Top 10 tips to deal with forgetfulness

One of the most common excuses we hear in today’s busy, busy world is ‘I forgot’. Children forget to take their books to school, executives forget where they put their phone, husbands forget to tell wives that they will not be home in time for dinner and this list is endless.

So what do we do about it? Listed here are the most effective and simple remedies to help you stay sharp, try them!

Write it down

Your grandpa must have told you this a dozen times, but you never paid attention. Putting something in writing is much more effective than storing things in your head, research tells us.

Adequate Zzzzz’s

Sleep is such an important part of our 24-hour-day, but we always think that we can accomplish more by sleeping less, thus saving time otherwise spent sleeping. Nothing could be further from the truth! Lack of sleep increases forgetfulness and decreases our ability to concentrate on the tasks we have to do.

Use an organiser

Make it a point to make notes and add reminders in your organiser, be it on the computer, your phone or your paper organiser. At the same time, make notes every day and remember to refer to it several times during the day.

Eat brain food

Watch what you putting into your mouth at each meal. Stock up your pantry with nuts, fruits and vegetables of all colours – these have plenty of anti-oxidants that prevent free radicals from damaging the brain cells. Eat fish regularly as the omega 3 fatty acids it contains keep your brain young and healthy!

Move your body

Exercise increases blood circulation to all parts of your body including the brain. More blood to your brain means it’s getting more oxygen and nutrients, and hence it can function optimally.

Form habits

Making daily chores into a habit done at a particular time will help your brain make new synapses. In other words, doing something regularly will make an imprint on your brain, so you are less likely to forget it. So take your medication and feed the goldfish at the same time to avoid missing it out from your hectic daily schedule.

Take supplements

Ask your doctor’s advice before starting on supplements. A multi-vitamin can be taken if your doctor suspects any vitamin or mineral deficiencies. Iron and folic acid is important for brain power, so check these levels by a simple blood test and if low, supplements can be prescribed. Other popular brain supplements are ginseng and flaxseeds.

Pore over a book

If a word is at the tip of your tongue, but you just can’t recall it, expand your vocabulary. Reading is the best way to do this. Magazines, periodicals, fiction and non-fiction books give your vocabulary a boost and these new words can be recalled when you are in the middle of an interesting conversation, with a little practise, of course!

Limit the bad stuff

You know that alcohol and smoking are bad for you, so here’s one more reason to quit – they harm your brain. Moderate to heavy drinking cause forgetfulness and impairs memory, while smoking decreases the amount of blood reaching you brain so your brain has to make do with less oxygen and nutrients. This in turn leads to substandard brain power.

Use your imagination

When trying to remember a person’s face and name for example – get creative. Create a silly sentence making an association and chances are, the next time you see that person you will be able to recall his name because of the silly rhyme you made up. You can also use this trick while studying for a test.

Written by Dr Nisreen Nakhoda, General Physician

You may also like:

Powered by