Your memory is like most brain functions in that it needs the right support to perform well. Sometimes, just one or two of the simplest steps can make an exponential difference. This applies both to how well you make memories from information, and how easy it is for you to retrieve that information later when you need to recall it. Having a sharper memory now can make your life easier and more rewarding every day, but it can also improve your quality of life as you get older.
Factors that improve memory
Exercise
Exercise and other physical activity can make a difference in your memory because it’s good for your heart and helps get oxygenated blood into the brain. Exercise is good for your hard-working lungs — studies show clearly that people with good lung function retain strong mental acuity and memory function well into in old age. Exercising regularly also reduces your risk for conditions linked to memory loss, like diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke.
Mental activities
Every time you do a word puzzle or take a class you’re improving your memory, and this is especially true as you get older. While people with higher levels of education tend to have better memory, it’s far more important to enjoy learning new things and to 
make an effort to keep doing it. You can hone your memory by reading regularly, keeping up with current affairs, trying out a new hobby, and playing all kinds of challenging games.
Social interactions
Keep your memory sharper by seeking out regular social experiences — especially new ones. Healthy love relationships, marriages and partnerships encourage good brain function too.
Eating healthy
A good diet helps you keep your memory strong — it’s as simple as that. The Mediterranean-style diet, in particular, provides your body with key raw materials to feed 
healthy brain function. Try to avoid saturated fats in meat and dairy products, eat fish three times a week (but not fried), and consume more vegetables and fruit. Among vegetables, leafy greens have the tightest link to reducing declines in cognition and memory function.
Targeted nutrition
Specific vitamins, nutrients and co-factors provide raw “building block” materials for all your cells, while helping fuel and protect the brain. Antioxidants like quercetin and vitamins like C and beta carotene can benefit memory by neutralizing the free radicals which feed inflammation. One of the newest inflammation fighters is curcumin, a spice from the turmeric plant. Vitamin D is important for memory because it manages calcium in brain cells, and regulates cell death and growth. Increased doses of supplemental vitamin D can improve the way the brain manages key signaling chemicals involved in memory formation and retrieval, according to a new animal study. Today it’s possible to get these key ingredients in a single supplement.
Crazy things that improve memory
1. Silly fonts: When information is printed in a weird, difficult-to-read font, you’re more likely to remember it because you have to concentrate more deeply on the material in the first place. You don’t need the weird fonts to think deeply but they help.
2. Looking at the floor: ever notice how we look away from people when we try to remember something? That’s because human faces are so visually stimulating that we can’t concentrate. This subconscious behavior increases as you get older.
3. Talking with your hands: the learning and remembering parts of your brain are linked tightly 
to the “move-your-hands” mechanism, so you remember better — a lot better — when you gesture while you say something. One study showed non-gesturers only remembered 33% of the information of hand-moving people. If you teach kids to gesture when they talk, they’ll remember at least 12% more.
Sleep
Sleep is so important to memory, especially the consolidation of information, that after just one night of sleep, people perform better no matter what they’re doing — school, work, sports or playing a musical nstrument. Even a nap makes a difference. In general, it’s the quality of the sleep that matters most, not the amount.
Stress
Some research suggests that under certain conditions, stress chemicals can enhance memory consolidation, a key stage in the remembering process. However, reducing negative stressors is still a good idea because it may decrease forgetfulness.
Quitting smoking
No one is on the fence about smoking and memory because the evidence against smoking is so strong. Smokers can’t remember names and faces as well as non-smokers. Non-smokers also tend to have less depression, which is a big risk factor for memory problems.
Making lists
If you skip the step of writing down what you want to remember, you increase your risk of forgetting at least part of what you 
want to recall. If you can get in the habit of being a list maker, it can help you remember multiple things. Of course you have to remember to take the list and use it.
You can choose any — or all — of the above to begin supporting healthy memory today. Take action to improve and enhance your memory using targeted nutrition with our exclusive Memory Solutions.
TOP REFERENCES
Memory changes in Older Adults. 11 June, 2006. American Psychological Association. http://www.apa.org/research/action/memory-changes.aspx. Accessed November 1, 2014. Berkley, C, Chang, L. Is Your Memory Normal? WEB MD website. Available at http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/features/is-your-memory-normal. Accessed November 1, 2014
Nicholson, C. Memory Improves with Sleep. 15 April, 2013. Scientific American. http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/memory-improves-with-sleep-13-04-15/. Accessed November 1, 2014.
Lourida I. et al. Mediterranean diet, cognitive function, and dementia: a systematic review. Epidemiology. 2013 Jul;24(4):479-89. doi: 10.1097/EDE.0b013e3182944410. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23680940. Accessed November 1, 2014.
Reynolds, G. Getting a Brain Boost Through Exercise. The New York Times. 10 April, 2013. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/how-exercise-may-boost-the-brain/. Accessed November 1, 2014.
7 Ways to keep your memory sharp at any age. 2 March, 2010. Harvard Health Publications, Harvard Medical School. http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/7-ways-to-keep-your-memory-sharp-at-any-age. Accessed November 1, 2014.