PERSONAL SPECIAL ....HOW TO BOOST YOUR MEMORY

HOW TO BOOST YOUR MEMORY





Neurologists provide tips that will improve your ability to retain, recollect and remember

We've all been there. That fateful day when you had that big meeting at work and the house help didn't show and you missed your regular train. All this cumulatively resulted in a disaster -you forgot to make a copy of that presentation you stayed up all night working on. It's easy to blame your fading memory but city neurologists feel it's a clear case of over-exhaustion that takes a toll on our mind, which is unable to process multiple tasks. “If you concentrate on one thing, your memory power will be better but when juggling too many things at a time, the brain is unable to process so much information at a go. For instance, if you're talking on the phone, while making tea and watching TV and doing laundry -all at the same time, then it's hardly surprising if you forget to put powder in the washing machine or sugar in the tea,“ explains Dr Sangeeta Ravat, head of neurology at KEM Hospital. Here's how you can improve your memory.

Memorise by association

If you associate an idea in different ways -by sound, words or music, stimulating different areas -you will remember it better. “If you have a thought, say it aloud or sing it aloud or write it down. Associate it with visualisation -draw it down on paper and then it will become a strong memory. A lot of our memory is visual and visual memory is the strongest. If someone were to tell you not to imagine Mona Lisa with a moustache, you will find it difficult to not imagine it,“ explains Dr Shirish Hastak, director of neurology at Wockhardt Hospital who has been conducting a memory enhancement workshop for the last 10 years.

Emotional connect

Use other senses, rather than words and sounds. You can use other tonalities to keep the association strong. A common method leans on the slap-in-the-face principle. It is well known that emotional compo nent makes memory strong. “We all will remember where we were when Indira Gandhi died, but we won't remember the day after that. All things are stored in different places in the brain and you must create multiple keys to gain access to each of the places,“ says Hastak.

Brain food

Like our body is conditioned by what we eat and the workout we follow, the brain all needs adequate nutrients to function optimally. “Brain is driven by the heart so affiliated conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity must be controlled if not avoided. Oily food should be avoided, salt should be in moderation and one must try sticking to calorie counted meals,“ says Dr Annu Aggarwal, consultant neurologist and specialist in cognitive and behavioural neurology at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital. She feels that the Indian diet is not equipped to provide most necessary nutrients for the body and the brain. “Vitamins are vital minerals and if we don't get them from what we eat, we should take supplements. It's a myth that one can get sufficient Vitamin D through sunlight or milk. One needs to acquire it through supplements.But this should be done under a doctor's supervision because high Vitamin D can again cause kidney issues. Also, all vegetarians need to be on B-complex because our diet is not geared to deliver the required intake. Even non-vegetarians need it since it's not like all our meals will have lean meats. Low Vitamin D and B complex are common reasons for memory problem,“ she adds.

Curb anxiety

That most of us are grappling with such high levels of stress and anxiety, the fact that it limits our memory too, would seem severely daunting. Hastak feels that this feeling of unease and dread is amplified with information overload one has through constantly checking WhatsApp, Facebook and other social channels. “The brain has a capacity and memory has a capacity.If you overload it, it will give in,“ says Hastak, adding that doing so would also mean “missing out on the important things in life“. “Time is limited and since you're pushing as much as you can through a narrow time window, you're likely to forget more.“ Apart from volume of information, it is also the nature of the information consumed that could impact one's memory.“Negativity makes for news and it's all over social media -someone killed someone, a big hurricane is coming your way, a big crash took place in your city. This creates emotional disturbance and can disrupt your memory,“ says Hastak who suggests that one limit their internet time to 30 minutes in the morning and evening. It may be challenging initially, he says, but if one takes the effort to train oneself, it's possible and the recharged ability to focus will be a payoff worth the sacrifice.“Today, our whole lives are online.The positive part is that we're well connected. But the disadvantage is you're hyper connected and it's not good for your brain's health. Lack of focus, means you're in trouble as it is the key to contributing to life.“

Brain building for the old

The more we use our brains, the more maintained our networks are.The good thing about working professionals is that they are active -they are managing a job and their home. This poses challenges in different aspects of their life which strengthens the brain. “The idea is their life which strengthens the brain. “The idea is not become complacent, especially after reaching a certain space in one's career or post retirement, one shouldn't ease off the mental tasks,“ says Aggarwal.She feels that it is important to plan the cognitive activities post retirement, just like one plans one's career. “Join hobby groups, go out for movies and plays. Maintain an intellectually demanding schedule.And you must plan it. It won't come spontaneously. Laughter clubs and exercise help, but one must keep one's brain healthy. Have a consultancy, take up a hobby every six months, join a language class, pursue social work. It is advised that children don't take charge over their parents' life and allow them to learn how to manage things such as net banking, responding to emails and taking charge of investments.These activities will ensure they interact with people. You can't resign to a sedentary life as everyday life doesn't pose that many challenges like one gets from work life,“ adds Aggarwal.

Prioritise and focus

Just like it's impossible for us to be at multiple places at the same time, it's impractical for us to focus on multiple conversations without being distracted or scattered. Hastak agrees with this and says that we have limits to our consciousness.“If you're speaking with two people and the third one joins in and speaks simultaneously, you won't be able to focus on all conversations. So, you have to understand what is mainstream knowledge and what is parallel knowledge and focus on what matters more. A practical way of segregating would be to slot your life and tasks into A, B and C and include time spent on social media and WhatsApp in D.“

Hello from the other side

It's necessary for us to employ the hand we don't normally use for daily tasks. So, if you're right-handed, try training your left hand for daily tasks such as brushing or shaving. “The idea is that if you use both sides of the brain effectively, the brain grows on the opposite hemisphere. In physical objects, you use it and lose it but in biological terms, you use or lose it and the same is true for the health of the brain,“ says Hastak

Kunal Guha

MM 26OCT17