8 Habits That Are Sabotaging Your Memory

Do your friends and family often joke about your forgetfulness? While not everyone is blessed with a perfect memory, if you find yourself struggling to recall recent events, your daily habits might be to blame. Here are eight common mistakes that could be sabotaging your memory.

1. Overloading Your Brain

Is your to-do list longer than a Guinness World Records category list? Do you often find yourself multitasking, like answering emails while talking on the phone and jotting down notes? If so, it’s no surprise that your memory is suffering. Our brains have a limit, and when we try to do too much at once, our memory becomes overloaded.

Prioritize your tasks and make sure to include some solo downtime, free from intense workouts or studying work materials. Think of it as recharging your brain’s battery.

2. Failing to Manage Anxiety

A brain filled with worry doesn’t have much room for anything else. Anxiety consumes a lot of mental resources, so if you’re constantly stressed about upcoming events or work problems, your memory will suffer. To improve your memory, learn to calm yourself and reduce your stress response. A clear mind leads to better memory.

3. Not Getting Enough Sleep

Be honest, how much sleep do you really get each night? And catching up on sleep during the weekends doesn’t count! The average adult needs seven to eight hours of sleep, but according to the World Health Organization, many people get only six. Sleep is crucial for processing memories, and if you’re not getting enough, your memory will suffer. Plus, a lack of sleep can lead to a foggy mind and difficulty retaining information.

It’s not just about the quantity of sleep, but the quality as well. You might spend enough time in bed, but only restorative sleep cycles truly refresh your mind. Doctors recommend avoiding screens before bedtime. Additionally, lack of sleep can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

4. Living with Toxic Habits

No one is perfect, but the more harmful habits you have, the worse it is for your brain. Alcohol, poor diet, polluted air, overheating, and dehydration are all serious culprits behind memory decline. Anything that distracts your central nervous system drains your brain’s resources and reduces your ability to remember.

5. Overreacting to Stress

We all need to vent sometimes, but if you worry about every little thing, it will occupy your mind and prevent new memories from forming. Constantly criticizing yourself for mistakes only fuels the release of cortisol and adrenaline, which increases anxiety. It’s a vicious cycle.

6. Smoking

If you’ve been complaining about poor memory more often, here’s another reason to quit smoking. Numerous studies by neuroscientists on mice confirm that the side effects of nicotine eventually outweigh the positive effects.

Researchers also conducted a test with three groups of participants: smokers, non-smokers, and those who had quit smoking within the past three years. All participants had to answer questions after a campus tour. Smokers struggled with just 60% of the questions, while non-smokers scored over 80%. Those who had quit smoking scored slightly higher, around 70%, leading to the conclusion that quitting smoking can help restore good memory.

7. Not Getting Enough Nutrients

Pay attention to what you’re feeding your body. If you’re lacking certain vitamins and nutrients, your memory might suffer. For example, a lack of choline, the building block of memory, reduces the amount of acetylcholine, which is essential for normal cognitive function. The best source of choline is eggs, so consider adding them to your breakfast!

Also, think about your intake of omega-3 fatty acids. Foods rich in omega-3s, like fish and seaweed, contain docosahexaenoic acid, which is used for neuron functioning and, consequently, good memory.

8. Seeing Too Much Advertising

If your browser doesn’t have ad-blocking plugins, you’re likely seeing an overwhelming amount of unpleasant banners and clickbait headlines. While you might be able to distinguish ads from the content you actually need, your attention is still being scattered. Moreover, researchers and marketers have repeatedly stated that advertising can cause a ‘false memory’ effect, where people believe they’ve experienced something that was merely described in an ad.

For further reading on how advertising affects memory, you can visit this authoritative source.