The average brain can house a million gigabytes of information. That is some serious storage space. For most of us, the problem comes when we try to recall any of that information. We all know that keeping a list is a great tool to help remember which groceries we need, but what about ways to permanently increase the brain’s performance? Feast your gray matter on these unexpected habits you can use to boost your memory every day. Let’s learn how to improve memory.
4 Habits to Improve Memory
Take a Sunbath
The long-term effects of vitamin deficiencies are important to be aware of, as many are serious. In the case of vitamin D, deficiencies have been linked to cognitive diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s and have been shown to cause a decline in memory. To keep the memory functioning at its best, it needs a healthy dose of vitamin D. Luckily, providing the body with vitamin D is very simple. Twenty minutes of full-body sun exposure can provide an entire day’s worth of vitamin D.
Get Fat
Somewhere in recent history, dietary fat intake became synonymous with health problems. Multiple diets aim to help people to lose weight through the elimination of fat from the diet, and there is a low-fat version of everything in the supermarkets.
Here’s the thing: the brain is 60 percent fats by weight, and it sure isn’t going to be replenished by carrot sticks. It is true that processed fats wreak havoc on the body; e.g. partially hydrogenated canola oil. However, much of the brain is made up of essential fatty acids, which must be obtained from dietary sources like olive oil, walnuts, and fatty fish.
While including unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids in your brain-boosting diet has become common knowledge; even some saturated fats can boost cognitive abilities. Saturated fats from coconut oil contain an enormous amount of medium chain triglycerides (MCT). These MCTs provide a near instant source of brain fuel and also help to decrease fat in the body.
Eat Your Berries
Another way to get performance-boosting compounds into the brain is to eat berries; especially dark ones. Blackberries, blueberries, and cherries are rich sources of flavonoids, which help boost memory function. These flavonoids have the added benefit of crossing the blood-brain barrier, so they can also carry toxins out of the brain to be eliminated.
Bring Back Naptime
In the United States in particular, napping has become stigmatized as something that only toddlers and old-timers do – and it’s usually an accident. It is surely not something a working professional would partake in. In actuality, studies are finding there are many benefits of napping with both short naps and long naps proving useful to the body. Short naps are anywhere from 5-15 minutes and can promote an instant boost in wakefulness that can last for a few hours after the nap. Naps longer than 30 minutes may leave you feeling groggy at first, but, once this wears off, improved cognitive performance can last for hours.
Napping can also be a great stress reducing habit. A daily nap of as little as ten minutes can improve the mood by boosting relaxation. No need to fret if you have trouble falling asleep in the middle of the day. Researchers of this study noted that the simple act of lying down and relaxing for ten minutes is enough to reduce signs of stress. As stress also impairs cognitive function, a nap may be just what the doctor ordered.
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