Recently I have had people in the clinic asking me how to improve their memory….
Before addressing this from a Chinese Medicine perspective, the first piece of advice I suggest is Mindfulness… Yes it may be a bit of a triggering term for some, but it makes such a difference in strengthening your ability to jump back into the moment that something has happened.
Mindfulness
Improving your awareness of the current situation makes each moment more significant. Practicing daily mindfulness or meditation can decrease mental clutter - so when you’re performing a task or talking with someone - you’re not thinking about what you have to cook for dinner or pick up from the shops. Listening and deeply processing information in real time gives you a greater chance of appreciating and remembering it later on.
This is a great habit to get into to for a plethora of reasons; stress relief, to better your sleep and to improve your cognitive function in general - a very good place to start.
I recommend the ‘1 Giant Mind’ free meditation to just about anyone who’ll listen. It is down to earth, simple and approachable.
Dictracted?
Reduce the opportunities for distraction. Technology makes this one difficult, but take notice of how many tasks you’re trying to do at once… Scrolling on your phone while someone is talking with you, multiple screens at once, generally opting to look down not up...
Making the change to favour looking up may take practice and persistence, but is well worth it.
Brain Power + Chinese Medicine
We can see that the memory often declines as we age which is considered quite normal. Depending on our lifestyle choices and pre-existing constitutional make-up, it is believed in Chinese Medicine that you are born with a certain level of ‘fuel’ and as time goes on this fuel wears out. This is why as we age it is important to alter our lifestyle accordingly. Recognise your bodies needs. Incorporating rest and exercise - recovery time that the body may have not needed in our youth.
This ‘fuel’ can be broken down into terms of the different energies and substances in the body that nourish the brain. In Chinese Medicine it is the Kidney, Heart and Spleen organ energies primarily that can affect memory (Maciocia, G. (2015). The Foundations of Chinese Medicine: A Comprehensive Text. London: Elsevier Health Sciences UK. p.69-70). This is because in their own ways they all affect the quality and distribution of blood. For the brain to function at its optimal levels the blood needs to nourish it.
Taking a look at diet and lifestyle may lead to improvements - making sure a varied nutritious diet and enough water is being consumed along with ample exercise to pump enough blood through the head and brain. This is important discussion (in almost all cases regardless of memory) when it comes to improving health and wellbeing.
Also, keep in mind that a loss of body fluids (all sorts…), blood loss or trauma can lead to insufficient ‘brain food’ in the body. Think about how you feel after giving blood…! Another time to understand your body’s need for rest, recuperation and replenishment.
Ginkgo Biloba
A common self-supplementary treatment for memory is Ginkgo Biloba. From what I can ascertain, it is believed that Ginkgo improves micro-circulation in the body thus improving tissue and organ function. This may have a place in treatment for decreased memory capacity, but it depends, in my opinion, on the root cause of the memory dysfunction.
A 1990 randomised placebo controlled single-blind cross-over study found that Ginkgo improved red blood cell circulation, but not the cellular components found within the blood (Jung, F., Mrowietz, C., Kiesewetter, H., & Wenzel, E. (January 01, 1990). Effect of Ginkgo biloba on fluidity of blood and peripheral microcirculation in volunteers. Arzneimittel-forschung, 40, 5, 589-93. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2383302).
This indicates to me that it may improve blood circulation, but not necessarily the vital blood nutrients required to improve memory from a Chinese Medicine perspective.
Medicine for the Brain
Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture work together to improve both the quality of the Blood and Qi movement for circulation. Ensuring the body performing at its peak - producing a high standard of blood and that sufficiently pumps through to the body and specifically to the brain.
These are helpful additions to any techniques you’re able to apply from the discussed topics above. Sometimes your body needs a gentle reminder of what is good for it.
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After writing this blog I had a look to see what Ted Talks had to say about the matter and was glad to see I wasn’t alone in my opinion. Take a look at Joshua Foers 2012 talk on how he accidentally won a memorising competition and what he recommends to improve memory. https://www.ted.com/talks/joshua_foer_feats_of_memory_anyone_can_do?language=en#t-1185064
Please feel free to send me a message or make an appointment if you have any questions or think you need extra support in improving your memory.
Dr. Stephanie Luxton (Chinese Medicine)