Experience and memory can affect our future behavior. If you had a bad experience at a restaurant, there’s a good chance you’re not going back there a second time. Not only that, you’re also going to share the bad memories with your friends.
How does this relate to behavior change? A good experience is crucial to achieving a successful change in behavior. The Brain Power Program takes an integrative, personalized approach to effecting positive change. It takes into account emotional, behavioral, and psychological needs in order to craft a plan that suits your needs. A positive experience creates good memories, which is effective in enacting change.
Simple behavior changes also count as one of the ways to improve memory. Since changing behavior is a process that may take time, there are other things you can do each day to improve memory.
Meditation and the improvement of working memory
Working memory can be best described as the notepad of your brain. This is where the information you learn is temporarily stored. For example, learning about a new topic is stored here. If you find what you learned useful, that is committed to long-term memory. If not, it is let go of.
Since you use working memory every day, it’s important to strengthen it and meditation is one of the easiest activities to help achieve that goal. Meditation involves a lot of concentration, which can lead to better memory abilities when practiced regularly.
Coffee and its link to memory consolidation
A study suggests that taking caffeine after learning a task counts as one of the ways to improve memory recall for up to 24 hours. Participants were asked to memorize images that were the same, similar to each other, and completely different. The purpose was to examine the effects of caffeine on memory consolidation. The study concluded that caffeine does enhance consolidation if caffeine is taken after learning a task.
Berries and preventing memory decline
The University of Reading and the Peninsula Medical School performed a study on the effects of incorporating blueberries into the diet. Researchers found that participants who consumed berries for 12 weeks performed better in tasks requiring the use of spatial working memory. Also, another study that examined the consumption of berries in nurses over the age of 70 found a prevention in memory decline in those who consumed two servings of blueberries and strawberries a week. Blueberries are known for being high in flavanoids, which helps strengthen existing connections in the brain.
Exercise and better memory recall
A study involving both rats and humans showed that regular exercise can enhance memory recall. However, it does not improve all kinds of memory recall. To be specific, the studies found that frequent exercise improves spatial memory.
Gum and stronger memories
Regardless of your feelings about gum, a study has shown that chewing it while learning something can improve your memory. The study showed that participants who chewed gum while learning a task were a lot more accurate and even had higher reaction times when asked to complete a memory recall task.
While some of these require further studies, there is at least some proof that they can improve memory. On top of all these, it’s especially important to get enough sleep because it helps you remember the things you’ve learned.
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