Preparing Your Brain to Remember

The successful formation of memory depends on your frame of mind not only during and after an event occurs, but also beforehand. If your brain is 'primed' to receive information, you will have better recall later on. Brain Activity Before an Event Researchers scanned the brains of participants in a study during memory tests, and found that they could see the priming occurring. The brain activity before the event proved to be a predictor of recall. Meaning is Key When subjects prepared themselves by thinking in advance about the possible meanings of words that flashed on a computer screen, instead of treating them as random assemblages of letters, their memory for the words increased. Conscious Thought The priming activity was apparent in the frontal lobes of the brain, where conscious thinking occurs; stronger activity there meant more accurate recall. This discovery bears out the common wisdom that thinking about meaning, rather than simply learning by rote, allows for greater retention. Nature.com February 26, 2006 Dr. Mercola's Comment:Apopular subjectonthis site is yourmemory, along with all the natural things you can do to improve it. There are a number of good ways to keep your mind sharp and active no matterhow old you are. Just asyour mind can be consciously primed in advance, your body can be similarly primed with proper care to keep your brain in the best working order it can be.nnOne inexpensive, practical solution to improving your memory is to optimize your sleep. nnSleep plays an important role in your long-term memory, and is without a doubt one of the absolute essential requirements if you are ever to achieve optimal wellness. Conversely, while catching the recommended amount of shut-eye can have beneficial implications on you overall health and well being, not getting enough sleep can certainly take its toll on your health.nnAnother amazing inexpensive solution to improve your memory is to make sure you take enough fish or cod liver oil. Your brain is made up of 60 percentfat and half of that fat is DHA, one of the primary fatty acids in fish or cod liver oil. I am continually impressed how many of my patients experience dramatic improvement in their memory once they start increasing their fish or cod liver oil.nnWhile you are thinking about dietary solutions to improve your memory it would be wise to consider adding raw egg yolks to your diet. nnThey are loaded with vital nutrients like phosphatidyl choline and serine that have been well documented to improve your memory. I have been using three or four raw egg yolks every day for the last several years now and can't say enough good things about it. nnYoushoud seriouslyconsider stopping or dramatically reducing your sugar intake, as that has been strongly associated with a reduction in memory capacity. Other useful ways to retain optimal memory skills include the same safe and natural guidelines I also recommend to prevent Alzheimer's disease. Here area few definitely worth considering:

Eat a nutritious diet, while increasing your intake of fresh vegetables high in folate.nn

Start an exercise program today! nn

Challenge your mind. nn

Avoid and remove mercury from your body.

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Try Wild Blueberry IQ, made from wild blueberries, which have high anthocyanin and antioxidant content that are known to guard against Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases.