Do you sometimes forget things? Birthdays, names, dates? Surely you are not alone and the good news is that there are easy ways to improve your memory.

The memory capacity varies greatly from person to person regardless of age. However, there are some factors that affect these skills: hypertension, insomnia, excessive alcohol consumption, thyroid problems, depression, or merely the absence of stimuli.

All these reduce the performance of our memory. The same happens if you get too much information. The flow of information today is frightening and the loaded mind has low absorption.

Another factor affecting memory is stress. The stress hormones neutralize the transporting glucose molecules in hippo-campus and leave the brain with low energy. If the stress is chronic, the same hormones act as acid which passes through the neurons leading to the reduction of hippo-campus If this trend is continuous, can destroy the neurons of hippo-campus.

The first thing to do in order to improve your memory is to accept the fact that you forget and recognize the need to improve. In simple terms improving your memory is a matter of adequate training of the brain. Below there are some easy to follow tips and techniques that can help you improve your memory.

Quick Tips to improve your memory

1. You need to be active

This applies to all things you do or hear or think or read. Try to keep notes or make sure you heard and understood what someone else tells you. When you are passive your brain gets carried away and you loose your concentration and ability to memorize things. Be active so that the brain can record what was said. This helps remembering the information easily in the future.

2. Focus

Focus and give attention to details as well. Everyday we receive a huge amount of information but we only remember what we consider important. A good trick to help you remember everything is thinking that everything is important.

Pretend for example that you are investigating a murder and that everything happening around you is very important for your case and you need to remember it.

3. Make combinations – Associate your thoughts

Combine what you want to remember with things you already know. The item that connects them may be a colour, a number or a rhyme. To remember a list of things try to associate the items in the list with images and visualize them in your brain. For example if the first think in your list is a pen try to visualize the list and keep an image of a pen on top. So you have visually combined the pen with the first thing of your list.

You can also use acronyms and combinations of names – or make suggestions using the first letter of each word – as retention tools.

4. Repetition

Repetition helps your memory. It “forces” something we want to remember to be “printed” in our brain. When you meet someone for the first time, immediately repeat his/her name several times or when you are given a telephone number, write it down and repeat it aloud. If you need to always remember something write it a few times on a piece of paper and make sure that your are concentrated and focused when you do that.

5. Combinations

Combine the names of the persons you cannot remember easily with someone who looks like them or with a word that describes them most. Play with their names and get a visual picture in your mind.

6. Analyse new information

We tend to remember what interests us and to forget things we do not like. If you hate maths, it will be extremely difficult for you to remember complex theorems. But if you look into the matter deeply and understand how much difficulty was for the scientists to come up with this theory you will remember it much more easily.

The same holds for other cases as well. There is a reason why you can remember the phone of your favourite pizzeria and not the phone of your dentist.

7. Be patient – Improving your memory needs time

The memory is not instantaneous. You must give yourself time to «digest» the information. There are things that you can remember more quickly than others so do not put yourself in trying to memorize everything if it is not fast enough. When you try to remember something it is essential to keep your energy high and accrue.

8. Relax

The pressure is effective for some people but most operate better when they are relaxed and de-stressed. When we are pressed and stressed, we cannot remember anything. Can you recall a case where you are asked for the name of a singer you know and at that moment you could not remember it and then suddenly you remember it at some irrelevant phase.

Take a deep breath. Do not get stressed if you cannot remember something its no big deal. The relaxation will enhance the thinking and your memory.

9. Keep your mind alert

The apathy is good when you want to relax, but this should not be your way of living. The more you keep your memory vigilant, the better it works. This becomes even more important as it grows. Do crosswords, learn new words everyday and read as much as you can. You need to continually exercise your memory and your intelligence.

10. Exercise

The brain is closely connected with the body. You need to exercise daily so as to have good blood circulation and rejuvenate your lungs. Eat those foods that can give your body the nutrients and vitamins needed. The overdose of alcohol and drugs can impair your memory.

11. Make sure that you include magnesium in your daily diet.

The lack of magnesium in the body may reduce memory and learning opportunities.

Unlike, the abundance of magnesium may improve memory and cognitive functions.

The magnesium regulates a receptor in the brain that has a key role in memory and learning. Maintaining a normal concentration of magnesium is essential for the functioning of the central nervous system that controls our memory

The dose of magnesium needed by the body daily is around 400 mg. The magnesium is found in leafy dark green vegetables. Also found in dried vegetables, almonds and other nuts, rice, bananas and avocados. Magnesium helps to generate proteins, bone mass, and it releases energy stored in the muscles and helps to regulate body temperature.

The lack of magnesium is responsible for allergies, asthma, attention deficit, muscle cramps, fatigue, drowsiness, apathy, confusion, poor memory, difficulty in learning, stress, and heart disease.

Since people appreciate those who have very good memory, it is worth trying. It will certainly help you at work and in your personal life.