coffee at the exact time you have a dentist appointment. "Most people have a calendar," Green says. "They just don't know how to use it. Whether you keep a small book or use an online calendar, you must carry it at all times and never commit to something without recording it. An app such as Google Calendar allows you to set reminders by scheduling an alarm, e-mail, or both at a set time before an event. But recording is just one part of the battle. "The most important part is reviewing your calendar," Green says, a step even many of the best calendar-keepers fail to take. "I suggest looking over the coming week each Sunday night and reviewing the day ahead each morning," she says.
Birthday Embarrassment
Your friends and family are terrific about remembering your birthday, but you always seem to forget theirs. "A person's birthday is a random piece of information," McDaniel says. Because it isn't logically connected to what you know about the person, it's especially tough to remember. He suggests telling yourself a story involving the person and the birth date. "If someone was born in December, tell yourself that his parents had spring fever, or if the birthday is in October, like on Columbus Day, imagine her ancestors coming over on the boat with Christopher Columbus," he says.
Parking Zone-Out
A few hours in a large shopping mall can leave anyone at a loss as to where they left their car. "One of the best things you can do is to make sure you aren't talking on the phone or chatting with your passenger as you turn off the car and get out," Green says. There's no hope of remembering where you parked if you didn't even notice the car's location in the first place. Need a foolproof tip? "You can always snap a camera-phone photo of the location," Farzin says. Just make sure to include a telltale bit of the backgrounda floor or section numberin the photo.
Tip: Keep a cheat sheet handy. Carry a small notebook and a pen or keep a notes page on your phone to record daily to-do lists, key dates, and names of people, songs, restaurants, and movies you want to remember .
Diet and Memory Experts agree that the best defense for your memory is an overall healthful lifestyle, including a good diet. While there isn't reliable research yet on sure fixes for memory and brain health, here are four simple dietary suggestions thought to be beneficial in fighting memory loss:
Vegetables
A large study from Harvard Medical School followed 13,000 women for 25 years and found those who ate the most cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sproutsand leafy greens experienced the least memory decline. Experts believe the reason is that these foods are full of antioxidants that prevent brain cell damage.
Omega-3s
These healthy fats found in cold-water fish such as wild salmon, arctic char, and mackerel help us maintain healthy brains. Rush University Medical Center in Chicago conducted a study that showed that older adults who ate fish a couple of times each week had sharper memories than those who didn't.
Water
Your brain is 75 percent water. H20 helps flush out toxins and keeps the brain hydrated. If you wait until you're thirsty to drink, you may already be dehydrated. Drinking eight to 10 glasses (8 ounces each) per day is a good guideline.
Blueberries
In animal studies, this colorful fruit has been shown to slow cognitive decline and reverse memory loss. Brain researchers hope these same results will be shown in human research, now underway.
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