Sometimes it only takes 1 song to bring back 1000 memories. 

How are you doing on your healthy habits? Is there a week that you are still stuck on? Reach out to me if you're struggling and need help. Don't worry if you aren't ready to move on to this week's habit. Stick with the habit that you really need to keep working on until it becomes a habit. 
 

Your daily habits and lifestyle — what you eat and drink, whether you exercise, how stressed you are, and more — affect your mental health every bit as much as your physical health. A growing body of research indicates that regular exercise and a healthful diet can help protect your memory from aging-related decline.

Here are ways you can preserve and improve your memory.

1. Work it Out. Besides fighting the dreaded middle-age spread, evidence suggests older people who exercise have sharper minds. A study conducted last year by the University of Texas-Dallas found older exercisers saw improvements in memory and cognition, in as little as six weeks after starting an exercise regimen. The participants worked out three times a week for an hour, either riding a stationary bike or walking on a treadmill. Improvements were noted even when the participants previously had sedentary lifestyles.

All the more reason to get up off the couch. Go back and read our habit to raise your heart rate daily, or our habit about walking, or read all about strength training...all of which are great ways to exercise. 
 

2. Drink Moderately. You may enjoy unwinding after work with a beer or a glass of wine, but drink too much and you’ll pay the price later on. A recent study found middle-aged men who drink more than two and a half drinks per day will experience memory loss and cognitive problems up to six years sooner than those who drink more moderately. So do yourself a favor and drink less or drink less frequently. There’s plenty of evidence that moderate alcohol consumption is good for your overall brain health and function, just watch your portions..

3. Nap Time. This habit is one that I'm not very fond of...I've never been a good napper, but a good nap can make you feel like a brand new person. You wake up less stressed, more alert, and in a better mood. And if you’re yawning at your desk after that afternoon meeting, it may be the perfect time to take a power nap. A Harvard University study found students who were trained on tasks then took a brief nap, performed better on memory tasks than their non-napping counterparts.

Researchers also know that sleep helps us process and consolidate memories and that lack of sleep can lessen your focus. Check out our Healthy Sleep Habits.

4. Break Your Routine. “If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine; it is lethal,” author Paulo Coelho tweeted. It can get easy to fall into a comfortable pattern as we get old, whether it’s taking the same route home everyday or ordering the same salad five days a week for lunch. Neuroscientists say new experiences help your brain recall and retain information better.

“Our brains are constantly deciding what’s important enough to remember and what can be tossed away. When you’re in a novel situation, your brain assumes that information is going to be important and holds on to it...You’ll better retain things that happen immediately after a novel experience,” NIH researcher R. Douglas Fields told Fox News.

So go on. Try the soup of the day or go to that Yoga class.

5. Eat Your Veggies. A strong body equals a strong mind. Besides keeping your heart healthy and staying active, a good memory needs to be fueled with nourishing foods. A Harvard University study over 25 years found women who ate plenty of vegetables, especially leafy greens, were less likely to develop age-related memory problems. Another study reported that phytochemicals found in some vegetables helped reverse memory loss in animals.

6. De-Stress. Besides helping with conditions like chronic anxiety, addiction, and depression, de-stressing can help improve your memory. Check out our stress-free living tips. One study found that after meditating just four times a week for 45 minutes, graduate students at the University of California, Santa Barbara improved their memory and focus in just two weeks. Students practiced mindfulness with simple techniques like breathing, listening to relaxing sounds, and counting exercises.

7. Drink Up. Tea, coffee, Yerba Mate— pick your poison. Beyond just perking you up in the morning, researchers believe caffeine can be a memory booster. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University believe caffeine can help you recall and retain information. Participants who were given 200 mg of caffeine, about the same as 1-2 cups of brewed coffee, performed better on memory tests than those who were given a placebo pill.

“We’ve always known that caffeine has cognitive-enhancing effects, but its particular effects on strengthening memories and making them resistant to forgetting has never been examined in detail in humans. We report for the first time a specific effect of caffeine on reducing forgetting over 24 hours,” study author Michael Yassa said in a release.

I will drink to that! 

8. Cut Back on the Sugar. Diets rich in sugar and other simple carbs could drain your brain, according to a Charité University Medical Centre study. The researchers found that even among healthy people without diabetes or glucose intolerance, those with lower blood sugar levels, as measured through blood tests, performed better on tests measuring how many words participants could memorize after a 30-minute delay. Check out our healthy habit to learn tips to limit your sugar consumption.

9. Take a Resveratrol Supplement. Researchers found that people who increased their intake of resveratrol, an antioxidant found in red wine, blueberries, and dark chocolate, improved their abilities to form new memories. Those who consumed 200 mg per day of resveratrol instead of a placebo for about six months were able to memorize more words over a 30-minute delay than they could before they started taking the capsules. The study found that those who’d taken resveratrol had changes in their hippocampus—the area of the brain most involved in memory—that helped neurons work together, which was linked to better cognitive performance.

10. Laugh More. Laughter engages multiple regions across the whole brain. Listening to jokes and working out punch lines activates areas of the brain vital to learning and creativity. Read our healthy habit to learn more about the health benefits of laughter. 

11. Learn a New Skill. People can improve their memories by learning new skills that challenge them to use and develop new pathways in their brain. For example, learning to play a musical instrument or making pottery. Check out our healthy habit which talks all about learning something new. 

12. Listen to Music.  According to a Johns Hopkins otolaryngologist: “There are few things that stimulate the brain the way music does. If you want to keep your brain engaged throughout the aging process, listening to or playing music is a great tool. It provides a total brain workout.” Patients with memory loss can often remember songs and specific song lyrics. Doctors will often use music and lyric recall to help individuals retrieve lost memories. Read more about the health benefits of listening to music. Music also helps with your exercise performance and recovery. 

As you can see, a lot of these tips we have discussed over the past year in many of our healthy habits. 

Share your memory boosting tips in our Facebook Group! 

Just a few more weeks until Christmas! Here's my 2020 Gift Guide too if you're looking for unique gift ideas.

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