While you're young, you don't really know what it's like to forget things regularly, or having your memory letting you down. As we get older, our brains don't work as efficiently as they did when we were young. That's because our brains are made up of neurons, and firing them means that they are in the process of reacting electrically or electrochemically with each other. They send messages to each other through synapses, they make connections, and these chemical signals eventually involve other neurons nearby. This pattern and strength of firing neurons also affects our memory. As we age, these neural connections weaken. This is affected not only by ageing but also by our lifestyle. When we have stressful daily lives, we have to concentrate on many things at once, and often things slip our minds. However, when we are under constant stress, our body's cortisol levels increase. This stress hormone, whose job is to ensure survival in an emergency, affects the hippocampus and other parts of the brain responsible for memory. When we are anxious, we also find it difficult to concentrate. Just think of exam papers. We feel like we don't know anything. In addition to stress, depression, sleep disorders and of course taking too much medication can also have a side effect on memory. In older age, Alzheimer's disease can also appear as a disease.
However, our brain is a wonderful machine and if we exercise it properly, like our muscles, it will perform stronger and better. This is also true in reverse. If we neglect it and don't work it, then, just as with a cast on a leg, the muscle will atrophy, so our brain will slowly deteriorate. The nerve cells simply don't communicate with each other properly, which causes our memory to deteriorate and our attention span to be shorter. This in turn affects our quality of life over time. If we don't keep developing our most important resource, we will find it difficult to achieve results in terms of personal development and other aspects of life.
The good news is that we can train our brains effectively with the following 8 methods:
Find your way around without tools!
It's a daily part of our lives that if we want to get somewhere, we type in our smartphone and it will lead us there nicely. GPS is a great invention, but it makes it so easy to find your way around that we don't even use the part of our brain that does it anymore. But moving around in space, getting from point A to point B, challenges our brains. If you live in a big city, take a different route to work! Don't go on autopilot, put your brain to work. Instead, start earlier, it's okay to take a detour. If you're walking or hiking, look at the compass points, where you need to get to and solve without gps.
Learn something every day!
I like to make the point that the one thing they can't take away from us is knowledge. Also, the best investment in life is to invest in yourself, i.e. to expand your knowledge. Last but not least, by learning, we keep our brains constantly exercised. No need to think big. Whether it's searching the internet for new words and phrases and learning a new word every day. Or download an app and learn a sentence every day in a foreign language. Or you can learn a new form of movement, I can help you with that. Not only will your brain improve, but your body will improve too. By learning, you're not only exercising, you're also nourishing your mind. Because the brain is like an engine - it needs fuel.
Get some exercise!
Speaking of exercise. Movement alone is good for the brain. In America, research has been done in several universities. They have concluded that just 20 minutes of exercise helps the brain. Exercise equals higher heart rate, more blood (hence oxygen) in the brain - it's as simple as that. But exercise also releases hormones in the body that improve relaxation, learning and neural signalling. Any kind of movement is good, but even better is one where you're also doing some lateral movement. Walk while swinging your arms, or do breaststroke, chikung, yoga or just run! Have you ever had great ideas come to you while running or swimming? No coincidence. Our brains work differently when we move. Many biological processes take place in our bodies that are also good for our brains. Dancing is a movement that stimulates the mind. The more serious the choreography you learn, the more you need to use your head to keep your arms and legs in line. Which can be difficult at first, but with practice you'll get better.
Learn to play an instrument!
Playing an instrument presents the brain with an incredibly complex task that requires the cooperation of multiple senses. The brain of an instrumental musician processes huge amounts of information from many different sensory modalities in parallel while playing. Think about it, a pianist has to simultaneously read music, visualise the music in his head, find the notes on the keyboard and plan the movement of fingers and feet, while constantly monitoring the sound and adjusting the volume and pedal use accordingly. According to a study by Japanese scientists, musicians who can play by ear have a much better memory and learn languages more easily. Last but not least, listening to music alone involves the processing activity of the right auditory cortex and somatosensory system, and involves the frontoparietal network. But it also activates and modifies areas such as the brainstem. It stimulates cognitive functioning through the richness and processing of music and musical stimulation. The combination or interaction of these effects may explain the observed benefits of musical activity at different levels of normal brain function. It is an old theory that music can serve as a reminder to store other information. In school, children learn the alphabet by singing, and the idea of learning rules or a foreign language by singing has been suggested. Music and playing music is one of the most effective ways of developing memory.
Play!
There are many types of memory games. You can now download them on your mobile phone to train your brain. Sudoku is one of the most effective games for this. But one of the easiest ways to improve memory and avoid dullness is to do crosswords. Research with elderly people has shown that those who regularly did crosswords were able to delay the onset of memory deficits by about 2.54 years. Another study on the subject found that new neuron connections formed during crossword puzzles reduce brain damage caused by Alzheimer's disease. Board games can also be very effective. Learning and memorising rules is quite a challenge for our brains, so it's a great way to train our memory. Chess is the most intellectual and intellectually challenging game in the world. It is no coincidence that it has been played in world championships for decades. It requires complex learning methods, analytics and the ability to map and analyse your opponent at short notice in order to predict your next moves. The infinite possibilities of variations of moves have to be calculated and planned, so it is very demanding on our memory. In this way, chess can do a lot to keep us healthy.
Give things up!
There are many activities that have a negative effect on our brain. Watching TV, for example, is scientifically proven to reduce brain work. Watching TV is a form of communication where the message reaches the mind without any effort. Not to mention the fact that this message is rarely found to be particularly mind-bending. Alcohol, too, has been shown in countless studies to be harmful to brain function. Eating a healthy diet will also make your brain healthier. And a healthier brain works more efficiently. A more efficient brain is better able to store and recall memories. So it's worth giving up unhealthy fast and fatty foods. Eat less meat and more vegetables.
Do brain exercises!
Do the exercises you learn in the course.
Closing words:
Memory decline is a lifelong process, and it's not worth reassuring ourselves that we'll have time to improve it after the age of 60 or 70. New neuron connections are made and old ones broken in our brains every day, so it's worth starting to train your memory as soon as possible.