by Jennifer Kirkman

Created on: October 12, 2009

There are a number of ways to improve your memory as you get older. Memory loss to some degree does occur with age, but if you practice various exercises to sharpen your brain skills, it should help to empower your memory. I'd like to tell you some of these things.

One of the best things you can do is read books a lot. Reading books helps to sharpen your mind, recall events in the book to understand the story, and helps your thinking skills. Read a lot to keep your mind and memory going!

Do crossword puzzles, word searches, or a bit of both. Doing puzzles of many types helps you to keep thinking really hard and concentrate. Building concentration skills even as you get older, helps to strengthen the brain quite a bit and keeps your thought processes from getting lazy.

Try some newer activities, even playing the piano. Why not do something new like play an instrument? That sure sharpens the mind, and makes a person focus and memorize details more as they get older. Learning to play a piano or organ will definitely sharpen your memory and you will have better cognitive functioning all around.

Sleep good at night. Not sleeping right in an older person is definitely not a good thing for sure. Over time with poor sleeping habits, you lose a lot of balance in your memory and cognitive skills. Try avoiding caffeine and eat a banana before you sleep. Bananas contain tryptophan, a phytochemical that helps the neurotransmitters to create resting and relaxtion.

Keep active in your community with church and other organizations. This is so that you socialize as an older person and talking all the time to other people really helps. Take part in your church activities which will help mental functioning and memory skills up to a point. Living as a hermit when you get older will only cause a decline.

Exercise is good. Try some new ones for a change, maybe even some that are more challenging. Exercise seems to regenerate the mind and the body both. Why not do some slimnastics, or try some pilates?

It is best not to consume too much alcohol. Moderate amounts of wine are okay, but over-doing it changes the chemistry of the brain in a very harmful way as you get older.

Eat many fresh fruits and vegetables. Eating many leafy green vegetables, fresh fruits, etc., have phytochemicals and antioxidants that help your mind and body. Some vegetables can even help neurotransmitters in the brain that help promote better mental health.

So this is the basics of achieving a better memory in your older age. Why not try some of these techniques today and see if they can help your memory skills?

Learn more about this author, Jennifer Kirkman.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.