How to Memorize Anything (29 page)

Make a list of the medicines you are taking, including any purchased from your pharmacy, and take it to your doctor. They can decide if you have any drug-related memory problems and alter your medication if necessary. Also, avoid self-medication at any cost.

3. AVOID ALCOHOL

In today’s stressful life, heading to a bar to take off that stress for a while or pouring yourself a glass of wine while socializing amongst your friends may seem tempting options. However, alcohol has proved to only make concentrating more difficult. You cannot drink and think (too well) at the same time.

4. ADOPTING A VEGETARIAN LIFESTYLE

In earlier times, a lot of studies supported non-vegetarian diet but now the pendulum has swung the other way. Latest researches show that a vegetarian diet helps to boost your memory and concen-tration. Earlier the studies focused on nutritional deficiencies of a vegetarian diet but now they confirm the health benefits of meat free diet. In July 2009, the American Dietetic Association weighed in with a position paper, concluding that ‘appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases’
(Journal of the American Dietetic Association, July 2009).

BENEFITS OF BEING VEGETARIAN

• You’ll ward off diseases:
  An estimated 70 percent of all diseases, including one-third of all cancers, are diet related. A vegetarian diet reduces the risk for chronic degenerative diseases such as obesity, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and certain types of cancer including colon, breast, prostate, stomach, lung, and esophageal cancer. A vegetarian diet is inherently healthful because vegetarians consume less animal fat and cholesterol (vegans consume no animal fat or cholesterol) and instead consume more fibre and more antioxidant-rich produce.
  Fibre-rich foods also help to prevent constipation.
  
• You’ll live longer:
  Studies show that you can add about 13 healthy years to your life by switching from a non-vegetarian diet to a vegetarian one. Residents of Okinawa, Japan, have the longest life expectancy among Japanese and most likely the longest life expectancy in the world, according to a 30-year study of more than 600 Okinawan centenarians. Their secret: a low-calorie diet of unrefined complex carbohydrates, fibre-rich fruits and vegetables, and soy.
  
• You’ll reduce your risk of food-borne illnesses:
  Foods rich in protein such as meat, poultry, fish, and seafood are frequently involved in food-borne illness outbreaks.
  
• You’ll avoid toxic chemicals:
  Fish, in particular, contain carcinogens (PCBs, DDT) and heavy metals (mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium) that can’t be removed through cooking or freezing. Meat can also be laced with steroids and hormones, harmful for the human body.
  

Names of some famous personalities who are vegetarian Dr Abdul Kalam, Martina Naratilova, Albert Einstein, Amitabh Bachchan, Morarji Desai, M.K. Gandhi, Anil Kumble, Srinivasa Ramanujan, Sachin Tendulkar, Rabindarnath Tagore, Leonardo Da Vinci, Abraham Isaac Kook, Leo Tolstoy, Sir Edwin Arnold, Chelsea Clinton

B: PHYSICAL EXERCISE

Exercise increases the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the brain, promoting clear thinking and sharper recall. It helps to maintain a healthy blood-sugar level and also releases positive chemicals in the brain, which can help stimulate memory function. Regular exercise helps us to cope with stress and to stay healthy, all of which lead to better concentration and memory.

D
ID YOU KNOW
???

It is a proven fact now that exercise helps brain to release BDNF
(Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor)
. Whereas neurotransmitters carry out signaling, neurotrophins such as BDNF build and maintain the cell circuitry—the infrastructure itself. Researchers found that if they sprinkled BDNF onto neurons in a petri dish, the cells automatically sprouted new branches, producing the same structural growth required for learning, making BDNF the fertilizer that encourages neurons to connect to one another and grow, making it vital for neuroplasticity and neurogenesis. Neuro Plasticity is the innate ability of the brain to transform/change in response to external and internal stimuli. Neuro Genesis is the phenomenon of new neurons taking birth inside the brain every single day. Both NeuroPlasticity and NeuroGenesis are required for learning and memory. Now there is a direct link between exercise and improvement in memory through the link of BDNF. John J. Ratey has written an excellent book called
SPARK
, which gives many more details about how Physical Exercise impacts Brain in a very positive way.

Even after knowing the benefits of physical exercise, we give less importance to it as we are busy with our work and gadgets. Even children now-a-days don’t do enough physical activities as they spend most of their playing time on computers and mobile phones.

Once a wise man was asked,
‘What do you think is the strangest thing about human beings?’
He replied,
‘The strangest thing about human beings is that first they invest their health to gain wealth and later they reinvest their wealth to regain their health’.

There are plenty of ways to make sure you are getting regular physical exercise:

• For short journeys, walk rather than taking the bus or car
  
• Use the stairs instead of the lift or escalator
  
• Join a fitness, dance or yoga class
  
• If you work in an office, go out for a walk at lunchtime rather than staying at your work desk
  
• Plan with friends to go jogging or play tennis, for example, on a regular basis
  

C: AVOID WATCHING TOO MUCH TV

Watching TV is something virtually everyone enjoys, but did you know that TV can actually be harmful for you? What you consider to be a harmless past time can pose a real threat to your physical and mental well-being.

Some of the ways in which watching too much television adversely affects your brain are mentioned below.

• Television makes your brain dull
  

You might find it unbelievable but the fact is
that your brain is more active when you are sleeping than when you are watching television. Excessive television viewing can have a detrimental effect on the health of your brain as it is largely determined by how much you actively use your brain. It may also cause degenerative brain disorders later in life such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

One of the reasons why brain activity is low when watching television is you don’t really have to do any thinking. When you read, for example, you have to mentally create images of what you are reading. So while doing so, you are effectively exercising your brain.

Infact,
reading
may help to offset some of the harmful effects television has on the brain.

• Short attention span
  

Excessive television viewing can cause a person to develop a short attention span and increase the risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adults. This is thought to be due to the frequent scene changes that occur with modern-day video edits.

If you compare an old film, such as the ones from 1950s or 1960s, with films of today for example, you will notice that older movies had much longer scene changes. Cuts that occur too frequently can make a video difficult to follow and may even make you feel giddy.

• Impaired brain development in children
  

Watching television appears to be especially harmful for children as their brain has not yet fully developed. Increased television viewing in children tends to impair frontal lobe development which is responsible for impulse control and one’s ability to concentrate. This may result in in appropriate behavior and learning difficulties in school.

• A perfect tool to program the mind
  

The main concern with watching TV is that you have no control over the content that your mind is exposed to. Some things shown in various programmes may be good, while others may not be so. TV provides easy access to all kinds of things to your subconscious mind. Various programmes shown on different channels may create a feeling of inferiority, increases expectations, and can even instill fear in impressionable mind of young people. Programmes related to crime and violence also sometimes result in real life crime.

Children often imitate what they see on-screen. The negative effects of TV violence are being passed on to young children and that’s one of the major reasons of
increasing aggression amongst children as well as youth. Although your mind knows that whatever is shown on TV is not real, your subconscious believes it to be real.

• Piling on extra kilos:
  Most of the times when people eat while watching TV, they often end up eating more than required, especially if they are munching on their favourite snack like chips or biscuits or sweetened beverages and the result is those bulges around your back and waste. That’s why in the 1990s man was flat while the TV was broad and in today’s scenario, the TV has gone flat and the man …!!
  

  

• Addiction
  : Watching TV causes the body to release chemicals called ‘endorphins’ that make the body feel good. These endorphins are a natural sedative with properties similar to heroin. It is therefore not only possible, but probable, to become physically addicted to TV. A person who is unable to view their favorite television programme is likely to display similar withdrawal symptoms as a drug addict. He may become angry, anxious, and will go to great lengths to watch his programme.
  

I am not saying don’t watch TV at all. All you need to do is control the time you spend on it and also keep a check on the content you are watching. You can utilize your spare time inmore useful activities like exercise, reading, interacting with friends and family, and activities that are crucial for achievement of your personal goals.

D: GOOD SLEEP

It is no secret that a good night’s sleep makes you feel better. It not only gives your body time to relax and recharge, it also crucial to your brain’s ability to learn and remember. When you go to sleep, your brain is still awake. In fact, when you sleep the consumption of oxygen to the brain increases because at that time your brain is busy in reorganizing all the information that got stored in it throughout the day and forming memories. In children and teens, sleep also helps support growth and development.

The key thing is to stick to a regular sleeping pattern so that your body can maintain a regular rhythm. Try to get up at the same time every day, even on weekends. Students and people who sleep and wake up at different times during the day often face problems of concentration. The same problem is faced by students who reduce their sleeping time during exam days.