Tuesday, 21 October 2014

This Is How We Do It




Healthy Body, Healthy Memory

Your brain doesn’t operate in total isolation from your body. Taking regular exercise and avoiding getting overweight could help boost your memory as well as your physical health.



Today, with cheap transportation, abundant fatty and sugary foods and very few people doing physically demanding jobs, it’s easier than ever to become physically out of shape. But inactivity can be bad for your brain and, in particular, your memory. And this is especially true the older you are.

Here’s an idea for you…

Get hold of a pedometer. These are small devices which measure how many steps you’ve taken. Try wearing it each day, and whenever possible, try taking the stairs rather than the lift, and try walking rather than driving. Keep a daily or weekly record of how many steps you’ve taken, and aim to constantly improve it. You could even get competitive and ask a friend to wear one too.

Moderate cardiovascular exercise has been found to improve memory abilities, and ward off the development of dementia. The key is that the exercise session needs to be at least thirty minutes long, and you should do it several times a week, ideally every day. There is also growing evidence that obesity may itself impair memory abilities. A hormone called leptin, which help us regulate our appetite, does not reach the brain so well in many obese people. Lack of this hormone in the brains of mice impaired their long-term memory and ability to learn.

“Losing weight will improve how you regulate your glucose, and we have shown that improved glucose regulation is associated with better memory.”
Dr. Antonio Convit, New York University School of Medicine

However, we don’t currently have a complete understanding of the benefits of exercise on memory and more research needs to be done. So far the evidence suggests that its older people particularly older women, who gain the most benefit to their memory from exercising. But it’s possible that the effectiveness may indeed vary from person to person. Nevertheless, given the health benefits of exercise, what do you have to lose? Should you exercise regularly? It’s a no-brainer!


Write is Not Cheating

Geniuses do it, star students do it and the most effective business executives can be almost obsessive about it. Even in the age of computers, old-fashioned note-taking is just as useful as ever.


Jotting things down in a notepad may seem counter- productive if you are trying to boost your memory, but it’s actually complementary to it. The chances are that you already take notes, just not in any organised or systematic way. For this reason, many of us find writing a useful technique in itself. Equally, there are many types of information which you might need to retrieve in the future, but are not so vital to everyday life that you would want to spend the time and effort memorising them.

Here’s an idea for you…

Keep a notepad with you at all times; you never know when you might need to jot down important information. A small pad that fits easily into a pocket is best. Most of the time, for most people, paper is still better than electronic organisers, as it’s quicker to use, and you don’t need to be so worried about it being stolen. Important long-term notes can then be transferred to a digital storage medium later.

Writing up your notes a day or week later will give you a vital review of the information, helping to consolidate it into your long-term memory. At this point you can choose whether to physically write them up using pen and paper, or whether to transfer them onto a computer.

“The palest ink is better than the best memory”
Chinese proverb

By making notes of things to follow up in future, we free up a lot of mental space, allowing us to concentrate better. Similarly, taking notes can be essential in writing to-do lists. Students, in particular, need to take notes in lectures and classes. Even if they have well-trained memories, most will not want or be able to memorise things fast. After your classes, use the left margin to jot down the information in quick form, using key words. Then use the bottom margin to summarise the whole page in a couple of sentences.

By taking notes you don’t lose information, or end up working on things only to realise you’ve repeated something you’ve already worked on. It makes you smarter, and more efficient.