How to improve your brain and memory
Tim gave us an informative insight into the workings of the brain and ways to build and enhance memory
A qualified teacher, Tim won the UK Health and Fitness industry’s Lifetime Achievement Award and is currently working with Exercise NZ to develop its Exercise is Medicine (EIM) platform much of which revolves around the concept of neuroplasticity which he believes is a game-changer for particularly older adults.
He began his presentation by taking us through a number of pictures of various breeds of dogs including their names. We then had to identify which of two pictures of each dog was the one we had seen plus what were the dogs’ names. Most of us got almost all of the pictures choices correct but were not quite as accurate with the dog’s names. This, Tim explained, is because a picture has a lot more detail in it than a printed name.
He then shared that while most people over 50 years’ old experience “senior” moments, this is very much within our control as a function of “neuroplasticity” i.e. our ability to learn how to rewire our brain by creating new pathways. As a result our brains are able to change themselves which has the positive effect of slowing down the progression of a variety of memory issues that arise during the aging process.
He went on to explain that this occurs by us doing things differently in order to help increase the number of dendrites created in the brain related to things we want to be able to remember. As an example, rather than just play Sudoku or do crosswords, we also need to undertake a wider variety of activities that result in us increasing the amount of time and methods we are using with respect to things we want to remember.
In summary, the key to memory is to keep growing new neural pathways on a regular basis that focus on what is important to us.
This writer remembers only too well the statement by a famous movie writer who said: “If you want to remember your wife’s birthday, forget it once”. I did that one year but thanks to choosing to devote a huge amount of time building new pathways I have never forgotten it again!
Additional recommendations that help with the development of pathways that Tim shared with us included ensuring we get enough sleep, reducing fat & sugar intakes and managing our stress levels as these factors can all reduce our effectiveness. He also mentioned that while we get information from all our senses, we really need to focus on all the sources of information that we experience in order to more easily remember specific things.
Tim next talked about the different types of memory i.e. verbal, visual, short term, working and prospective (i.e. remembering to remember). Some specific examples he commented on that involve different approaches included dealing with “where did I put the car keys” and “names”.
With respect to car keys, he suggested that doing something different helps e.g. place them down using your non-dominant hand as this creates an additional pathway that increases the likelihood of remembering. With respect to names, one hint he gave us is to link the name to something else and rehearse it e.g. Fred, Fred Flintstone, imagine a picture in your mind of the new person you have met going for a ride with Fred in his foot powered car (visual memory) and spend time on this (visualisation) to increase the number of pathways associated with it.
As an example, if you have issues remembering one friend’s partner’s name, think of all the other names of the people you are typically with when they are around and it will usually come back to you.
We all enjoyed Tim’s interactive style and his suggestions & tips on helping build and improve our memory.