Contents:
Medical Video: Short Term Memory Loss - What It Is, What Causes It, and How To Prevent It
Come on, let's admit, there are not a few of you who like to remember people's names even though you have only just met five minutes ago, or even like to forget what you were doing just now?
As you get older, it cannot be denied that your memory will decrease. You need to take more time to process and learn new information, while remembering old information is also becoming increasingly difficult. But calm down. There are many ways to strengthen memory to slow down (even reverse) the effects of this aging process. Come on, listen!
6 daily strategies to strengthen short-term memory
Most of the decline in age-related memory sharpness can increase as you actively learn new ways to sharpen memory skills. Here are step by step steps to strengthen your memory:
1. Observe well
Grow an active interest in what you want to remember, and keep thinking. Use all your senses. For example, you want to remember to buy bananas at a supermarket. Imagine what the fruit smells like, the shape and texture of the fruit when it is held, until the map of your path enters from the main door to the fruit spot. Similarly, when you meet new people - remember what the perfume smells like, how it sounds, the unique characteristics of the habits or physical stature, etc.
Learn every new information by looking at details more closely, kissing, touching, and listening more carefully. On the other hand, it is your brain that has to choose what to remember. Don't give choices to filter what you want to remember. Let all the information you examine enter and be embedded in your brain. In other words, pay attention to what or who you want to remember.
2. Give a relationship
Connect what / who you want to remember with what you already know. For example, if you have just met someone named Agus, think of someone you know in the past who is also named Agus. You might also learn that this new Agus is a Jogja person (relate Jogja to your memories of the city) or he likes to read books (relate novels to books you've read).
Link all the new information that you learned about Agus with other educated memories because this will connect new information and make it more meaningful.
3. Play imagination
Visualize the picture in your mind of what you want to remember. Using the example of Agus' meeting, wake up by imagining Agus in the courtyard of the Borobudur temple reading a Harry Potter novel.
Sometimes using fanciful or fantastic imaginations, creating the strongest memories, but for most people, this technique requires some practice because we tend to be very logical and serious like adults.
4. Think about it
Think actively and describe every detail you want to remember. The more details you can get by listening or asking questions, this will add meaning and will likely be remembered.
5. Center concentration
Meanwhile, don't think about what you want to do tomorrow or worry about what happened yesterday. Your ability to concentrate at this time can greatly enhance your ability to learn and remember new information. Remember, short-term memory is fragile. If something disturbs your mind on the way to the kitchen to take a drink, you will forget why you are there.
6. Say it out loud
Say it out loud. If there is info, name, or number that you want to learn, repeat several times either loudly or talk to yourself. For example, when you want to remember Agus's name, it's okay to refine his name while chatting with him. Or, when you want to remember to buy cold medicine, repeat "later buy cold medicine" continuously in the heart on the way. Simple actions like this will help you remember them.
7. Write down
Another way is to write in a journal or paper, if you don't want to say it out loud. The act of writing something requires concentration and will then help you remember it. Writing with a pen also helps you remember better than typing the same information into your electronic device.
A healthy lifestyle to help strengthen short-term memory
1. Eat fruit rich in antioxidants
To keep your memory young even though your brain is old, scientists recommend eating foods that contain high antioxidants, such as blueberries, apples, bananas, dark green leafy vegetables, garlic, carrots, and dark chocolate. Antioxidants are molecules that are easily bound to and neutralize free radicals floating around the bloodstream. Free radicals that accumulate in your body as you get older can kill brain cells - but not if you kill them first.
Secondly, the brain is largely built by healthy fats, including the most important of all are omega-3 fatty acids. In order for the brain to repair itself and still activate its nerves properly, you need to have enough omega-3 intake. Omega-3 is found in many types of fatty fish (salmon, sardines, tuna) and beans.
2. Sleep enough
When you fall asleep, your brain remains active working to replay memories on that day and strengthen your memories to be stored long-term. As a result, skipping the night's sleep will cause the "file" of your memory to be mixed or lost, and will be very difficult to restore. Uniquely, going to bed in a state of emotion can actually strengthen the memory in the wrong way so you feel irritated and resentful once you wake up in the morning. Wow!
3. Walk
Sports not only can tighten the muscles, but also strengthen your brain's memory. Research shows that memory centers in the brain called the hippocampus shrink with age, but a study in 2011 found that older adults who routinely walked actually gained additional volume of the hippocampus.
Scientists believe that the benefits of walking for the brain may arise because exercise triggers the emergence of good stress which then encourages the production of growth hormones in the brain. Growth hormone may also be triggered by greater blood flow to the brain, thus presenting more nutrients and oxygen.
