Worse still they grab you be the hand or the shoulder, they may even give you a hug. They are so pleased to see you – and you can’t even remember their name. You pray they won’t discover that your memory has let you down and you vow to do something to improve your memory – at the first opportunity you seek out memory improving advice.

Being forgetful is inconvenient, time wasting, frustrating and downright embarrassing at times. So what can be done to improve your memory?

Although memory isn’t a muscle I am going to use a little poetic license here to liken it to any other muscle in the body. If you don’t use it, you lose it. Think about how flabby and weak your muscles become if you don’t exercise them….well the same happens to your memory and a flabby, weak memory will not recall the things you need it to recall, when you need them recalled.

Fitness Training for the Mind

Every part of your body needs exercise, your memory included. Actually, aerobic exercise is extremely good for the brain as it increase the available oxygen in the blood stream. It should go without saying that a diet rich in the ‘brain-food’ nutrients will also help to strengthen your brain power.

You may have found ways to integrate little physical exercise routines into your day – such as walking up stairs rather than taking the elevator. You know the type of thing. Well to train your memory you need to incorporate memory exercises into your daily regime too.

Actively recall images, events, faces, names, routes, as you work your way through your day. Whilst you are waiting your turn at the coffee machine exercise your memory by requesting a specific memory of an event, or call up a telephone number. Don’t just stand there wasting time in idle chit-chat. Put that time to good use as brain development time!

Stretch your brain regularly by doing things you wouldn’t usually do such as jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, number games. Choose a category that wouldn’t usually be your first preference to get your brain out of its comfort zone.

There are a number of electronic gadgets available all promising to increase memory. Go to a store where you can try one of these before you buy to see if they actually work for you. Their effectiveness will depend on your learning and your memorizing style.

Starting any new training regime is a challenge. when you first take up running or working out in the gym, your body protests at the outset as it is unused to working so hard. The same is true for your brain. It will protest when you first start putting it through its paces but, gradually, as new neural pathways are formed and strengthened you will find the whole process of memory improving that much easier and effective.