Hisham Sarwar
For ageing well, it is important to look after our physical as well as mental health. But as we grow older, the biggest fear among is the weakening of our thinking skills. Memory, attention, and reason are the skills give us the ability to engage with the world around us and the loosening of these skills means getting disconnected from everything and it is very frustrating.
But thanks to decades of research, science has proved that the thinking skills can be improved over a period of time and we can keep our mind active even as we get old. Following are the strategies that we can adapt to improve our memory.
Constant learning:
The research has proved that getting a person into the habit of learning can keep the mind active. The challenging exercises are believed to activate the process that helps maintain an individual’s brain cells and stimulate the communication among them.
Belief about being in control:
Once people consider themselves as seniors, they think everything as impossible for themselves. But if they avoid the negative stereotypes about ageing, they can get the control of most of their abilities. When older people believe that they can improve their memory and put that into practice, they can have a better chance of staying mentally sharp even as the age.
Challenging all the senses:
Brain needs to stay active in order to be sharp. This requires us to use all of our senses to the best we can. The use of more senses can help retain the memory.
Take advantage of calendars and planners:
Planners, calendars, maps, and shopping lists can help you remember things in a better way as compared to just keeping everything in mind. It helps to keep the routine information easily accessible and can save from frustration of forgetting things on time.
Repeat the things you need:
The best way to retain something in your mind that we have just heard is to repeat it loudly or write it down. This way we reinforce the memory to remember the things we want.
Restudy the essentials:
Spacing out periods can helps us improve our memory and to master the complicated information. It involves repetition of information after long hours such as once or after every few hours as compared to shorter periods. It helps to keep the information saved in our minds for longer periods.
Via: Harvard Health
