this episode is sponsored by LastPass
whether it's losing your keys or trying
to cram information into your head for
an exam sometimes we just need our brain
to be less forgetful so using science
how can you improve your memory right
now first things first you should hit
the gym but sorry meatheads you can't
skip cardio MRI studies show that
regular aerobic exercise like running
improves performance on memory tasks by
increasing the blood flow and volume in
parts of the hippocampus this is
important as the hippocampus is a part
of the brain that is critical for
learning and memory but it shrinks by 1
to 2 percent per year in late adulthood
so aerobic exercise can be a great way
to fight age-related declines of our
memory after the gym and pre studying
grab a good snack after a meal the
increased glucose and insulin has shown
to promote the learning of new
information glucose and insulin are also
key to consolidation the conversion of
short-term to long-term memories
probably because the hippocampus we
talked about earlier is enriched with
insulin receptors we set a good snack
but maybe try blueberries as studies
show participants given a blueberry
supplement had a better ability to
recall past events
blueberries contain flavonoids that have
been shown to protect neurons enhance
their function and stimulate their
regeneration make sure that you're
keeping up with the group chat
scientists linked high-quality personal
relationships to better memory a 2017
study found that adults aged 80 and up
who reported more satisfying
relationships in their old age had
similar cognitive abilities to people in
their 50s and 60s other research shows
hanging out with people can protect
against memory declines common in
dementia scientists think that our
friends create social pressure that
makes us take care of ourselves and they
even do things as simple as tell you
directly or indirectly to go visit a
doctor social interactions also present
complex cognitive memory challenges that
can stimulate your brain think you
friends hug your friends today because
they're increasing your memory if you
really want to be super extra about all
of this you could also try to become a
memory champion these are people who
can't for example memorize the order of
a deck of cards in
thirty seconds superior memory skills
aren't because of anatomical differences
which means you could accomplish some of
these same memory feats with intense
practice one study found that after six
weeks of daily 30-minute training normal
people exhibited similar levels of
neural connectivity as these memory
athletes when given a list of 72 words
they went from being able to recall 26
to 32 remembering over 60 words a little
stressed about memorizing a presentation
for tomorrow not to worry as research
suggests an optimal level of anxiety can
help us remember details during
stressful events hormones like cortisol
act on the brain to promote the
formation of long term memories probably
so that we can better process stressful
situations and change our behaviors
accordingly but it doesn't mean that in
these stressful times we are going to
become way better at memorizing things
as too much stress has been shown to
impair memory so it is about finding the
right balance between not panicking and
panicking just enough to sharpen your
mind for the most part we are overly
stressed which leads to us forgetting
our passwords thankfully there is
LastPass LastPass also helps relieve the
anxiety and stress of remembering all of
your different passwords for all the
different platforms by storing them all
in one safe place you can store an
unlimited amount of passwords it even
helps you to generate stronger passwords
and most importantly update your
passwords which is something that we
should all be doing you can use it on
many devices like your laptop or even on
your fancy phone using an app it even
has a password breach alert to help keep
you safe
essentially with LastPass you never have
to write remember or reset your
passwords thanks again to LastPass and
we will see you all next week for
another science video see you later
