|
Help for those with memory and concentration problems In this section: Sleep for Success Some Supplements or Dietary Changes to Discuss with Your Doctor Stimulate Both Sides of the Brain Study and Revision Techniques
Sleep for Success Someone who isn’t getting enough deep sleep can’t be expected to be on top form mentally or physically. Even healthy people don’t perform as well as usual if they don’t sleep. So naturally it is important to improve your sleep in order for your brain to be able to function optimally. This may involve medications or supplements to give you better quality sleep, or just making some small changes to your sleep routine. There isn’t one thing that helps everyone to sleep well, so patients usually have to try a few little things and hopefully the small improvements will add up to a significantly better night’s sleep. A few examples of things you can do to improve your sleep… Delta Sleep Wave tracks can help improve the quality of sleep by putting your brain into the delta state, where the body is better able to heal and relax. Lavender oil is renowned for its calming properties. If you put a little lavender oil on a tissue on your bedside table every night, your body will eventually start to associate the smell of lavender with sleep and start to wind down whenever you smell it. (This is the time to throw out that lavender-scented car air freshener!) It is best to avoid using the computer in the evenings. I know, I know, it’s the best way to pass the time when you can’t sleep, but it has been proven time after time that computer use wakes you up. Even I have been forced to admit that I sleep better when my laptop isn’t working. Although controversial, some research is being done to what effect all the electrical impulses in our house have on adrenegic excretions. If someone is researching this, it might just be that you're not imagining that your PC keeps you awake. Sleep in a dark room. This sounds obvious, but it really is important that the room you sleep in is dark. The brain produces melatonin when you are in the dark, which makes you sleepy. The most common natural source of melatonin is milk. If you know you get an energy boost after food in the evening, try not to eat 4 hours before bedtime. You will notice that you are more relaxed and probably need less sleep medication if you use them. Also calorie rich drinks like chocolate milk, soda's, juices etc might give you the rush again. Milk can be a think to help you sleep, but it might also fall into this category of things to be careful with before bedtime. Trial and error is the only way to know what works for you. Some Supplements or Dietary Changes to Discuss with Your Doctor Remember to check with your doctor before taking any supplements! My suggestions may not be compatible with your medications. Folic acid is often underrated… people associate it with pregnancy because pregnant women are usually advised to increase their intake, to ensure that the baby develops properly. However, folic acid is also beneficial to those of us who aren’t having babies! Folic acid helps improve memory, concentration and can reduce that “foggy” feeling when you are really over-tired. Folic acid is actually a B vitamin, although it is sometimes called vitamin K. The B vitamins are all beneficial to those with low energy, so it isn’t surprising that folic acid helps the brain to function more effectively. Ginkgo biloba, selenium and omega-3 oils, such as those found in fish and flax seed oil can also improve a poor memory. Some people are allergic to flax (often those who have seed or nut allergies) and some research indicates that it may aggravate pre-existing thyroid conditions, so be sure to discuss this with your doctor before adding flax to your diet. Avoid caffeine! Studies show that caffeine stays in the bloodstream for up to 22 hours. This means that the coffee you drink in the morning can reduce the quality of your sleep that night. Although caffeine may help you feel temporarily alert, it is causing more harm in the long run. Stimulate Both Sides of the Brain Studies show that exercises that use both sides of the body can stimulate both sides of the brain, thus reducing the “foggy” feeling over-tiredness can cause. Give this one a try: Put your hands on your lap, then lift your right toes and your left hand. Now relax again and lift your left toes and your right hand. This simple exercise stimulates both the left and right half of your brain. It may sound a little ridiculous, but such exercises have been shown to help clear the mind and improve concentration. Study and Revision Techniques When revising for an exam, many people start off with repeating the same information over and over in the hopes that it will stick in their heads. While this may work for some, it is not necessarily the most effective way of learning something. In fact, you’re better off studying the same information in several different ways. The more senses you experience something with, the more likely you are to remember it. For example, if you read a fact aloud, while doing actions relevant to the information, (e.g. spread your arms outwards while talking about something that expands,) then you are seeing, hearing and speaking that fact, as well as using physical movement to reinforce that information in your mind. If you try to remember a phone number, you will find that you do not think of the numbers in one long string, such as 0,1,9,4,4…, rather you will group them together, such as 019,44… You can use this technique to learn other information. Don’t try to learn a whole paragraph by heart in one block. Split it into manageable sections or bullet points and learn them separately. This works because your brain is not overloaded with too much information at once. Mnemonics are a useful tool for learning, such as the famous sentence “My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Naming Planets” that is used by most English-speaking students to remember the order of the planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Pluto, because the first letters of each word from the mnemonic are the same as the first letters of the planets. Pluto’s recent demotion to “dwarf planet” status doesn’t stop this being an excellent way to remember the order in which the planets are distanced from the sun. It can also help to make up little stories in your head to help you remember the meaning of a word. This is especially useful when learning a foreign language or scientific words. For example, “anatidaephobia” is the fear that wherever you are, somehow a duck is watching you. “Phobia” of course means “fear” so that part is easy and for the beginning of the word, just imagine a duck called “Anna” and remember that she is watching you “tidae” (today). Anna + today + phobia = anatidaephobia! It may seem a little ridiculous at first but these methods of learning have been proven successful time and time again. If you have some really serious studying to do, try Carla's method; Although time consuming and not possible to do with all subjects, making summaries is an excellent way to study for courses you have absolutely no clue about. The philosophy behind it is that if you read a paragraph (let's say 10 sentences) and you have to remember that, rephrasing that paragraph to one sentence or just a blur with a few words even will allow your brain to find how you would describe the discussed subject in your own words. The trick is that in order to form your own words, you have to have understood what it said in the book. After making a summary of one chapter (or page), read back one more time starting with your summary and see if it indeed says what the book says. Once you have a summary of that difficult topic, all you need to study from then on is one lettersize paper per chapter and visualize the concept as it was written in the book. When a question is asked about it in the exam, you might still need some time to visualize and think of the right answer, but you will instantly know what it is about and how this part of the information interacts with other parts. Do you have more tips to add to this list? Please let me know via the "Contact Us" option at the top of this page, so that I can add your suggestion! Best wishes, Prickles! |
