Top Ten Memory Exercises for Seniors

As our bodies age, they begin to operate less efficiently. There is a general decline in the functioning of our various biological processes, and we can experience many unpleasant physical and mental side effects as a result. However, it is important to realize that this process is not inevitable. It is only a tendency, one that can be overcome in a number of different ways. Exercise is one of the most effective ways we have to stem the tide of the aging process, to keep our bodies healthy and strong even as we grow older.

Fortunately, there are mental exercises we can perform that will help preserve, repair, and even restore some of our lost or fading mental abilities, including our memories. It is one of the interesting facts of neuroscience that our thoughts actually have power over our physical brains, so that when we change our thinking habits, it can actually change the structure and functioning brain.

Here are ten activities you can perform that are guaranteed to improve your memory, if this is your specific concern:

1) Association

One way to remember things more clearly is to create linkages between different concepts, ideas, words, and visual pictures. Pick some common elements between disparate concepts, and then try to come up with something memorable based on those commonalities. If, for example, you wanted to remember the name “Roosevelt”, you could picture a giant red rose with legs running across the African veldt. Or if you wanted to remember the New Deal, you could picture President Roosevelt at a card table dealing a hand of poker. All kinds of associations like this can be created – the choices are up to you. As an exercise, you could try to memorize lists using this process, coming up with clever associations for things like all the states or state capitals, or all the song titles of a particular artist, etc., basically anything that suits your fancy. The websitememorise.org has a lot of suggestions for activities that involve memorization through association. Read More.