I plan to be one of those women jumping out of a plane on my 90th birthday. What a comparison to the way I spent my 40th birthday, lying on my couch, depressed and in the dark – I swear I was 27 like a week ago! I remember my dad telling me that he’ll be refusing to turn 40 – ‘next year I’m going backwards – I’ll be turning 38!”. We kids all laughed thinking it was so funny… I get it now. I say the forties are the new thirties. But someone needs to tell that to my brain!
We get to that point in our lives where we are in the middle of… I forgot what I was going to write. Oh that’s right! In the middle of something important and then you forget what you were doing…where did I put my my phone? Did I leave my wallet at the cash register? I swear this is the level I parked my car on (cheers Stocklands security guard – lifesaver!). You get the picture.
Oh the joys of aging. But despite my short term memory being reminiscent of a block of Swiss cheese, I consider myself to be pretty lucky (and proud of my hard work) that I’m still physically fit. Sure, my body gets that ‘age is just a number’ but why can’t my brain? I can tell you what I had for lunch on February 10th, 1999 and what I was wearing, but if you asked me… what was it you we’re asking me for again? Oh never mind, I found my phone!
There are countless tools available to assist in remembering important stuff to get us through our day. Things that I have come to rely on and love are, Outlook calendar, Siri reminders, back and forth emails to myself and post it notes littered on every surface imaginable – including my own body! But should we need to be so reliant on technology to prompt us? Why can’t we depend on our own minds? I am determined to find out. I am going to reclaim my short term memory.
Here are some thing I’ve found that help boost my memory:
- Brain exercises – memory games like pairs, doodling etc
- Exercise! Luckily I’m pretty good at that – this blog was conceived on the treddy
- Certain foods such as avocados, beets, blueberries, nuts, celery, broccoli, fish – even coffee and dark chocolate – yum!
Sorry you’ll have to excuse me, I’m off to the supermarket to pick up more memory fuel… where are my keys?
Do you have any tips and tricks to help improve your memory? Drop me a line and let me know how you’ve helped retrain your brain!
Narelle Bialy
Contractor Care Consultant
