If there is no ready-made recipe, a certain healthy lifestyle is essential to stimulate the brain and keep it as long as possible in great shape.
THEAs we learn, additional connections appear while existing ones grow stronger or weaker. “A bit like the Internet, in short: the “web” comprises countless networks, large and small, linked together, compares Michel Le Van Quyen, researcher at Inserm. It is the seat of a constant evolution of its connections, which are reorganized according to the needs or interests of the moment. The brain naturally has the ability to go very far, as long as it is kept active regularly, “he says.
This is also recommended since in the event of an injury (stroke, etc.), those with a higher number of neurons and cerebral connections would present less severe disorders. In other words, the more you stimulate your brain, the more it develops and the more it is developed, the better it will withstand the onslaught of age and brain disorders. A virtuous circle in a way.
To memorize you need attention, focus and energy
Without pleasure, there is no desire to act, no motivation to be curious, to undertake, to test, to practice, to forge social links … “You can completely age while keeping a remarkable memory, on condition of being motivated and of stimulate it every day, while having fun “, insists Bernard Doutres, pharmacist and specialist in nutrition.
The important thing: that your activities and your social interactions (professional and friendly) are perceived as satisfactory, so no need to take Sudoku if you have no interest in it. And even, in people with cognitive impairment, experiences show, at the onset of the disease, a protective effect of positive emotions on residual memory capacities. “Everything is good when you rely on interest, motivation and pleasure, confirms Dr Hervé Chneiweiss, neurologist at Pitié-Salpetrière (Paris). To memorize, you need attention, focus and energy with phases of action and rest, and always repetition. “
To memorize, you have to vary the activities
Another rule: diversity. Each activity, whatever it is, stimulates different areas of the brain. The ideal is therefore to vary the activities without focusing on memory, to work all areas of the brain. While reading involves all of our brain areas, and crosswords stimulate both parts of the brain, but that is not enough. No more than Sudoku puzzles or chess.
Going out, discussing, gardening, going to the movies, reading, preparing good meals or going on a trip are just as important activities for maintaining neural connections, memorizing new information and mobilizing those already in stock. Throughout your professional life, you can also take advantage of the CPF (Personal Training Account) to go back to school, learn new skills, learn a foreign language, improve your skills in a field … Playing an instrument increases. also the amount of gray matter, whatever our level, and delays the onset of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Memory ages better.
Of course, it takes some effort and you have to persevere to achieve positive results, but then you feel empowered and even more motivated. More modestly, you can also work on your attention, for example by focusing entirely on a task for a few minutes, whether it’s cooking or watching the news on TV. In our zapping society, being fully at what you do is increasingly rare, and yet this attention is essential for learning and memorizing.
To memorize, you have to know how to take breaks
“Contrary to what we think, taking care of your brain is not synonymous with always doing more and better, insists Michel Le Van Quyen. It is also sometimes knowing how to take breaks to rest your brain and give it the time to regenerate. “
The confinement, which has forced us to get out of our usual work rhythm and stop the incessant race we engage in day after day, has undoubtedly been beneficial for our brain. This is not the praise of laziness, but of rest, essential for concentration to learn and remember, and “silence, beneficial for creativity and memorization.”
To memorize, you have to meditate
We ruminate on the past, we fear the future … our brain is constantly distracted, which mobilizes its energy, most often unnecessarily, and makes us unhappy. Meditative practices aim to bring us back to the present moment, by focusing our attention on a mantra, our breathing, our bodily sensations …
“This practice has a beneficial effect on the body and the brain in particular”, assures Michel Le Van Quyen. An American study even revealed that meditating would rebuild our gray matter in just eight weeks and that by acting directly on the amygdala (core of emotions), mindfulness meditation stimulates the creation of new neural connections, improves functioning. of the prefrontal cortex and thereby the vascular, muscular and hormonal systems. Practiced 30 minutes a day, it helps regulate your autonomic nervous system through breathing. Being attentive to your posture, to your thoughts also allows you to delop your attention and concentration (and therefore your learning capacities).
It is also giving meaning to one’s life
Giving meaning to one’s life, according to Prof. Yves Agid, neurologist at the Brain Institute, is the last essential ingredient: “We are only passing through, we have to be aware of it, accept to die, think about who we are, organize our life intelligently and be happy. It’s good for the brain, it gives a vital boost and allows some failures to be compensated very effectively. “
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