Today I am nothing but a memory of yesterday-my mind always says me so. Our mind is extremely complex in its capabilities ,everyday we are learning something new about our mind and brain, and it seems that full understating of our mind and brain would take many more years. And without a fully functional memory our mind can not perform even a simple task. Our mind has the power to temporarily shut down our memory, both permanent and temporary, depending on whether or not what it has experienced was a traumatic event which simply our brain just refuse to accept. It happens when our mind try to deny any reality and the consequence is severe. I don’t know if you have ever noticed that how our mind play tricks with us, specially when we try to remember a person’s name, our mind get flooded we many names and all seems to be real name of that person. I guess you have already understood the importance of an accurate and retentive memory which can perform even better with some exercises.

The key to have a retentive memory is to increase our ability to move our experiences from our short-term memory into our long-term memory. Basically our memory function based on five laws and those are:

Association – We always remember events or experiences that are associated with other similar events or things more than activities that are not associated with anything. For instance, you remember your computer password because it is the same as your last six digits of your phone number.

Images– Humans memories are recorded as images. Al most all of us learn to recall things much easier when we think in pictures or images.

Recency – Our ability to recall any events continue to diminish over time. That’s why experiences that happened long back are not that vivid to our mind in comparison to the events of the recent events. Its not that we forget the memory of past events slowly, it’s our ability to recall past diminish over time unless we take some action to recall it accurately.

Repetition–The more we repeat or experience any memory , the better it is stored in our long term memory for recalling.

Intensity– The more intense or vivid an experience is, the more likely we are to remember it. I can remember where I was at 911 and what I was doing at 911 but not what happened the day after 911.

Association

The more association you make between the new information you learn everyday and the objects you are already familiar with, the better chance that memory will be stored as a long-term memory in your brain. Association can be made through analogies, metaphors, or examples using compare and contrast. For example, if you can not remember a name make a association with the name with any attribute of that person like if the name is Jessie( who is a dentist ) and you can make a association like “Jessie is a dentist” and repeat it in your brain for a several times or you can try to visualize his face with his name also.

Playing games boost your memory

Playing cards are a wonderful way to exercise your mind and to boost your memory.There are so many card games that are fun and easy. For boosting your memory can play games like Poker ,Rummy, Go Fish, Bridge, Hearts etc.

Improve your memory by learning new language

One of the fundamentals steps in learning a new language is committing the basic words to memory. Most of us know how to say hello and goodbye in French and perhaps even in Spanish. It's not because we learned how to read those words, but instead we heard them and committed them to memory. It's simply a great way to not only learn something new and interesting but it gives you a chance to boost your memory as well.

Music can boost your memory

The ability to play a musical instrument whether it's the guitar, the drums or the piano is a great talent and beyond that a wonderful way to work on developing a strong memory.One of the first steps to playing almost any musical instrument is to learn how to read music and commit in your brain, which works as memory boosting tonic.

Cooking can be a cure To Memory Loss

For many people cooking involves reading a recipe, gathering the ingredients and following the directions. That's a wonderful way of making certain that what you cook will be edible. It is however a great way to refresh your memory back to a place it was years earlier.

Healing music

making a silly and funny song about people who have offended you is a great exercise to your memory.

Repetition

Repetition is the most important factor to every memory exercise. Try to enact the actions you normally do to every other time. For instance put your purse in the same place when you return home, no matter how tired you are.

Memory improving herbs

Using herbs for memory improvement has long been practiced countries. Egyptians, American Indians, Orientals and Greeks have all practiced the herb therapy for enhancing mind. Various spicy food help in increasing cognitive functions of the brain.You can use Turmeric, Cinnamon and Ginger to improve your memory, most of these Spices are available in super market. There is an ingredient in Turmeric name curcumin , which helps in memory improvement. Just by smelling Cinnamon, enhances your cognitive function by lifting up your mood. Ginger contains Zingerrone that helps in defending the neurons in the brain resulting in memory improvement.

Caffeine helps to boot memory

Though many have negative impression about the consequences of consuming tea, coffee and chocolate, the truth is caffeine found in coffee work as a stimulant for our brain and memory can retain more information.

Vitamin B prevents memory loss

There have been studies that suggest that if a person has lower levels of some of the BVitamins that they may be more prone to developing Alzheimer's disease. Vitamin B intake not only help you to boost your memory but will help you prevent Alzheimer disease .

Note: Fresh water fishes like tuna and Salmon, Cod-liver oil, has Omega 3 fatty acids and are good for various cognitive functions. Vegetarian food like Flaxseed and walnut also has Omega 3 fatty acids. Folic acids and vitamin B deficiencies could be conquered by supplements available for the same.

Note: With over 100 billion neurons, your brain produces about 100 Watts of raw energy. The mind literally has a life of its own. And like your other muscles, the more you use it, the bigger it gets, the better it works.

Note: Cod-liver oil is rich with Omega 3 fat helping in better faster growth of brain. Much research has proved that young children who are given cod liver oil almost on daily basis, manifest better memory and an active body.

Tip on Power Memory– Immediately associate what you are trying to move to long-term memory with an image or picture that is intense, larger-than-life, weird, silly or shocking and then visually repeat the association in your mind several times.

Using the following important tips you can really stretch your memory power.

1. Take notes by hand: Taking notes by hand instead of typing them, will help you retain the information more effectively

2. Use the linking method: Link items into a memorable story to easily recall them later.

3. Talking to people: Talking to others for just a few minutes can improve your memory and test performance.

4. Remembering automatic task: When you turn off the oven or unplug the iron, say out loud, "oven is off," and you’ll better remember it.

5. Remember why you went somewhere: If you forget why you went into a room, mentally or physically retrace your steps to go back to where you thought about it.

6. Move your eyes: Everyday you can move your eyes from side to side for 30 seconds ,it improves communication between the two hemispheres of your brain.

A good retentive memory is dependent on a few things like attention, storage and retrieval. If any one of these systems is not working properly, you are likely to have memory difficulties. You can try out the tips provided in this hub on a regular basis to enhance your memory storage and it’s recalling capabilities.