Ways to Improve Your Memory
June 24, 2010 by admin
Filed under Latest Post, Memory
Trivita’s Weekly Wellness Report
By Brazos Minshew, TriVita’s Chief Science Office
OK, I will admit it if you will: I have forgotten the names of people while I was talking to them! I have lost my car keys, misplaced my glasses and turned the wrong way on my drive home.
How about you? Does it seem like your memory is playing tricks on you as you age? Well, there are reasons for that and very few of these reasons are related to diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.
How to make a memory
Your memory is an amazing miracle. Every second your brain processes billions of bits of information from your five senses. You may consciously perceive only a very small percentage of this information because one function of your brain is to filter out unimportant information. The things you remember will usually be advantageous to you. For instance, remembering your wedding anniversary date or remembering where the speed trap is on your drive home.
Memory is classed into two basic groups:
- Short-term: Short term memories are quickly forgotten when they are no longer important.
- Long-term: Long-term memories may be divided into recent and distant.
Practicing or rehearsing can improve your memory by moving more information into long-term. For instance, when I am distracted by stress I will not be able to remember where I left my car keys. That information was deleted from my short-term memory. However, if I consciously say, “I am hanging my car keys on the hook,” I am far more likely to remember where they are.
How to keep a memory
Reduce stress
Stress kills your memory. The stress system is designed to ensure survival. It helps us fight off a snarling dog or flee from a snarling bear. As important as that is, humans do more every day than merely survive. If you want to have a good, healthy memory, do all you can to reduce the need for fight or flight stress responses.
Learn something new
As mentioned, practicing or rehearsing something enhances memory. So does learning something new. You see, memory is facilitated through the billions of neurons and synapses in your brain by patterns: retracing old patterns as well as creating new patterns. The more new things we master and the more connections we create, the better our overall memory will be.
If you want to remember your anniversary, start learning a foreign language. If you want to remember important names, learn a musical instrument. The more you learn – and the more you connect the old with the new – the better your overall memory will be.
How to nourish a memory
Certain nutrients help the memory to remain sharp. These nutrients fall into two basic categories: those that create brain structure and those that nourish brain function.
Your brain is made mostly of fat. And the majority of that fat is an Omega-3 called DHA. So, to have a healthy brain we need healthy fats like OmegaPrime®. Your nerve cells convert some fats into functional nerve proteins called myelin. Formation of myelin requires dietary protein and Vitamin B-12. So, for healthy brain structure and function we need Omega-3 fats, healthy dietary protein and Vitamin B-12.
When the memory is activated, it creates heat in the brain. To fuel the memory, quench the heat and repair the daily wear-and-tear on your brain, you need antioxidants. Certain antioxidants target brain function specifically. An excellent antioxidant formula that is also anti-inflammatory is Nopalea™. The Betalain bioflavonoids in Nopalea also help improve circulation by fortifying healthy arteries.
What do you remember?
To recap: Occasional memory lapses usually indicate you are distracted by stress. Rehearsing things you want to remember and practicing new things you have learned can help you avoid stress-induced memory lapses. Because new behaviors create new pathways in your brain, learning something new such as a new language or musical instrument can improve your overall memory.
Stress kills your memory. Nutrients such as Omega-3, Vitamin B-12 and anti-inflammatory antioxidants such as those found in Nopalea can help rebuild and restore your ability to remember. With all of these tools at your disposal, you have access to the power of a healthy memory.
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Take Control of Your Health
- Reduce stress
- Increase physical activity and mental activity
- Learn something new
- Rehearse before an important event
- Practice and review the things you want to remember
- Learn something new (yes, I know I repeated this, but repetition is the mother of retention)
- Nourish your memory with:
Learn more!
Tips for Time Management
TriVita’s Weekly Wellness Report
By Brazos Minshew, TriVita’s Chief Science Officer
“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.”
– Benjamin Franklin
We speak of “time management” as if time were a commodity to be managed like lumber or DVDs. But as Mr. Franklin put it, time is the precious fabric of life. And once a moment has passed, it is gone forever. So, how can we make the most of time (and life)?
Think systematically
An overarching principle of time management was stated by Steven Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. He stressed that we need to “put first things first.” This means having a pretty clear idea of the direction of our life. For convenience’s sake, you could work from these three points:
- What is our purpose?
- What are our strengths, talents and resources?
- What do we desire or want? What are our goals?
So, working with these points, here is the systematic thinking process: Our work should be derived from our sense of purpose. Purpose, then, is a journey rather than a destination. It is the unique way we combine our natural abilities (our talents) with our education and expertise (our strengths) to meet our short term objectives and long term goals. Living a life of Purpose requires that we dedicate our resources (time, energy, health & wealth) in pursuit of a cause or mission that reflects our core identity. It is not dictated by circumstances; rather, Purpose dictates the way we approach every circumstance. Situations change but Purpose does not!”
As for our desires, wants and goals, they should be harmonious with our values and sense of purpose. Steven Covey urges us to consider this “first thing” before our next step, which is to set goals in harmony with our sense of purpose. Goals are general statements of intent that are limited by time, distance, amount and other measurable quantities. Each goal comes with a series of progressive objectives: what needs to be done, by when and by whom? These systematic steps help us create mileposts as we engage in the enthusiasm of living a life of purpose.
Remember, happiness comes from setting and achieving worthwhile goals.
Prioritize
Mr. Covey developed a system for determining how to “put first things first” in almost any situation: the four quadrants of time management.
- Quadrant 1 – Urgent and important: crisis management
- Quadrant 2 – Not urgent, but important: time management
- Quadrant 3 – Urgent, but not important: distraction
- Quadrant 4 – Not urgent, not important: wasted time
Quadrant 2 is where the majority of our time should be spent: planning, learning, doing, relationship-building, recreation – all according to immediate objectives, long-term goals and our own, personal sense of purpose. The more time we spend in these activities, the more effective our time management will be. And this translates to a happier life!
As you can see, this is less about how we manage time and more about how we manage ourselves.
Use our strengths, talents and resources wisely
We all need to select the most purposeful use of our precious resources:
- Time: It can never be replaced. Each moment is the only one of its kind and then it is gone.
- Talents: Fortunately, we can develop our talents with time and practice.
- Health: We can improve and maintain our health by the vigorous application of The 10 Essentials for Health and Wellness.
- Wealth: We can develop wealth appropriate to our spirit of service.
Nutrients can also play a role in building a life of purpose. Certainly, we cannot hope to build a life filled with public and private victories without a solid foundation in health and wellness. Our Healthy Aging nutrients provide a solid foundation for health. Sublingual B-12 can help fuel an energetic mind while Energy Now! can help fuel an energetic body. (Energy now! also personally helps me stay on task without giving in to distractions when doing my important work.)
Dedicate yourself to living a life of purpose. Set worthwhile goals as well as clear, measurable objectives. And both cherish and manage the time that you have – for time is the stuff life is made of!
Take Control of Your Health
1. Explore your most noble desires
- Decide what you want your life to stand for.
- Write your epitaph – how do you wish to be remembered?
- If time and money were not factors, what would you be doing?
2. Write down your purposes. Often these fall into four categories:
- Relationships/Love
- Play/Recreation
- Work
- Worship
3. Decide the goals and objectives that you must reach along the way
- Write them down specifically
- Create measurements or milestones to assess your progress
- Celebrate your successes
- Re-assess your plans (but not your purposes) often
4. Use the 10 Essentials to create the perfect environment for success
Please note that Weekly Wellness Report topics will be chosen at the discretion of Brazos Minshew and based on general relevance.
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Vitamin B12 and Improved Memory
Are you worried about memory loss?
You may have laughed at jokes and stories of others—but if you’ve ever wandered through a parking lot looking for your car, or fumbled through the house to find your glasses, you know the frightening reality of not being able to control your memory.
In fact, the loss of mental abilities is one of the most fear-evoking aspects of aging.
The idea of forgetting what we said five minutes ago, not recognizing the faces of our most loved ones, or continually misplacing things can be terrifying!
There is a “miracle” that can help your memory as you age!
The miracle is vitamin B12, a common vitamin found in everyday foods and multivitamins that you may already be taking. B 12 is extremely vital in brain and nerve function—playing an integral part in memory. However, according to medical science, as you age, your body’s ability to absorb vitamin B12 through food and pills decreases. In fact, many adults may be unable to absorb vitamin B at all and have to receive expensive B12 shots each month!
Now there is something that works like a B 12 shot —
without the expense and pain of an injection!
People have experienced amazing results with B12 shots over the years. But now, there is something more convenient than a B 12 shot . Dr. Libby’s original, patented Sublingual B-12, B-6 & Folic Acid from TriVita gives you all the B-12 you need—so you avoid the pain and expense of an injection.
You can have peace of mind!
Enjoy yesterday’s memories…Make new ones today…Anticipate tomorrow!
Dr. Libby’s original, patented Sublingual B-12, B-6 & Folic Acid gives you peace of mind because you know that you are taking a wise step in your health. It’s not sold in stores, and is only available from TriVita. Now you can join the millions of others who have experienced the miracle of Dr. Libby’s original, patented Sublingual B-12, B-6, & Folic Acid from TriVita!
