Practically anyone can think of a time when their mind simply went blank, right in the middle of an intriguing thought or important sentence, often at the most inopportune time possible. With these tips and tricks to help improve your memory, you can get a head start on making sure that such an embarrassment never happens again.

Exercise your brain. Using your memory and other thought provoking functions of your brain daily, will help keep your mind and your memory sharp. Do puzzles, drive a different way to work and memorize something every day. You will see an improvement quickly and less of a decline as time moves on.

If you’re a student trying to boost your memory for a test, the worst thing you can do is cram. Attempting to learn so much in too little time will not allow you to retain anything at all. You will only grasp bits of pieces of the material and will not be able to properly learn what you need to.

A lot of the information we learn is very close to information we already know, so improving your memory can be as simple as playing an association game. Make sure that anything new you’re attempting to learn can tie in with someone you already know, and you will develop smooth transitions between one piece of material and the next.

Sticky notes and lists are very popular for those people that have difficulty remembering important things. Place them where you will notice then, for instance on your computer. These notes will help you remember important tasks and information.

To help prevent memory loss, you should regularly spend time socializing with your friends. Interacting with friends and loved ones in a social setting helps to prevent stress and depression, both of which seriously impede memory function. Clear time in your schedule to relax and enjoy your friends. Your memory will thank you for it.

Protecting your cells is vital to keeping your brain healthy and active. Eating foods that are rich in antioxidants like blueberries, strawberries, and other fruits and veggies will give you a leg up in taking care of your brain. These antioxidants not only keep your brain working in optimum condition, they also may help slow the aging process.

Pay attention when you want to memorize something. Clear your mind completely and focus on the subject and avoid outside distractions such as noises and images. Persons with focusing difficulties should find a silent, remote location to improve focusing and speeding up the memorization process. Use pleasant music to enhance your focusing.

Improve memory with mnemonics. Use an acronym to remember lists of related things. For example, ‘Homes’ is used to remember the names of the Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. The first letter of the words in a sentence can represent a list of letters that you have to remember. For example, “Every good boy does fine” can be used to memorize the notes on the lines of a treble clef: E,G,B,D and F.

To improve your memory for the item you are studying, make sure it has the full focus of your attention. Memory works by taking important items from the present and storing them for recall later. If you aren’t focused on what you’re trying to learn, your brain won’t deem those facts important and won’t store them.

As if you needed another excuse to exercise, physical activity enhances the effects of helpful chemicals within the brain and actually protects brain cells! Exercise is one potent weapon in improving your memory or maintaining more of it, as you get older. So keep active, keep moving and keep more in memory!

The next time your memory fails to help you remember where you placed something, be sure to jog your memory. Try to remember where you last placed something and how long ago it was. From now on, try to keep your items in the same place so you do not forget where they are.

If you are a student studying for a test, it is important not to over study. Of course it is natural to want to remember information on the test, but by studying too much you are actually overworking your brain cells, which in turn could cause you to not remember anything.

You need to focus entirely on the subject matter when studying. You have to get the information from your short-term memory and into your long-term memory instead if you wish to recall it at a later time. Distractions interfere with the process of storing information in long-term memory.

Much like any new skill, improving your memory will take time and practice. Look for different ways to try out these suggestions and advice in your everyday life, whether you choose to practice them at work, home, or during a study session in school. An enhanced memory is a highly useful skill that you are sure to use over and over again.

Helping Your Spouse Remember Things More Clearly was originally published on Spring