Concentration and Memory

Often, we take our precious ability to remember and concentrate for granted. It’s only when memory fails us, or we struggle to stay focused, that we realise how important these essential functions are for performing daily tasks and leading fulfilling, productive lives.

From experiencing sudden ‘blankness’ when sitting down to write an exam paper, to forgetting where you placed your keys or to fetch your kids from school, people of all ages and at all stages of life may have a little trouble with memory and concentration.

As you age, it’s natural to have moments in which you are forgetful. But don’t sit back and accept this as an inevitable decline over which you have no power. Now is the time to act. Some simple lifestyle changes can improve your memory while simultaneously providing other health benefits. These positive changes benefit people at any age.¹

These simple actions help protect your brain:

• Avoid foods with added sugar.
• Avoid over-processed foods.
• Stop smoking. Smokers may experience more rapid cognitive decline than non-smokers.
• Drink less alcohol, or skip it altogether. Long-term alcohol use shrinks the size of neurons (brain cells).
• Avoid excessive sedentary time in front of a screen – whether that’s your computer or cell phone, or watching television.¹

This list shows what you should avoid, but there are also positive actions you can take to boost your memory.

Develop these good lifestyle habits:

• Choose foods that help improve and support memory: flavonoids in fresh fruits and vegetables may protect cognition.⁷
• Water your brain! Water makes up 75% of your brain mass and if you’re dehydrated this can negatively impact cognition.
• Get enough sleep. (At least seven hours and as much as nine.) When you’re well rested, you’re better able to concentrate, which leads to improved overall memory function.
• Exercise regularly. Exercise boosts your brain health, memory and ability to think by allowing better bloodflow to the brain.
• Reduce stress. High levels of stress hormones could hamper concentration and memory formation because they have an inflammatory effect on brain cells. One way to reduce stress is through meditation.
• Be socially active. Social connection has been shown to increase the brain’s grey matter. When you socialise, it may seem as if you’re just chatting and laughing, but all the while your brain is working hard. Socialising stimulates memory and attention, and in so doing it strengthens neural networks.
• Puzzles and games are great for challenging important areas of the brain that deal with language, logic, attention, problem-solving and reasoning. The more you keep your brain active and engaged, the better.^1,2,6,8,9,11

Eating certain foods can boost your memory and support your brain. Leafy green vegetables such as kale and spinach; fresh fruits including blueberries, raspberries and blackberries; nuts; fatty fish – all have multiple health benefits, including keeping your brain in top condition.

There are now diets specifically designed to optimise brain health. For example, the MIND (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) diet, based on the Mediterranean diet, focuses on brain health and avoids cheese, butter, red meat and sugary foods.

We know exercise has amazing health benefits for the whole body – not least the brain. Exercise increases the supply of oxygen to your brain. It encourages the growth of neurons and boosts connections and communication between brain cells, which in turn improves memory.¹

Memory is a mental process involving three steps.

1. The first step to acquiring a new memory is called encoding. It starts when your senses perceive something. Your brain “awakens” and prepares to create a new memory when you learn something new or have a new experience. Specialised neurons start signalling to each other, and this increased activity makes it more likely for a memory to be encoded.
2. The brain organises new information, storing it as long-term, short-term, or sensory memories. Useful information is filtered out to keep, so your mind doesn’t become overloaded with unnecessary information – like a computer that cleans out excess, repetitive data to improve efficiency.
3. Recalling is the process of retrieving the stored information. Memories become strengthened every time you recall information, as this reinforces the neuronal pathways forged when the original event took place. The more often you recall a memory, the more the pathway to that memory is strengthened.⁵

As you can tell, there are several points at which something might go awry with this process, which leads to memory difficulties.⁵

Often, a problem remembering might start with poor concentration or organisation. This happens if you aren’t properly absorbing the information to start with, or you aren’t processing and storing the information. Your powers of concentration wax and wane depending on many different factors and sometimes it may feel like no matter what you do, you just can’t focus.