How to Improve Your Memory

With age comes wisdom, and you can use your acquired wisdom to help combat memory problems in new and creative ways.

You can improve your memory. You can make the decision today to get better at remembering things, whether it's the name of that new business associate or where you parked your car. Whether you only occasionally forget a name or you can't seem to stop forgetting your keys, your purse, or your meeting notes, you can do something about it. Your memory can be honed and sharpened with the right lifestyle choices and a basic knowledge of memory-enhancing strategies. Scientists agree that, in the absence of brain disease, it is possible to improve your memory, although there are varied ideas about the best way to go about it.

Many experts agree that one of the most important ways to keep your memory sharp, or to improve it if it's starting to falter, is to engage in plenty of mental exercise throughout life. We've all heard that getting regular physical activity can keep the heart muscle strong and functioning at its best. Even though the brain is not a muscle, it, too, needs regular exercise in the form of mental calisthenics to stay sharp and perform well. While the heart's job is to pump blood to the body's cells, what the brain does best is communicate with its own cells. The more numerous and healthy the brain-cell connections and the faster the signals can go back and forth, the better the mind and the memory will work.

Keeping the brain nimble through puzzles, riddles, and other brain-challenging exercises and activities helps build new connections between brain cells and strengthen those that already exist. Pretty much any activity that actively engages the brain, such as jigsaw and crossword puzzles, board games such as chess, and even watching programs that test your knowledge or expose you to new ideas and concepts, can help. The more interesting and enjoyable the activity is to you, the more likely you are to engage in it consistently and in the long-term. Stimulating your senses, facing new physical challenges, learning to play a musical instrument or speak a foreign language -- all of these can help build more cellular bridges within the brain and improve overall brain function.

We'll start off by touching on memory exercises. Learn more about these fun and useful exercises that keep your memory in tip top shape.