This article was last updated on March 14, 2022
Having memory problems? We all do at some point, fairly regularly actually. Do you often walk into a room, stop and then begin to question yourself as to why you went in there in the first place? You’re not alone. I do that far too often.
If your memory isn’t too brilliant and you feel like you forget things the majority of the time, important or otherwise, then don’t worry. There are many things that you can do to improve your memory in both the short term and the long term.
The only problem with improving your memory is that it’s pretty difficult to notice any kind of results. Never the less, some of the points I’m about to go through won’t just help with improving your memory, but many of them also are great for relieving stress and keeping your energy levels up. So here are…
9 Ways to Quickly Improve Your Memory
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1) Meditate
Researchers at the University of Washington completed a study to see whether meditating would in fact improve memory and concentration. The study involved participants going on an 8 week course that would teach them about meditation and body relaxation.
After these 8 weeks, they were then monitored along with a group that hadn’t undergone the course, performing various daily office tasks, and tested on factors such as their accuracy, speed and ability to multitask. The results of the group who had undertaken meditation clearly outweighed that of the others in terms of improved memory, stress levels and focus.
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2) Listen to Music
As it turns out, music has so many benefits on a person, and not just from the entertainment value that gives the music industry its huge value. Music has a positive effect on your blood pressure, your heart, immunity, memory, concentration and even athletic performance.
An article on eMed Expert shows exactly what the benefits are and that according to a paper written in the latest UK-based journal of Advanced Nursing, that listening to music can often reduce depression by up to 25%.
It used to be just classical music from artists like Mozart that was thought of as improving peoples’ ability to remember things, but it just so happens that listening to any type of music that gives you personal enjoyment will have the same benefits.
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3) Focus on One Task at a Time
Focusing on just one task at a time will mean that you are able to give your full concentration to this task and not have to think about anything else. Which means your brain won’t be having to remember as many things at once and your thoughts will be focused on just one thing.
This makes it easier for you to remember things because you will be using all your concentration and brain power on one subject, an not splitting it between multiple tasks. Which is partially why when you multitask you become less productive as a whole, and therefore it’s always better to just focus on one thing at once.
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4) Chew Gum
Chewing gum has been shown to help people to stay focused on various tasks for longer, according to a study that The British Psychological Society performed. The study showed that anybody who took part in an audio task whilst chewing gum, had quicker reaction times and results that were more accurate than that of those who weren’t chewing gum.
When you chew gum, the flow of oxygen to the brain is increased, which in turn helps to keep people’s concentration levels high. Something that is very important if you wish to remember everything you’re trying to learn. So next time you’re struggling to concentrate on something you’re working on, why not give it a try?
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5) Go for a Run
Running is healthy in almost every sense, apart from for your knees perhaps. Going for a run every now and then can improve your stamina, your muscle endurance and your state of mind, but it’s also been linked with improving memory and encouraging the development of new brain cells.
Running was taken for an example, but just exercising in general can help towards having a healthy brain and encouraging the growth of brain cells.
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6) Doodle
A recent article on Wise Health Geek showed that doodling can increase memory by up to 29% and it also states chewing gum, as mentioned above, improves tests scores by around 5%.
One of my best friends used to constantly doodle in our German language class back in high school. In fact, by the end of the year his German work book was completely covered in doodles and he’d been told many times to stop. But, when it all came down to it he got incredible scores in his exams compared to most of the class.
With that being said, doodling is not something that helps everyone, so there’s a good chance it may not help you out much.
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7) Eat Berries
Berries, or blueberries in particular have been linked more towards slowing down the natural rate of memory loss that comes with aging, rather than improving your memory.
Never the less it will improve your memory in the long term and essentially slow down aging. This is information that has been around for a while, but before this berries were considered as more anti-aging in terms of your skin and general health, rather than being associated with the brain.
An article was written about the study by Harvard researchers of this on CBS News a couple of years ago, by Ryan Jaslow. It gives a little more detail as to how they were able to show the effects of blueberries on a person’s brain.
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8) Caffeine
Caffeine is often associated with improving your energy levels within the short term, or even causing fatigue if you have too much, but it’s now associated with also improving memory.
A study was published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, that involved various participants being shown a series of pictures, and then being given a pill. Half of the pills were caffeine pills and the other half were placebos.
After a day had passed, the contestants were showed the pictures again, with some of them being new, and everyone was asked whether they remembered those pictures or not. Needless to say, those who took the caffeine pill performed better than those who didn’t.
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9) Challenge Yourself
Lastly, challenge yourself! How can you expect your memory to improve if you are not challenging your mind at all, to make it improve.
If you are never challenging yourself then your brain has no reason to grow. But if you do, it will be forced to grow as you’re pushing it to improve to cater for your needs.
