Sharpen your memory

Sharpen Your Memory

By Diane LaPlace, Northshore LIVING WELL Magazine

Scientists once believed that growing new brain cells was impossible for adults – that once they disappeared, they were gone for good. However, researchers at Princeton University turned conventional wisdom on its head.

It just so happens that the neurons in your hippocampus (that part of the brain where new memories take root) can continue to grow for the rest of your life.

Use the following tips to stay sharp well into your golden years:

Learn Something New: Enroll in a class or take up a new hobby outside your comfort zone.  The more you stretch your mind, the further it will go.

Visualization: Connect words with images, especially bizarre ones, to help solidify

memories. Meeting your boss at 2 p.m.? Imagine two turtle doves flapping around your boss’s office. The memory will stick!

Work Out: The body and the mind are integrally bound. Cardiovascular exercise stimulates neurotransmitters and helps improve memory.

Avoid Distraction: Not easy in today’s world of high speed, digitally enhanced everything, but the brain requires eight seconds of focus to transfer a thought from short-term memory to long-term memory.

Diane LaPlace is “Your Real Estate Consultant” with Keller Williams Realty Services and may be reached at 985-727-7103 or 985-502-7103