7 Power Tips to Keep Your Memory Sharp

As you age, you may find yourself more and more forgetful of things. Whether you’ve misplaced your keys or forgotten why you’ve entered a room, the occasional lapses are common, especially as you age. But you don’t need to give in to those “senior moments.” Based on research, you can find powerful ways to keep your brain healthy through mental exercises, diet and exercising.

Challenge Yourself

Most people think that finding ways to challenge oneself is excluded solely to exercise. While burning calories can boost your mind, you can also shake up your brain power through every day activities. Easy changes such as placing your watch on the opposite wrist for a few days or eating meals using the wrong hand can help lessen memory loss.

Enjoy a Healthy Diet

You can protect your brain and improve your memory, performance, sharpness and focus through a healthy diet. From brain shakes that contain omega-3 fatty acids and bone broth to blueberries and broccoli, what you put into your body can help fuel your brain and benefit your mind. Green leafy veggies, egg yolks, coconut oil and dark chocolate are other nutrients that can prove beneficial to the thinking process as you grow older.

Stay Positive

Studies have shown how positive emotions can impact your physical wellness. Research has also shown you can improve brain health with happy thoughts as you grow older. If you’ve experienced a bad day, ditch your sad or angry emotions and replace them with memory good feelings. Think about things in your life that make you happy such as your children, a spouse, a family pet or vacation spot. Certain smells can also boost your mood. Bake cookies or light a favorite scented candle in your dwelling.

Stop Lamenting Over Your Forgetfulness

Forgetting certain things such as your shopping list for your weekly grocery run may be disheartening. But try not to focus on the things you can’t remember. Between work, home life, socializing and watching the news, a lot of information goes in and out of your brain. A brain that is healthy and fit can weed out worthless data. This leaves it plenty of room to absorb information that is important. Example: the quicker you forget an old log in code, the faster you’ll remember the password you just set.

Boost Your Workout

Dieting and exercise go hand-in-hand when you want to maintain your brain sharpness. Cardiovascular exercise such as walking, biking, weight training and kickboxing pumps oxygen-rich blood to your body’s brain. Regular workouts can also help strengthen the body and prevent cognitive illnesses such as dementia, stroke and Alzheimer’s. If you have a hard time sticking to a workout, enlist the help of a friend or family member to keep you on-task.

Make Time for Mental Stimulation

A hectic lifestyle leaves little time for health boosting activities. But if you want to improve your brain power, you want to set aside a few moments to focus on mental stimulation. Puzzles, card games or mastering a new skill can improve your mental functioning. Today’s technological devices such as the smartphone or tablets make it easy for people to take part in mental games. Look for Sudoku puzzles or card games apps to stimulate the brain. Picking up a new language or playing musical instruments are other activities that will help keep the brain thinking.

Meet New People

As you age, your group of friends may begin to diminish. Unfortunately, isolation and loneliness can cause anxiety and depression. You can open up your circle of friends by making new acquaintances. Whether you join a book club, sign up for a computer class or volunteer, making new connections allows the brain to stay focused, happy and stimulated.

It’s easy to feel like you’re losing your mind through forgetful daily episodes. As you age, the occurrences may happen more frequently. But with a nutritional diet, positivity and challenging exercises, you can improve your memory and keep your brain sharp.