How to increase your memory

You should have left the house five minutes ago. Instead you're demolishing the place in search of your car keys. You finally find them (how on earth did they get there?) and pull up to the school just as the bell rings. That's when your six-year-old pouts, "Mommy, it's my day to bring snack, remember?" You race to the store, deliver a box of Goldfish to the teacher (no time to run home for the homemade treats you left in the fridge), and make it to work with seven minutes to spare until your very important meeting. The meeting for which you created a fabulous Power Point presentation, which is sure to impress your superiors. The Power Point that is saved on your laptop. On your desk. At home.

Wouldn't life be easier if you could only remember things better? Good news! You can boost your powers of recall and become healthier simultaneously.

Dr. Paul Bendheim, a renowned neurologist who specializes in memory loss and Alzheimer's disease says there is a way to actually increase your brain's function. Bendheim, an authority on Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, helped pioneer a lifestyle program called BrainSavers (www.brainsavers.com), which emphasizes nutrition, memory enhancement exercises and physical fitness as a three-pronged approach to increase and preserve cognitive skills and even ward off Alzheimer's. Could this approach help you with your everyday recall?

"Absolutely!" says Bendheim. "The brain is like a muscle that needs to be exercised to increase memory and cognitive function."

Bendheim recommends building brain reserve over your lifetime. Professor Shlomo Breznitz, founder of CogniFit, Ltd., concurs, stating that just like a muscle the mind requires exercise to keep fit and strong and that you must either "use it or lose it!" In order to develop your "brain muscle" you should embark on what might be called a cognitive fitness program.

Cognitive skills include decision making, problem solving, and abstract thinking. Increasing these skills will not only improve your day-to-day memory function, but can help ward off Alzheimer's as you age.

MindFit is a brain power fitness software program created by CogniFit. (BrainSavers is a distributor of the software). A demo is available here . Also offered are a corporate program for employers, a program called "Back on Track" for breast cancer patients experiencing chemo fog (a beta version is available here, and a DriveFit program which can improve the different cognitive processes related to driving.

MindFit engages your mind by exercising your cognitive skills. Once you complete the evaluation section you will be able to log on daily and perform challenging, enjoyable scheduled tasks that border on addictive! Feedback is provided by a virtual "personal coach" and the software adapts to your training requirements.

Other ways to exercise your cognitive skills include seeking higher education, undertaking challenging employment opportunities, attending interesting and informative lectures, and even entertaining yourself with games of chess or mind-bending word puzzles.

Foods rich in antioxidants and Omega 3 fatty acids are the second aspect that should be considered, according to Bendheim. Make sure your diet includes loads of fresh produce, fish, healthy fats such as olive oil, and - if you are so inclined - a modest amount of wine. (BrainSavers offers delicious bars that are loaded with mind-enhancing nutrients.) Along with a healthy diet, supplements that can help improve your memory include vitamins C and E and ginkgo biloba.

The third factor of the memory building equation is physical fitness. Dr. Bendheim states that this aspect is very important.

"Even an aging, older brain can generate new cells with only modest physical exercise," affirms Bendheim.

Medical studies have shown that aerobic exercise will increase the number of neurons in the brain, the number of connections between neurons, and the even size of the frontal and temporal lobes.

You don't need to swim the English Channel or run the Boston Marathon, either. Any aerobic exercise - walking, swimming, biking - performed at a comfortable pace with only a slight increase in heart rate and breathing will do. Aim for 30 to 60 minutes, at least three times each week.


Other forms of exercise may help your memory improve as well. Nicole Persley, a certified yoga instructor in Fort Lauderdale, FL recommends yoga. Her fiancé Randy Schneider attests that since he started practicing yoga every morning, in particular headstands for two to five minutes, his memory has increased tremendously. Yoga helps improve concentration and focus, and spine lengthening postures can activate the spinal column and stimulate the nervous system. Inverted postures such as standing on one's head increase oxygen and blood circulation to the brain.

So get moving, make brain-nourishing food choices and work on increasing that brain muscle. Before you know it, you will find yourself walking out that door on time, with keys, snacks and laptop in hand. An added bonus: with all that healthful living, your memory will be the only thing that resembles an elephant!