Does it sound bizarre? Using herbs to improve memory have long been practiced not only by those in the United States, but in other countries as well. The American Indians, Orientals, Egyptians, and Greeks have all used herbs to enhance the mind.
Spicy foods are said to increase the cognitive functions of your brain, and there are several spicy herbs available.
Have you ever heard of turmeric? Maybe curry? Well, turmeric is an ingredient in curry. Curcumin is an ingredient in turmeric, which in turn works to improve your memory. It reduces the effects of diseases like Alzheimer's disease. Ginger is another herb, containing zingerone, which defends the neurons of the brain to improve memory. Cinnamon is a brain activity booster; simply smelling it enhances cognitive function and lifts the mood. All these wonderful spices can be found in your local grocery store, usually on the isle with the basic cooking ingredients such as flour and sugar.
Health food stores abound in the United States. They've become more popular for the youth of today alone. Health food stores can also benefit adult shoppers. They offer things like ginkgo biloba, touted as the best herb to improve blood flow to the brain. Suggested use is 80 mg, 3 times a day.
Another herb found in health food stores which increases memory and guards against senility is gotu kola. It has a calming effect. Suggested use is 1/2 teaspoon in warm water 3 times a day.
Siberian Ginseng can help the body adapt to stress, helps promote a strong, balanced nervous system, and gives a mild energy boost. Suggested use is 250 mg, 2 times a day.
Before partaking in the benefits of any of these suggested herbs, please do your research and make sure they won't have a negative interaction with any medications you are currently taking. The idea is to improve your memory, not further damage your health in another way.
Herbs don't just serve to improve your memory by oral ingestion. A popular way to stimulate your brain these days is by aromatherapy. Some herbs can be heated in either water or as an ingredient in a candle, maybe even as an ingredient for use with a potpourri burner placed on a cloth as an essential oil to inhale, or simply burned as incense. Aromatherapy can be done as a low-cost addition to your steps towards good mental health. It clears the mind, helps you relax, sharpens your ability to focus, and improves your mood. Two essential oils to use in aromatherapy to help improve memory are rosemary and basil. Although, anything that is pleasant to your nose will help you calm your thinking so that you can focus more clearly and feel uplifted in spirit.
An important thing to consider is whether you would rather slow down your lifestyle now and begin to take proper care of your mind and body, or whether you'd rather suffer more later as you've aged and have more trouble undoing the effects of your neglect. It's never too late to adapt a positive outlook and take charge of yourself!
For those of you who may have never heard of the word, mnemonic means memory aid. It's an adjective related to things that help memory improvement. Teaching tools, if you will.
If you are a movie buff, you may have heard of the one called 'Johnny Mnemonic', a 1995 feature involving a data courier. Keanu Reeves is the star of the film. He carries a large data package, 320 gigabytes in size, in his mind. If he doesn't deliver it from Beijing to Newark, it will kill him. I suppose you could call this forced memory. It wasn't his brain that developed this computer chip, this memory tool. It contains a cure for a nerve syndrome of the future and puts his life in danger.
Some mnemonics would seem to be horrible techniques for the person who would prefer not to remember. However, this may be their only solution to overcoming a tragedy, in order to heal them. So, once more, forced memory is put into effect. The person must relive the mentally or emotionally damaging event to be able to move on with their lives and put the worst of the trauma behind them.
A coach, psychiatrist, hypnotist, counselor, pastor, trusted family member, teacher, or close friend may be needed to help give you moral support for the courage to use mnemonic tools.
Hypnosis has long been used as a mnemonic tool. Memory is a process of reconstruction rather than retrieval. Often the mind must be forced through hypnosis to reconstruct events that caused the person to suffer and attempt to protect themselves by choosing subconsciously to forget. Therefore, hypnosis may at times be a dangerous, however necessary, mnemonic tool.
Hypnosis is also a lucrative field. It is often used to help people stop an unhealthy habit, such as chronic nail-biting, smoking, overeating. It can also be used as a form of pain control. No matter how it is used, it involves the subconscious memory.
Mnemonic tools can be a positive way to overcome small annoyances. Suppose your short-term memory loss is disrupting your life in such a way that you are in a constant state of frustration. Small annoyances can add up to one big problem.
You may have subconsciously used mnemonic tools to learn to avoid certain disturbing memories. Like associating an object with someone who used that object to cause you pain. You decide to avoid use of that object to force yourself to leave the memory in the past. Maybe a dreaded uncle always wore purple, so to avoid having to constantly be reminded of the uncle, you decide to never buy an object the color purple. It may become a habit that you do without really thinking about it.
People have used flash cards, music, games, and repetition as mnemonics. Remember the old saying about tying a string around your finger to recall something important? Or placing a rubber band on your wrist, to pop whenever you are faced with a temptation you are trying to overcome?
Whatever the case may be, mnemonics can be very productive in memory improvement.
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