5 Daily Life Habits That Can Improve Memory

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JAKARTA - Memory helps you access short-term and long-term information and process all the events around you. However, there are times when you need a little extra effort to remember important things, right? Well, it turns out that there are several natural remedies that can help support brain health and improve memory. Anything? Launching MindBodyGreen, Monday, February 7, here are five daily habits you can do to improve memory.

Meet nutritional needs

Nutritional psychiatry is the field of science that uses food and supplements to provide essential nutrients and phytonutrients that help support an individual's mental health needs. In other words, making strategic dietary changes can support an individual's mental well-being and overall cognitive function.

Here are some nutritional changes you can make to improve brain function and improve memory:

Limit added sugars, refined grains, and processed foods Increase animal protein, healthy fats and antioxidants Support your metabolism by determining what and when to eat Maintain a balanced blood sugar level Take Omega-3 supplements

Speaking of healthy fats, omega-3 fatty acids are essential for overall cognitive function and improving memory. Especially EPA and DHA which are omega-3 fatty acids most commonly found in seafood such as fish and algae.

Consuming adequate amounts of omega-3s has been shown to benefit cognitive health, and DHA in particular (with or without EPA) has been shown to improve work and episodic memory, strengthen neuroprotection in general, and increase blood flow to the brain.

Actively moving

Exercise is medicine for the body and the brain. Studies have shown that aerobic and cardiorespiratory exercise increase white and gray matter in the brain, respectively. Gray matter is responsible for most of the processing that occurs in the brain, while white matter is more involved in communication within the brain and between the brain and spinal cord, all of which are important for memory function.

So, how much movement is needed to maintain optimal mental health? One cross-sectional study published by Lancet Psychiatry revealed that the amount of time the body needs to improve mental health is about 30-60 minutes three to five times a week. Besides being good for mental health, regular exercise is also good for maintaining a stable mood.

Meditation

Meditation and other mindfulness practices are in vogue right now. Meditation has been shown to lengthen telomeres (a biomarker for prolonging life) and improve overall brain function. More specifically, meditation increases gray matter in the brain and helps improve memory and learning.

Enough sleep

Sleep is very important for overall body health. But did you know that sleep plays a specific and vital role in healthy memory? When you sleep each night, the brain takes all the information from the day and trims the unnecessary parts so that it stores only the information it deems important.

A good seven to nine hours of sleep per day ensures that the right memories are preserved. So make sure to go to bed early if you want to improve your memory.