What Helps Improve Memory?

Some people firmly believe certain vitamins or advertised supplements really help to improve their memories; however, before resorting to expensive trial-and-error approaches of different remedies, try some proven tips and tricks, and practice them everyday. Research shows it is not only the methods you use to remember and recall information, but practicing them on a regular basis that revs up your brain and increases memory and overall brain function.

Healthy Habits

Turns out the advice given to keep your body healthy works for your mind too. Eat fish with the omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, trout and yogurt, to decrease inflammation in arteries and protect the nerves. Blueberries, strawberries, walnuts, carrots, celery, olive oil and spinach have properties that protect the brain. Flossing daily prevents the buildup of plaque which can, if it travels to the brain, contribute to the decline in mental abilities. Exercise energizes your brain as well as your body. Scientists say working on a mind-building activity, such as a crossword puzzle or a language tape, while exercising or immediately afterward revitalizes brain cells.

Make Associations

Make connections between new information and information you already know. The brain uses an organized scheme to store materia. Linking new information tells the brain where to store it and facilitates recalling it when you need it. Memory techniques, such as mnemonics -- devising a trick to remember a list -- creates new brain activity, even in early Alzheimer's or other memory-impaired people. When a part of the brain dies, new pathways in other parts of the brain are created to learn new information.

Create Mental Images

It's easier to recall something you have seen or experienced than something you have only heard or read about. So create a picture in your mind of what you are trying to remember. Experience it by involving your body in whatever way you can. Repeat it out loud, spell it in the air or act it out. Another trick, called the loci method, is good for remembering a list of objects or names. Picture yourself placing or seeing the item in a certain location. Picture yourself paying $10 for a ham to remember Alexander Hamilton is on the $10 bill. Make up a rhyme, such as "20 is plenty for Crackerjack," to recall that Jackson is on the $20 bill.

Brain-Training

A University of Michigan study found that the more time people spent on memory training, the better they were able to remember and use their brains for problem-solving in general. This is likely because the brain learns to recognize relationships between things it has stored and recall them when needed. So train your brain every day by making your own associations between things. When you lay your keys down, say to yourself, "key, TV" because you put them on the TV stand. To remember someone's name, use the Image-Name technique of connecting the name to a physical characteristic. For Shirley Temple, picture her curls around her face and say "Curly Temples -- Shirley Temple."