Improve Mind University

Stress, too much coffee or energy drinks, boredom, and even lack of exercise can cause poor memory and lack of concentration. Even if you are absorbed in a project, external disturbances can interrupt your train of thought. You may try to get back to your task, but find that the intrusion threw you off balance, making it difficult to concentrate.

Relaxation and Stress Reduction

Staying focused is often difficult when under a great deal of stress. Learning to improve your concentration and memory may be as easy as getting into the habit of bringing your mind back to your current project instead of allowing it to wander. Techniques like meditation or yoga can help quiet a restless mind, and improve memory and concentration. Relaxing can be as simple as sitting quietly for a few moments each day or listening to soothing music while letting your thoughts flow wherever they wish. This may sound counter-productive since you’d like to improve memory and concentration, but this method can work since you’re giving your mind permission to drift and daydream for awhile. Taking time out to de-stress may be all it takes to help you concentrate better.

Exercise and Deep Breathing

A quick and easy way to calm a racing mind and improve concentration is to practice deep breathing exercises. Whenever you feel unfocused, stop whatever you’re doing, close your eyes, inhale deeply through your nose for a count of five, hold for a count of five, then release your breath slowly through your mouth as you count to ten. (Imagine blowing on a spoonful of hot soup as you blow out.) Repeat this exercise three to ten times until you feel more relaxed and focused. Also, exercising for just 20 minutes a day, whether a walk around the block or time spent on a bike or treadmill, releases endorphins—chemicals in the brain that can boost your mood and clear your mind.

Caffeine and Anxiety

Drinking too many caffeine-laden coffee or energy drinks may be the reason behind poor concentration in some people. If you reach for a double shot of espresso every time your energy wanes, your mind will soon protest by refusing to focus. Caffeine has many side effects such as causing fuzzy thinking, anxiety, adrenal exhaustion, and even fatigue once the coffee or energy drink wears off. Try to limit yourself to two cups of coffee per day. Better yet, replace caffeine drinks with herbal teas or water.

Memories are not just important for our daily lives, but they are what define us and make us who we are. Without memories we would be nothing and would have nothing to look forward to or reminiscence over. Memory is the ability to retain information about things from the past, and our plans for the future. It’s therefore important that we know how memories work, and how the process changes and is affected over time. Deterioration and weakened memory is a problem as we age, but the process can be delayed or accelerated by the lifestyles we lead. Temporary memory losses may also occur as result of injuries or ailments, most of which are treatable. As memory loss and deterioration is a natural part of the aging process it is important that we prepare for this eventuality and look for ways to strengthen and enhance our memory. Yoga and memory strengthening are almost synonymous as it is one of the most effective disciplines for improving mental health and the cognitive abilities.

Yoga for memory is not a new concept but is in fact almost as old as civilization. This ancient discipline offers a wealth of health benefits not just limited to the physical. Many of the health benefits that it offers are inter-related just as the functioning of our various organs is inter dependent. A physically healthy individual is less likely to be mentally disturbed as compared to an unhealthy individual. Yoga in itself though is a great mind strengthener. It is an extremely relaxing discipline that trains the mind, restores peace and improves attention, concentration, and memory as well.

Meditation and yoga are two words that are very often used interchangeably and for good reason. No other health regimen gives so much importance to meditation. Yoga is a wholesome discipline that focuses on bodily, emotional and spiritual health equally. It also recognizes the importance of balance and harmony between the three and strives to achieve this balance through the practice of physical poses, breath techniques and meditation. One of the reasons why yoga practitioners are less susceptible to degenerative diseases that cause memory loss is because of the improved circulation within our bodies. In addition to this yoga also stimulates and enhances the functioning of the various internal organs, boosting your overall health.

While you can use yoga to improve memory, yoga alone will not suffice if you lead an unhealthy lifestyle. A fast paced and unhealthy lifestyle with smoking or drug abuse severely damages brain cells and its ability to retain memories. In addition just as with any other organ or muscle group, memories will start to deteriorate with age if not used. This means that you also need to keep your mind stimulated and active.