Where Did I Put my Car Keys?

By Dr. Mercola

We all experience blips in our memory now and then, but wouldn’t it be handy to be able to recall information instantly whenever you need it? Forgotten names of colleagues or old friends, lost keys, and that item from your grocery list you forgot at the store… all would become things of the past.

It may be next to impossible to completely eliminate such blips from your life, but you can certainly ramp up your brain function to enhance your memory, cognitive skills, and more. Your brain is actually a very moldable organ with the remarkable ability to reorganize pathways, create new connections and, in some cases, even create new neurons throughout your entire lifetime.

Much of this ability comes from lifestyle choices, like the foods you eat, your daily activity and exercise. However, some of it is driven by your mental activities (like learning and socializing). You can even boost your ability to recall information, both now and later, using these simple tricks compiled by TIME.¹

Two days later, the participants were again shown a series of images, including ones they’d not seen previously. Interestingly, even though it was two days since they performed the leg extensions, those in the active group had markedly improved image recall. To get the most out of your workouts, I recommend a comprehensive program that includes high-intensity interval exercise, strength training (especially super slow workouts), stretching, and core work, along with walking about 10,000 steps a day and sitting for fewer than three hours.

Boost Your Memory with Rhodiola

The perennial plant Rhodiola Rosea is known as an “adaptogen,” which can help your body adapt to physical, chemical, and environmental stress, and is used by many athletes for improving athletic performance and shortening recovery time between workouts. However, rhodiola is also energizing and may provide significant benefits to brain health. As reported by the Epoch Times:²⁰

“Rhodiola also has a reputation for treating the mind. Studies show that it increases neurotransmitter chemicals in the brain. In the hands of an experienced practitioner, rhodiola can be used as a solo treatment, or to enhance the effects psychotropic drugs. [Dr. Patricia Gerbarg, assistant clinical professor in Psychiatry at New York Medical College, and author of The Rhodiola Revolution and How to Use Herbs, Nutrients, and Yoga in Mental Health Care,]… prescribes it to her patients for depression, and memory problems.

‘It is very helpful for conditions where there was impairment of cognitive function or memory, whether it was from aging or brain injury,’ she said.”

Dr. Gerbarg speaks not only as a scientist and psychiatrist but also from personal experience. She used it to overcome cognitive impairment and memory loss associated with a severe case of Lyme disease… and credits the plant with saving her life. She reported the herb started working to improve her memory within 10 days of first taking it. Dr. Gerbarg and her husband, Dr. Richard Brown, associate clinical professor in Psychiatry at Columbia University, were able to uncover research conducted on the herb by Soviet scientists during the Cold War.

They were looking for a product to enhance military performance and developed a three-herb formula, of which rhodiola was the main component. It was not only used among Soviet soldiers but also eventually for Russian cosmonauts and Olympic athletes. According to Dr. Gerbarg:²¹

“It was also used to improve the intellectual performance of their scientists, because it not only reduces physical fatigue it also reduces mental fatigue so that they could work long hours accurately.”

As for why rhodiola seems to work so well, it’s thought to improve cellular function and repair, which would be beneficial for those under chronic stress. Dr. Gerbarg also noted that rhodiola has an ability to strengthen and detoxify cells, which is what she believes allowed her own brain to heal.²²

Are You Prioritizing Sleep? This Is a Must for a Quick Memory

Sleep is known to enhance your memories and help you “practice” and improve your performance of challenging skills. A single night of sleeping only four to six hours can impact your ability to think clearly the next day. The process of brain growth, or neuroplasticity, is believed to underlie your brain’s capacity to control behavior, including learning and memory. Plasticity occurs when neurons are stimulated by events, or information, from the environment. However, sleep and sleep loss modify the expression of several genes and gene products that may be important for synaptic plasticity.

Furthermore, certain forms of long-term potentiation, a neural process associated with the laying down of learning and memory, can be elicited in sleep, suggesting synaptic connections are strengthened while you slumber. Among adults, a mid-day nap was even found to dramatically boost and restore brainpower.²³ As with most aspects of health, it’s not one factor but many that create or destroy a healthy brain. Just like your physical health, your mental health will flourish with a balanced healthy lifestyle of eating right, exercising, tending to stress, stimulating your mind, and, last but not least, sleeping well. For the latter, you can find 33 tips to help you get the shut-eye you need here.

Sources and References

Where Did I Put my Car Keys?

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