Keeping a sharp mind despite the passing years also requires work. Advice for keeping a young mind from Dr. Philippe Amouyel, author of the Anti-Alzheimer’s Guide, the secrets of a brain in top shape.
Memory works like a muscle: the more you work it, the more you develop it. Here are 3 exercises that are as simple as they are effective for developing your memory skills, developed by sophrologist Carole Serrat.
VISUALIZING A MOMENT OF HAPPINESS
The brain needs positive thoughts and happy memories to function well and form new neural connections. We close our eyes and remember a scene from our life that made us happy: vacation, personal or professional success, a moment of happiness…We soak up the pleasant sensations that this episode of our life gave us. We find the people around us, the sounds, the smells, the colors…
We see ourselves again: sure of ourselves and confident, in harmony with our environment…We relive this moment intensely, immersing ourselves in it as if the event were happening here and now.We let ourselves be carried away by these “rejuvenating” impressions. Visualizing these moments from the past has a very beneficial effect on memory.
CONCENTRATION THROUGH RELAXATION
Ten minutes of relaxation per day are enough to promote the proper functioning of the memory. Sit or lie down comfortably on a mattress, and gently close your eyes. Start by relaxing your toes and feet, then your ankles. Feel the energy rising from the earth… from the feet to the knees, and relaxing the legs…Relax your thighs, then relax all the muscles of the hips, stomach, bust… progressing to the top of the head.
Once you are well relaxed, memorize an excerpt from a poem, an arithmetic formula, a telephone number, passwords…To properly imprint this information in your mind, perform a “memory anchor” by contracting all the muscles in your body for 3 seconds and releasing.
MEDITATION AROUND AN OBJECT
Half an hour of meditation a day improves memory and offers us all its benefits: calm, inner peace, creativity. It consists of concentrating on an object: a pebble, a flower, the flame of a candle or any other object provided that it is not too complex. First, we fix our attention on the object we have chosen. The mind focuses on its external appearance: its shape, its texture, its color…
We close our eyes and visualize the object we have just contemplated: we try to recreate it mentally in its smallest details. To finish, we open our eyes and look at the object again. We start again two or three times in a row.
