Clever ways to remember almost anything
Yes, it’s another one of those things that comes with age: from time to time we all have the occasional “senior moment.” Perhaps you’ve gone into the bathroom and for the life of you can’t recall why or embarrassingly you have a moment where you can’t remember your doctor’s name, who you’ve been seeing for 20 years. While memory lapses can occur at any age, ageing alone is generally not a cause of cognitive decline.
Sick of misplacing your keys? Tired of forgetting where you left your wallet? Well the Harvard Medical School says that studies have shown that you can help prevent cognitive decline and reduce the risk of dementia with some basic good health habits: staying physically active, getting enough sleep, not smoking, having good social connections, limiting alcohol to one drink a day, and eating a balanced diet low in saturated and trans fats. But what about little day-to-day brain exercises or tricks you can employ to help the old ticker? Well, thankfully, there are some.
When we fail to pay close attention, the memories we create are weak and we sometimes have difficulty retrieving them later. So how can you eliminate or greatly reduce such occurrences? Try these tips and tricks!
Never forget items when at the supermarket
If you get home only to realise that you’ve forgotten to main ingredients for tonight’s dinner, you’re not alone. Next time you head to the supermarket, try making up a story using the items you need – it could even be a fun game to get the grandkids involved in if they’re young enough. The more out-of-this-world and dramatic the story the better, as it will make it more memorable. The narrative will take you from item to item until you reach the end of your list.
Say goodbye to not being able to recall online passwords
Create a template that you personalise for each site. For instance, you might start with a word-number combo that’s meaningful to you — say, Ruby60, the name of your cat and your current age. Add onto the end the first two letters of the website that needs a password: O6 for Over60, for instance.
Don’t ever forget a birthday again
With so many amazing tools and gadgets at our disposal, it makes sense to use technology as part of your memory bank. Facebook will send you a reminder of upcoming birthdays: Go to the Accounts Notification page to opt in. Similarly, use your phone’s/iPad’s/laptop’s calendar to set up an alert for events and appointments — you can set it for the morning of the activity or a short time before it.