Exercises to train the memory of older people

Young people do not attach importance to occasional memory lapses, inattention, and absent-mindedness. In adulthood, signs of memory deterioration are alarming, but not frightening. In old age, disorders of mnestic function are a reason to pay close attention to health.

With age, natural physiological changes occur in the body. A slight deterioration in brain function and a slowdown in the speed of mental processes are inevitable with aging. However, problems often indicate not only age-related changes in memory, but also dangerous conditions, such as dementia.

Therefore, it is important to understand the difference between normal age-related forgetfulness and signs of developing cognitive dysfunction. Seeing a doctor in a timely manner, following recommendations and prescriptions, and regularly performing brain exercises for older people is a prerequisite for living a full life in old age.

Causes of poor memory in the elderly

The formation of new brain cells - neurons - occurs continuously throughout life. Intellectual-mnestic disorders are not an inevitable consequence of biological aging. To preserve nerve tissue, it is necessary to regularly train the brain. Lifestyle, good and bad habits influence higher nervous activity.

Causes of age-related decline in cognitive functions and memory:

As the brain ages, morphological changes occur in the hippocampus. This part of the limbic system is responsible for memory consolidation (the transition of information from short-term memory to long-term storage). The hippocampus is also responsible for spatial memory necessary for navigation.
As the body ages, a protein compound called beta-amyloid may accumulate in the nerve tissue. Disturbance in the rhythm of sleep and wakefulness, characteristic of older people, leads to an increase in beta-amyloid levels. The resulting amyloid plaques provoke irreversible changes in the brain, which are manifested by memory disorders.
Hormonal changes in old age negatively affect mnestic function. For example, it is believed that the multifunctional steroid hormone dehydroepiandrosterone plays a role in ensuring the memorization, storage, and reproduction of information from memory. The production of this compound decreases by 80% by age 70.
Older people are characterized by deterioration of blood supply to the brain. Reduction or blockage of cerebral vessels leads to oxygen starvation and necrosis of brain tissue. Vascular diseases are directly related to excess weight and a sedentary lifestyle, which is typical for some retirees.
Men who systematically drink alcohol for a long period of time experience irreversible changes in the structures of the brain. A common symptom among older people who drink is the loss of acquired experience, skills, and knowledge.

For information! In old age, a slight decline in memory naturally occurs. However, short-term, episodic forgetfulness does not always act as a warning about the onset of senile dementia. The main difference between age-related memory decline and dementia is that the natural decline in cognitive potential does not lead to disability or affect daily activities. Senile (senile) dementia is characterized by persistent, pronounced deterioration of several intellectual functions, leading to the inability to self-care, perform household chores, and interact with society.

Ways to Maintain a Clear Mind and Intelligence

With the tips below, we want to complement what you have already learned. The sooner you start following them, the more benefits you will bring to your brain and the better the results will be by the time you reach old age.

Gymnastics for the mind

A specialist in brain imaging, Kawashima Ryuta, MD, from Japan, has spent many years studying ways to improve cognitive skills, which has allowed him to identify a few that are most effective. According to him, the best methods for training the brain are solving simple mathematical problems at speed and reading aloud.

Ryuta discovered that by performing simple mathematical calculations, the brain began to work much more actively than during any other activity. And subsequent experiments confirmed that by solving examples, the frontal lobes of the left and right hemispheres of the brain develop.

In the experiment, people who studied mathematics for just 5 minutes every day showed improved results in tests of communication, self-control, memory and creative thinking after a couple of months. People with Alzheimer's disease also participated, and after 6 months of training, the decline in their cognitive abilities slowed down.

Based on these studies, Ryuta developed a series of special notebooks called “Training the Brain.” These notebooks are collections of easy examples for performing mathematical operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Today, “Training the Brain” notebooks can be bought or found on the Internet, but you can get acquainted with the example below (and if you try to solve all the examples, you’ll get a good workout for your brain):

We think that you did an excellent job with the examples. But this is not the only way to preserve the mind and intelligence. Let's continue.

Smart lifestyle

You may be familiar with the book “The Retired Brain,” authored by cognitive neuropsychology professor Andre Aleman (if not, be sure to read it). It provides facts confirming that intelligence can be trained at absolutely any age.

For example, Sigmund Freud believed that in old age a person is no longer able to learn anything. But it is now known that the brains of older people have good plasticity, which means that their neurons can still create new connections that are required for learning. Due to them, the deterioration in the functions and structure of the brain observed during aging of the body can be compensated.

According to Aleman, brain training tasks like crossword puzzles and logic problems are an excellent way to prevent cognitive impairment. And in addition to this, the scientist provides a number of recommendations to help maintain clarity and sharpness of mind:

Follow the principles of healthy eating. The most important part of a “smart” diet is moderation in food. The fewer calories a person consumes, the less oxidation his brain neurons are exposed to. It is advisable to reduce your intake of foods containing sugar, salt and saturated fat. And you need to add foods rich in vitamins to your diet, especially vitamin B12 and folic acid. You should also not forget to drink at least one and a half liters of water per day.
Stay active. Physical activity is extremely beneficial not only for the body, but also for the brain. To maintain cognitive function, you need to do exercises that raise your heart rate and cause you to sweat for half an hour at least three times a week. Such exercises include cycling, jogging, swimming and any active sports games.
Continue to work. This option is more suitable for older people, but you still need to know about it. An excellent way to maintain mental activity is to continue working after reaching retirement age. Of course, no one forces you to work at a factory at 70 years old. Work can be replaced by interesting activities and hobbies that require the use of memory and attention.
Read books. If you want to keep your brain active for as long as possible, try to read as much as possible. Moreover, we are talking specifically about books, and not about magazines or newspapers. Firstly, books are much more useful and interesting, and secondly, articles in the press are usually short, and you can understand their essence by simply reading the title and skimming the paragraphs. In addition, when reading books, a person is forced to process and remember more information in order to follow the plot.

The benefit of the tips offered by Andre Aleman is that they not only have a beneficial effect on brain function and intellectual functions, but also help maintain a healthy body and broaden your horizons. Conclusion: use your brain and lead a healthy lifestyle so that your intelligence will serve you until old age.

Correct Use of Intelligence

Several decades ago, scientists were surprised to discover that the human brain has a unique quality - plasticity. This organ can physically change depending on environmental conditions, and neural connections in it can be formed until old age. The more often a person uses chains of neurons, the stronger they become. Taxi drivers are cited as proof of this: after several years of work, their hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for spatial thinking, becomes larger.

Anyone can consciously train any area of their brain. But at the same time, you need to remember about the opposite effect: by not using your brain, you contribute to its degradation (we recommend reading the article “10 ways to prevent mental degradation” on this topic). Therefore, anyone who wants to have a sharp and clear mind in old age must force their brain to work to its fullest today.

Human intellectual potential is inexhaustible, but most people do not even strive to fully reveal it. Roger Sipe, a professional and performance coach who wrote the best-selling book Brain Development, believes that people can use their minds much more effectively, read four times faster, and remember three times better.

In the aforementioned book by Sipe you can find a lot of tips on how to improve your cognitive abilities, but giving up multitasking deserves special attention among them. The author explains it this way: thinking that a person can handle multitasking is completely wrong, and anyone who believes that they can successfully do several things at the same time is mistaken.

As author and personal development consultant Peter Bregman wrote in an article in the Harvard Business Review, multitasking is a trick that a person performs on himself in the belief that he is getting more done. But in reality, human productivity in this case drops by 40%.

The point is that a person does not do several things at once, but simply quickly switches between them, which only interferes with himself, and at the same time wastes time. The results of such work always require improvement. Plus, multitasking also dulls a person. IQ drops about the same as after a night without sleep. Many people pride themselves on thinking that they are great at multitasking, but this is self-deception.

And one more important nuance: in the realities of today, with a high pace of life and far from the best state of the environment, it is very difficult for the human body to cope with stress. The quality of the products also leaves much to be desired, and replenishment with useful substances is extremely necessary for a person. That is why it is worth paying attention to useful food additives, and they need to be mentioned separately.

Healthy Supplements

Renowned neurologist and member of the American College of Nutrition, David Perlmutter, has spent many years studying the effects of nutrition on human thinking abilities. He found that glucose and gluten are the main causes of memory impairment and the development of many neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's disease.

You can read in detail about Perlmutter’s research in his book “Food and the Brain.” We will consider only the supplements cited by the author that stimulate brain activity:

Turmeric. This is a well-known seasoning that gives food a yellow color. But it is good not for this, but because it has been used for thousands of years in Indian and Chinese medicine. Turmeric contains curcumin, which can activate genes that produce incredible amounts of antioxidants. It also improves glucose metabolism. Together, all this significantly reduces the likelihood of developing brain diseases.
Probiotics. This term refers to a special class of microorganisms and substances of microbial origin. They are used for therapeutic purposes and as food products, as well as dietary supplements. Eating probiotics improves brain function, reduces stress, and relieves anxiety, worry and depression.
Resveratrol. Perlmutter calls it real magic. This amazingly useful substance improves blood circulation in the brain, stimulates the heart, slows down the aging process, and also regulates fat cells, preventing them from developing. The largest amount of resveratrol is found in grapes and drinks made from them.
Vitamin D: This vitamin is most often mentioned when talking about bone health and calcium deficiency. For this reason, it is added to milk. But the effect of vitamin D on the body is much more serious, because it has a positive effect on the brain. The human central nervous system includes receptors for this vitamin, and it prevents the destructive effects of free radicals on neurons.
Alpha lipoic acid. It is considered a powerful antioxidant for brain cells. Despite the fact that the body produces this fatty acid in the required quantity, the lifestyle of a modern person and poor diet force it to be taken as a supplement.
Coconut oil. It can be used for both the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Knowledgeable people generally consider this oil to be superfuel for the brain, as well as a substance that stops any inflammatory processes. Coconut oil can either be added to food when preparing it, or drunk in its pure form, one teaspoon per day.
Docosahexaenoic acid. This omega-3 fatty acid can be called one of the best among all supplements. Nutritionists and doctors call it a treasure that protects the brain from the development of many diseases and stops the processes of aging and degeneration. Eat plenty of fish, as well as salmon or cod liver, and your brain will thank you.

You can find a lot more useful and interesting information in the book “Food and the Brain”, and it will be better if you read it yourself. We will just make one more addition: David Perlmutter strongly recommends eliminating cereals, bread and sugar from your diet. In his opinion, this will allow one to become smarter and avoid the deterioration of mental abilities associated with the aging process.

What has been said in the article is quite enough to understand how important it is to start taking care of your brain now and what is necessary for this. Experts and simply knowledgeable people unanimously say that maintaining a clear mind and intelligence in old age is quite possible. We also share this belief, and as evidence we would like to give several examples.

Brain exercises are an effective way to strengthen memory.

Just as regular, moderate physical activity preserves the body's resources, daily memory exercises for older adults will improve brain performance and reduce the risk of memory problems.

Important! There is no single set of activities suitable for all people without exception. When creating an individual training program, you need to try different options, choosing those that correspond to your personal characteristics and preferences.

Adviсe:

Remember, the more pleasant and comfortable the training is, the more positive sensations the mental process creates, the stronger and more lasting the effect will be.
The condition for achieving results is a commitment to daily mental exercise. Spend at least 2 hours daily (for example, one hour in the morning, a second session in the afternoon) for cognitive training.
Vary your mental load. Do not allow monotonous, monotonous actions that quickly tire you. Include different types of exercises in your daily routine.
Choose the appropriate lesson format. Some people like to complete tasks alone, in complete silence. Others are more comfortable brainstorming in a fun company of friends. Optimally combine individual and group work.
To get the maximum benefit and make mental stress comfortable, stimulate your brain using your senses. For example, turn on pleasant, motivating music. Do your work with scented candles lit.
Get rid of the habit of scolding, reproaching yourself for failure, a mistake, or a wrong decision. Any mental load is a valuable experience that expands cognitive potential. Pay attention to small achievements. Reward yourself for new records. Praise for effort and discipline.

Reasons for the deterioration of the ability to remember in adulthood

Memory loss in adulthood sometimes takes a pathological course. This condition is called hypomnesia. The disorder manifests itself in difficulties with remembering events, dates, terms, numbers, new names, and faces. There are lapses in memory for certain events. At the same time, some people restore memories using clues. As a rule, memory impairment progresses over time. For most people, information is lost in the reverse order - from the present to the past.

Memory disorders manifest themselves in varying degrees of severity, having signs that meet the criteria:

mild cognitive impairment;
dementia (severe intellectual impairment).

Deterioration in the ability to remember is observed in various pathological conditions, including:

neurological diseases;
taking psychoactive substances, both drugs and certain medications;
acute or chronic intoxication with ethanol and its breakdown products;
benign or malignant brain tumors;
severe infectious brain lesions;
changes in the structure of cerebral vessels;
atherosclerosis;
persistent increase in blood pressure;
intracranial hypertension;
neurodegenerative processes;
traumatic brain damage.

Among the painful conditions accompanied by severe memory impairment:

Alzheimer's type dementia;
vascular dementia (a common variant is cerebral atherosclerosis);
Parkinson's disease with memory impairment;
Hakim-Adams syndrome;
encephalopathies (for example, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease).

Important! Memory impairment often occurs in healthy people due to overwork, lack of proper rest, and sleep disturbances.

Mnestic dysfunction is sometimes caused by treatable, reversible conditions such as:

Clinical depression. Depressive status results in a state that mimics a memory disorder. The person indicates difficulty concentrating, difficulty remembering information, and the inability to organize thoughts in a logical order. Depression is a common mood disorder in older adults, often occurring as social activity levels change after retirement.
Vitamin deficiency. Vitamin deficiency in old age is often associated with poor nutrition and age-related changes in metabolism. A common cause of vitamin deficiency is taking medications for chronic diseases. A lack of vitamins prevents the restoration of damaged brain structures and accelerates aging.
Endocrine diseases. Thyroid dysfunction, for example, hypothyroidism, is accompanied by lethargy, decreased memory, attention, and intelligence.
Dehydration. The reasons for the lack of water in the body are kidney failure, taking diuretics, chronic diseases (for example, diabetes). Dehydration is common among older adults because the brain's thirst center is less active than in younger adults. Lack of water in the body is manifested by confusion, drowsiness, and inability to concentrate and remember.
Side effects of drugs. Some over-the-counter pharmacological products have undesirable side effects - cognitive impairment, memory impairment.

Keep learning

Mental work activates individual brain cells and stimulates communication between them. This process is ongoing, so it is useful to learn throughout life. Neural circuits are strengthened because a person is mentally active and regularly engages in intellectual exercises.

Memory training in older people:

Reading books;
solving crosswords, puzzles, tests;
game of chess;
music and art classes;
mastering new skills and knowledge;
language learning.

Memory training methods

Strategies and exercises have been developed to train the memory of older people to prevent and slow down the deterioration of intellectual abilities.

Gain new knowledge in scientific disciplines

A high level of education and continued academic study ensure better mental functioning in old age. Conscious, purposeful expansion of knowledge allows you to maintain focused attention and strong memory. Regular mental work associated with the development of new information contributes to the formation and preservation of neural connections in the brain.

Train your senses

Pay attention to shapes, colors, sounds, smells. At the end of the day, try to visualize pictures in all sensory modalities. Remember what an outstanding scene you saw, what sounds surrounded the event, what the aroma was. Try to perceive the object in an unusual way. For example, try to guess the taste of the ingredients by tasting the dish with your eyes closed. Activate tactile sensations. For example, guess the object by the texture of the materials, shape.

Avoid wasting mental energy

The habit of placing things in certain places and the absence of clutter saves resources spent on remembering. Follow a daily routine. Plan your time in advance, make a list of to-dos, meetings, activities. The absence of chaos, understanding the sequence of actions, a clear structure of the day eliminates worries and fussiness, preserving mental energy. Eliminate distractions, such as cluttering your desk with unnecessary items, so you can focus on achieving the task at hand.

Repeat

Say out loud or write down the information you want to remember. Every time you hear or read an important phrase, realize a significant thought, speak the idea or write it down on a piece of paper. Give comments on the actions performed, for example, say out loud: “I put my wallet in a small, black bag.”

Consolidate your knowledge

Repeat the topic you have learned. For information to be stored in long-term memory, repetition is required. For example, after studying English in the morning, take a break and repeat the new vocabulary an hour later. In the evening, try to say out loud or write down the words you have learned.

Use mnemonics

Mnemonic techniques make it easier to memorize new information and expand memory capacity. The methods are based on the formation of associations. For example, when memorizing new words, create a vivid image, combine them into a single picture, and fill the visualized plot with emotions.

Play

Engage in play activities that you were not previously familiar with. Play mind games that involve strategy elements, such as chess. Play word games in a group, for example, “How to make a molehill out of a molehill.” The players’ task is to compose metagrams (words that differ by one letter), gradually transforming the original word into the one specified by the task (for example, turning the word “fly” into “elephant” occurs in 16 stages).

Deepen your knowledge

Check how well you have previously acquired knowledge. Increase your level of education. For example, if you were interested in geography at school, check how many seas you can show on the map. Read scientific information, watch documentaries that deepen knowledge about water resources.

Clear your brain of unnecessary things and fill them with useful ones.

Stop cluttering your brain with useless, harmful information. Processing the huge flow of news flowing from TV screens and social networks depletes mental resources. Avoid watching dull TV series that lead to blues.

Look for useful sources of information on the Internet. Give preference to educational projects, historical films, scientific programs, and author’s trainings. Make it a habit to put useful information into your brain, and don’t clutter it with junk.

If you want to relax, experience vivid emotions, watch comedies, go to the theater for a decent performance, admire a circus performance, or visit a museum. If you're on a budget, take a walking tour of the city's attractions. Try to find out new information about buildings and monuments. Share your impressions with your loved ones.

Memory exercises

The brain needs constant stimulation. Exercises and ways to improve memory have been developed, which speed up the solution of everyday problems and increase performance.

How to train memory in old age:

Set only one goal - your brain will get used to concentration. Line up your tasks and focus for 15 minutes on each one.
Incorporate associations into your daily life. For example, if you put your keys in a specific place, imagine that there is an explosion. The next day you will easily remember what happened yesterday.
It is useful to learn poems to develop memory or excerpts from books - on occasion, surprise your loved ones.
Singing is a useful brain workout. After all, you have to memorize the lyrics of the song, hit the notes, remember the melody.
Fall in love with puzzles - putting together pictures from small parts stimulates all parts of the brain in an adult.
Working with your hands (knitting, embroidery) is an excellent training for memory and attention, improves concentration. It is useful to use special schemes for making the product.
Learning languages is a great brain exercise.
Master your computer if you haven't already.

What memory training exercises are most effective?

Experts recommend sticking to brain training that involves real-life activities. Exercises to strengthen brain function should be a new, exciting challenge.

Simple games such as Sudoku and crosswords are good for memory, as are looking at comic books, painting by numbers, and putting together puzzles.
Engage fine motor skills. Try to create a piece of sand. Make a beaded necklace with strict adherence to the order of the colors.
Write a list of items from one category. Try to remember the words and their sequence. After an hour, see how many items you can remember. Gradually make the task more difficult.
Count in your head. Perform arithmetic operations without the help of a calculator or computer. Try to remember the price of each item purchased in the store, calculate the total cost in your head, and check the result with your receipt.
Draw a route from memory. Make a plan of the area visited. Try to indicate all the small details that you encountered along the way.
Learn something new every day from different fields. For example, find a fresh recipe every day and cook a new dish. Try doing a different hairstyle, wearing a different outfit every day. Walk to your friend's house along a different road. Find a previously unknown fact of history and tell it to family members. Take a course on an unfamiliar topic, such as learning to play a musical instrument or landscape design.

The more involved the brain is in learning new information, the greater the chance of maintaining excellent memory into old age.

Brain exercises for older people

Brain exercises for older people are quite simple. Read fairy tales and retell them to your beloved grandchildren, memorize with them children's funny poems about “The Absent-Minded One from Basseynaya Street.” It's fun and enjoyable, and it also preserves your personality.

Intelligence training prevents a person from losing his skills and knowledge. It's not just our muscles that need warming up. Neurons restore their connections and do not die if the brain is loaded with feasible work.

You shouldn’t get too tired, but collecting pictures from puzzles, learning foreign words, walking in the park along an unfamiliar alley, remembering a new route, is necessary for good attention. Doctors recommend brushing your teeth and combing your hair either with your left hand or with your right. Simple experiments, but effective.

Good nutrition and fresh air will be the best helpers for you and your mind. Individuals who lead an active lifestyle do not suffer from senile dementia.

Recommendations

The same methods that promote physical health help maintain intellectual potential. Take steps to prevent cognitive decline early.

Stay socially active. People who do not communicate with family and have few friends are at high risk of memory problems. High-quality “live” communication reduces stress, gives pleasure, and stimulates brain activity. Plan meetings with friends, join a club of interests, attend sections and clubs.
Get rid of nicotine addiction. Smoking increases the risk of vascular diseases and impairs the supply of oxygen to the brain.
Learn to manage stress. Excess cortisol, the stress hormone, damages the brain over time. When a person is under stress, absent-mindedness and problems concentrating occur. Simple stress management techniques can help minimize the harmful effects of negative factors. The main rule is to express your feelings in a constructive way, do not suppress emotions, and do not fixate on unpleasant events.
Get enough sleep. Full, sufficient sleep is necessary for the coordinated functioning of the body's systems. Lack of sleep negatively affects the emotional state and provokes cognitive impairment.
Watch your diet. A balanced, regular diet and adequate drinking are the basis of physical and mental well-being. Eat fresh, chemical-free foods. Diversify your menu. If you have chronic diseases, make up your diet in accordance with medical recommendations.
Be physically active. Walk outdoors every day. Moderate cardio and strength training has a beneficial effect on brain function. Give preference to outdoor sports, for example, cycling (if there are no contraindications). A great way to achieve harmony of soul and body is yoga, breathing exercises, and qigong gymnastics.

How to avoid starting a fire due to forgetfulness: 10 tips from a psychiatrist

Photo from the site betterhealthwhileaging.net
Many people have probably heard stories about clothes burning under the iron or milk running away from elderly relatives. For older people living separately, this happens while they are in the room watching TV or answering a phone call in the hallway. Our neighbor in the countryside burns out a couple of boilers during the summer season (they heat water for washing dishes), while she, while waiting for heating, “briefly” goes out into the garden or exchanges “a couple of phrases” with her neighbor.

How to avoid such situations?

American researcher Danielle Lapp has devoted more than 10 years to studying memory and its training at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychological Sciences at Stanford University. In her book “Improving memory - at any age” (Moscow, “Mir”, 1993) she notes that in older age, a change in the rhythm of life and a narrowing of the scope of activity often lead to memory problems.

She gives the elderly 10 recommendations , based on the physiological characteristics of the body of an elderly person during normal aging:

Avoid fatigue to maintain reaction speed
Compensate for possible changes in sensory functions (vision, hearing, taste, smell, touch) and a decrease in the ability to perceive (sit closer to the interlocutor or TV, ask the interlocutor again, look at pictures with a magnifying glass, etc.).
Change your activities and take breaks to maintain your concentration.
Avoid external interference that may interfere with memory (read without a working TV or radio, when filling out documents - do not have conversations).
Find out if your memory loss is due to heredity.
Focus on one thing at a time (multi-tasking leads to forgetfulness, stress, and cardiovascular disease).
Explore new areas instead of chewing on the old and going deeper into it.
Make sure the medications you take do not have side effects that cause drowsiness or confusion.
Stop being afraid of “falling into childhood” and “going crazy” - senile dementia occurs in only 12% of people over 65 years of age, and everyone who is concerned about the state of their memory is definitely not affected by it.
Eliminate haste.