Q: It takes me longer to remember things than it used to. Is there a way to improve recall? —Melissa Roberson, 58, HOBQKEN, NJ A it’s normal for your memory to slow down a bit as you age. There are neural pathways that connect the part of your brain where memories are stored (the hippocampus) with the part where you’re consciously thinking (the prefrontal cortex). As you age, those pathways naturally get a little bumpier and harder to travel, meaning it can take a little longer to call up a specific fact or name. But there are ways to repair those roads to improve your recall. One often-overlooked factor is sleep: There’s a very predictable connection between how sleep deprived you are and how badly you perform on memory tests. That’s why napping can benefit your memory. Tests on people who napped 90 minutes a day showed they learned and retained new skills significantly better than non-nappers. Physical exercise—both aerobic and resistance training–also improves memory. We don’t know exactly why it works, but it may stimulate the release of substances that help your body fix the bumps in those roadways in the brain. Finally, if you’re trying to commit something new like a grocery list, to memory, here’s a strategy I use. Think of a very familiar place, such as your home; as you imagine it, associate each sight you see with an item you want to remember (oranges on the window-sill, milk on the top shelf in the fridge, bread next to the toaster). When I first learned this a few years ago, I linked a series of random objects to my kitchen. I can still recite that list by thinking about the stove for the first item, turning to the kitchen window for the second, then seeing a tree through the window, and so on. This technique, sometimes called the memory palace, works because you can connect new things to old, well-worn paths in your brain, taking advantage of old memories to create stronger new ones. SANJAY GUPTA, MD, is chief medical correspondent for CNN and a neurosurgeon at Emory Clinic in Atlanta. Send your questions to askdrgupta@prevention.com
Sanjay Gupta, MD, is chief medical correspondent for CNN and a practicing neurosurgeon at Emory Clinic in Atlanta.
