Memory - Page 8 of 29

10 Foods That Improve Memory In Young And Old Alike

Improvements in working memory, long-term memory, executive function and more…

The Mediterranean diet can improve your memory no matter where you live or what your age, research shows.

A review of 18 separate studies carried out over 5 years has found that memory was particularly positively affected by the Mediterranean diet.

People on the ‘MedDiet’ saw improvements in their working memory, long-term memory and visual memory, the researchers found.

Positive effects were also seen for attention and language.

Here are ten typical ingredients of the MedDiet:

Green leafy vegetables,
other vegetables,
nuts,
berries,
beans,
whole grains,
fish,
poultry,
olive oil
and wine.

The MedDiet also has relatively little red meat, little dairy and uses olive oil as the largest source of fat.

Mr Roy Hardman, the study’s first author, said:

“The most surprising result was that the positive effects were found in countries around the whole world.
So regardless of being located outside of what is considered the Mediterranean region, the positive cognitive effects of a higher adherence to a MedDiet were similar in all evaluated papers.”

Mr Hardman went on:

“Why is a higher adherence to the MedDiet related to slowing down the rate of cognitive decline?
The MedDiet offers the opportunity to change some of the modifiable risk factors.
These include reducing inflammatory responses, increasing micronutrients, improving vitamin and mineral imbalances, changing lipid profiles by using olive oils as the main source of dietary fats, maintaining weight and potentially reducing obesity, improving polyphenols in the blood, improving cellular energy metabolism and maybe changing the gut micro-biota, although this has not been examined to a larger extent yet.”

The benefits to memory extended to the young as well as the old, the researchers also found.

Mr Hardman said:

“I would therefore recommend people to try to adhere or switch to a MedDiet, even at an older age.
I follow the diet patterns and do not eat any red meats, chicken or pork.
I have fish two-three times per week and adhere to a Mediterranean style of eating.”

The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, (Hardman et al., 2016).

This Beverage Reversed Normal Age-Related Memory Loss in Three Months

Drinking this could reduce your brain age twenty years in just three months.

Cocoa flavanoids — like those contained in a cup of cocoa — can reverse age-related memory loss in older adults, a study finds.

This is the first direct evidence that an important component of memory decline that comes with age can be improved with a simple dietary change.

Typically, normal age-related memory declines are noticeable to people in their fifties and sixties: things like forgetting where the keys are or having trouble recalling a name or word.

These changes are much less severe than those which typically occur as a result of devastating dementias like Alzheimer’s disease.

The study, published in Nature Neuroscience, found a high-flavanol diet could restore aspects of older people’s memory back to that of a typical 30- or 40-year-old (Brickman et al., 2014).

The changes were clearly visible in brain scans, as Dr. Adam M. Brickman, the study’s lead author explained:

“When we imaged our research subjects’ brains, we found noticeable improvements in the function of the dentate gyrus in those who consumed the high-cocoa-flavanol drink.”

The image below shows the dentate gyrus in green (this is part of the hippocampus).

Previous research has shown that it is changes in this area of the brain that are associated with normal age-related memory loss.

Participants in the study were 37 healthy people aged between 50 and 69.

They were randomised into two groups, one of which was given a high-flavanol diet (900mg of flavanols per day) and the other given a low-flavanol diet (10mg per day).

At the end of the three-month period of the study, participants on the high-flavanoid diet showed improvements on memory tests.

Professor Scott A. Small, one of the study’s authors, explained the results:

“If a participant had the memory of a typical 60-year-old at the beginning of the study, after three months that person on average had the memory of a typical 30- or 40-year-old.”

Flavanols are also found in tea leaves, and certain fruits and vegetables, although the exact amounts and forms vary widely.

The researchers cautioned that people should not eat more chocolate as the critical flavanoids are not present at the required levels — the dietary supplement used in the study was specially formulated.

Image credit: Lab of Scott A. Small, M.D.

Mushroom Extract Grows New Brain Cells And Boosts Memory (M)

A study shows that the active compounds in these unusual mushrooms enhances memory and stimulates brain cell growth.

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Why Traumatic Memories Are So Hard To Suppress

PTSD is thought to affect around one-third of people who experience a traumatic event.

People who have experienced traumas find it harder to suppress emotional memories, research reveals.

The reason could be neural disruption in areas of the brain linked to suppressing memories.

The study helps to explain why people exposed to car accidents, medical issues or other traumas continue to relive emotional memories.

People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) find memories of a traumatic event continue to intrude and incapacitate them.

This happens even when they try to suppress the memory.

The conclusions come from a study of 48 people, some with PTSD, some who had been exposed to trauma, but not developed PTSD, and a control group.

Everyone was shown pictures and asked to suppress some of them.

The results showed that people who had been exposed to traumas found it harder to suppress the memory than the control group.

Dr Danielle R. Sullivan, the study’s first author, explained the results of brain scans conducted alongside the behavioural test:

“Neuroimaging data revealed that trauma-exposed individuals showed reduced activation in the right middle frontal gyrus, a critical region for memory suppression, during a memory suppression task and were less likely to successfully suppress memory compared to non-trauma exposed individuals.
These results suggest that trauma exposure is associated with neural and behavioral disruptions in memory suppression and point to the possibility that difficulty in active suppression of memories may be just one of several likely factors contributing to the development of PTSD.”

PTSD can be a result of a road accident, a violent personal assault, serious medical problems or other traumatic events.

People experiencing PTSD may have trouble sleeping and difficulty concentrating.

PTSD is thought to affect around one-third of people who experience a traumatic event.

PTSD is usually treated by either ‘watchful waiting’, antidepressants or psychological therapies.

The study was published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research (Sullivan et al., 2019).

20 Everyday Activities That Keep Memory and Thinking Sharp (M)

These 20 activities have been linked to reduced risk of developing memory and thinking problems.

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These Blood Pressure Meds Fight Memory Loss

Almost half of Americans are living with high blood pressure and it is a risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia, along with other diseases.

Two types of blood pressure medications are linked to better memory over time, a review of the research reveals.

Both ACE-inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers could reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment by almost one-fifth.

Mild cognitive impairment, characterised by problems with memory, language and thinking greater than those expected with age, can be a precursor to dementia.

Dr Daniel A. Nation, study co-author, said:

“Research has been mixed on which medicines have the most benefit to cognition.
Studies of angiotensin II receptor blockers and angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors have suggested these medicines may confer the greatest benefit to long-term cognition, while other studies have shown the benefits of calcium channel blockers and diuretics on reducing dementia risk.”

The researchers looked at 14 different studies including almost 13,000 people across six countries.

The results showed that the drugs linked to better memory recall crossed the blood-brain barrier.

People in the studies were primarily taking the drugs for high blood pressure.

Almost half of Americans are living with high blood pressure and it is a risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia, along with other diseases.

Dr Nation said:

“Hypertension occurs decades prior to the onset of dementia symptoms, affecting blood flow not only in the body but also to the brain.
Treating hypertension is likely to have long-term beneficial effects on brain health and cognitive function later.”

These are the names of common drugs that do cross the blood-brain barrier that are used to treat hypertension:

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors): enalapril, lisinopril, ramipril, captopril, benazepril.
Angiotensin-receptor blocker (ARBs, sartans): valsartan, candesartan, losartan, irbesartan.

Dr Jean K. Ho, the study’s first author, said:

“These findings represent the most powerful evidence to-date linking brain-penetrant ACE-inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers to better memory.
It suggests that people who are being treated for hypertension may be protected from cognitive decline if they medications that cross the blood-brain barrier.”

Blood pressure is considered elevated above 120/80 mm/Hg although medication is not normally recommended until the reading is 140/90 mm/Hg.

Between the two readings, people are told to modify their diet and exercise habits.

The study was published in the journal Hypertension (Ho et al., 2021).

This Vitamin Improves Memory And Learning

The right dosage of vitamin supplementation increased memory and learning.

Vitamin D supplementation can improve memory, research finds.

Older women who took three times the recommended dose of vitamin D each day showed improvements in memory and learning.

Vitamin D, along with its importance in bone health, is also known to play a role in cognition and the functioning of the nervous system.

While vitamin D may improve memory and learning, the study also linked higher levels of supplements to slower reaction times, which could increase the risk of falls.

The study included overweight and obese older women.

They were split into three groups who each took different doses of vitamin D for one year.

One group took 600 IU per day (the recommended dose — around 15 mcg), another 2,000 IU and a third took 4,000 IU.

Standard cognitive tests were given before and after to test the effect on memory and thinking skills.

The results showed that 600 IU had no effect, but 2,000 IU per day improved memory and learning.

However, the higher dosage also had no effect, suggesting there is a sweet spot for vitamin D supplementation.

The disadvantage of taking too much vitamin D was that it was linked to slower reaction times.

Professor Sue Shapses, study co-author, explained:

“The slower reaction time may have other negative outcomes such as potentially increasing the risk of falling and fractures.
This is possible since other researchers have found that vitamin D supplementation at about 2,000 IU daily or more increased risk of falls, but they did not understand the cause.
Our team’s findings indicating a slower reaction time may be one answer.
Many people think that more vitamin D supplementation is better, but this study shows that is not always the case.”

Professor Shapses thinks that higher doses of vitamin D might not be a problem for younger people.

However, for the elderly it could increase the risk of falls.

Vitamin D is normally obtained through exposure to the sun.

Vitamin D is found in oily fish, egg yolks, fortified cereals and some margarine spreads, among other foods.

The study was published in the Journals of Gerontology: Series A (Castle et al., 2019).

Boost Memory: 10 Psychology Studies To Know

Boosts in all types of memory come from these simple activities.

1. Draw it

Drawing pictures of words helps build stronger and more reliable memories, research finds.

The quality of the drawings themselves does not matter, the study also found.

This suggests everyone can benefit from the technique, whatever their artistic talent.

2. Close your eyes

Closing your eyes really can help jog the memory, a study finds.

Eyewitness to a crime remembered twice as many details using this technique.

The results should be useful for helping eyewitnesses to crimes remember more details when questioned by police.

3. Imagine how it relates to you

Imagining how things relate to yourself helps to boost recall, psychological research finds.

The study tested people with and without memory problems and found it could help both.

The results showed that whether people had memory problems or not, self-imagining was the most effective strategy.

Compared with the baseline condition, the self-imagining strategy almost tripled what people could remember.

4. 40 seconds rehearsal

Rehearsing a memory for just 40 seconds could be the key to permanent recall, a study finds.

When rehearsing a memory, the same area of the brain is activated as when laying it down, psychologists found.

This brain region — the posterior cingulate — is also the part that is damaged in Alzheimer’s disease.

Brain scans revealed that the more the activity matched when watching and rehearsing, the more people could remember.

5. Run barefoot

Running barefoot improves memory more than running with shoes on, a study finds.

The benefits may come from the extra demands placed on the brain while barefoot running.

For example, you have to avoid stones and anything else that may damage your feet.

The type of memory tested in the study is called ‘working memory’.

The brain uses working memory to recall and process information.

6. Handwrite it

Writing by hand strengthens memory in comparison to writing on a real or virtual keyboard, research finds.

The motor feedback from the process of writing along with the sense of touching paper and pen helps people learn.

Areas of the brain vital to language are more strongly activated by the physical activity.

7. Lift weights

One single workout with weights can immediately enhance long-term memory by around 20%, according to a study.

While it’s now well-established that months of aerobic exercise can enhance memory, this is the first study examining the effects of a relatively short amount of resistance training.

The reason this works is that exercise puts us into a heightened state, after which, memories — especially emotional ones — are more likely to stick.

8, 9 & 10. Childhood activities

Climbing a tree can improve working memory by 50%, a study finds.

The same is true of other dynamic activities like balancing on a beam, carrying awkward weights and navigating around obstacles.

Dr Tracy Alloway, one of the study’s authors, said:

“Improving working memory can have a beneficial effect on so many areas in our life, and it’s exciting to see that proprioceptive activities can enhance it in such a short period of time.”

Unlocking The Secret To Memorizing New Words (M)

How to unleash the power of memory and successfully memorise new words.

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Curcumin In Turmeric Boosts Memory May Lower Alzheimer’s Risk

Curcumin, which is found in turmeric, a key ingredient of Indian curries, could explain lower rates of Alzheimer’s in India.

Curcumin — a key ingredient of Indian curries — boosts mood and memory, new research finds.

Curcumin is found in turmeric, which helps give curry its distinctive colour.

Scientists have wondered if curcumin could explain why older people in India — where curcumin is a dietary staple — have lower levels of Alzheimer’s.

Turmeric for memory study

Participants in the study were given a curcumin supplement and followed over 18 months.

The people in the study were all between 50 and 90 years old and all had mild memory problems.

They received either a placebo or 90mg of curcumin twice a day for 18 months.

The results showed that people taking curcumin saw significant improvements in memory (28% better) and attention.

They also felt small improvements in mood.

There were no changes in the placebo group.

Curcumin and Alzheimer’s

Professor Gary Small, the study’s first author, said:

“Exactly how curcumin exerts its effects is not certain, but it may be due to its ability to reduce brain inflammation, which has been linked to both Alzheimer’s disease and major depression.”

Four people in the study suffered side effects of abdominal pain and nausea, although two were taking the placebo in any case.

Professor Small said:

“These results suggest that taking this relatively safe form of curcumin could provide meaningful cognitive benefits over the years.”

The study was published in The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry (Small et al., 2017).