Keeping Memory Sharp

[REEVE]

Hello All

Coming up 9 years since i last boxed, just wondered what (if anything) that you do keep your memory sharp/active?

There isnt much info online about this sort of thing.

Have heard crosswords etc are good, and that hyperbarbic chamber sessions and saunas can be good. I have 2 young daughters and just want to stay as sharp/fresh as i can for them

[coneye]

Me personally NOTHING . My mind and memory are getting terrible just typical of getting older like can remember word for word conversations with people 40years ago people who i remember there name what they look like and I.ve not seenthemfor 40 years YET can.t remember peoples names still mix with .also can't remember if or what ibad for breakfast yesterday ..Wether its juzt getting older or previous hits too the head I don't know .. but my wife plays bingo 3 maybe 4 times a week plays 6 books at a time and is sharp has a tack . Got a mate who just passed away a year or so ago a d at 75 his mind was still very very sharp. He played that crossword game susukio or something. Claimed it kept his brain healthy

[Controversial]

I have a parent with dementia and their long term memory is good, they can remember childhood friends, old addresses etc but their short term memory is awful. A different part of the brain controlling different memories. We assumed crosswords or memory type puzzles helped but their consultant said it won’t make any difference but I guess that’s because the dementia has taken hold so probably pointless now. But in general keeping your mind active is good, you see so many people go down the pan when they retire because they become couch potatoes and get out of practice with problem solving, mixing with people and not having a purpose anymore.

[Sweet Dick Willie]

Giving up alcohol was supposed to work but I don't know, maybe the damage had already been done

[stujones]

Sleep is a huge one and diet also in general.

[Deserter]

I'm a geek about this sort of thing so happy to try and help. First of all I wouldn't think of it just as memory, think of it as brain health and performance, with memory as a subset of that.

As Stu touched on sleep, and nutrition are part of the fundamentals and you can add movement to that.
People think of sleep as about physical rest, but it's so much more than that - while you're asleep the brain disposes of metabolic waste and consolidates memory - think of it like a filing system. If your sleep is poor in terms of quality and/or volume, that system gets disrupted.

Neuroplasticity is really important (and reassuring) to understand - it's the brain's ability to learn and adapt. What you need to do is stimulate it through doing new things that will forge new neural pathways - work on a new skill, learn a new language etc.

What Controversial has said is right - far too many people 'narrow' as they get older and just stick to old routines - this is not good for the brain as it requires stimulus.

You can check out the likes of Nicole Vignola (Rewire), Anne-Laure Le Cunff (Tiny Experiments) and Dr Hannah Critchlow (21st Century Brain) and you'll find a ton of good stuff that is evidence-based.

Hope this is useful!

[Steveh583]

Lots of lions mane coffee. Lots of creatine. I personally do a lot of hand eye co ordination drills to encourage ambidextrous ability as I read somewhere that helps

[SeanBrennan]

Nothing to add here other than for those who are suffering from the effects of boxing I hope you are as well as can be. It’s the sport that often takes the most and gives the least. I hope your minds and bodies are as well as can be.

[goose 5]

Keep doing roadwork. Outdoors, not on a treadmill.