Being forgetful seems like something that just naturally exists in us. Trying to remember mundane tasks is already difficult enough in our lives, let alone for students to remember their whole textbook for an exam or for employees to remember all their jobs to be done. However, this can be changed. There are some things that you can do that will help improve your memory, if you are persistent enough and motivated to make the change. 

1, Work on challenging games/puzzle. 

一，做有挑战性的游戏或猜谜。

We all love a little challenge in our lives, admit it. And not only is it fun to work on things that make your head hurts and think, working on challenging games or puzzles actually do help with your memory. This is because when we are challenging our brain, we are actually utilizing the parts of our brains, keeping them functioning and not rusting away. They also train our brains to concentrate on things better, which are great when it comes to strengthening our cognitive thinking. 

2, Learn something new.

二，学习新的东西。

It doesn’t hurt to be a little more curious about things in your surroundings, especially when it comes to something new. Of course, make sure the activities you are engaging is something that is meaningful and purposeful to you. If you are interested in something, your brain will naturally work towards them. The key is to learn something which your brain will be so engaged that you forget about mundane things, like eating or sleeping. 

3, Reflect on the things you learned.

三，反映学过的东西。

How often do we find ourselves forgetting something almost immediately after someone told us? Such as when we are learning something in school, or people reminding us about something that we have to do? Learning is not a one-stop station. You cannot expect yourself to learn something once and be a master in that certain thing. You need to constantly reflect and remind yourself of the new knowledge you’re gaining, then only you are able to understand and remember things better.

4, Build new skills.

四，建新的技能。

Growing into adulthood makes people understand that it is not new knowledge that you should be gaining, but rather new skills that are beneficial in your life. Sure, you could also work on something that might not be as useful in your life but that you’re interested in, but the key is to constantly be open to new skills. Learning new skills is like training your brain to coordinate knowledge and movements together, which can help strengthen your memory as this also trains your brain to be more engaged in the things you are learning.  

5, Increase your creativity.

五，加强你的想象力。

The only time your brain should be resting is when you are in bed. As for other times, try to keep your brain engaged in activities that will get the gears in your brain moving. Working on your creativity is one of the best ways you can keep your brain engaged in a beneficial way. Read books or articles that inspire you, come up with new ideas every day, whatever you do, do not let rhythm in your head stop completely.

6, Listen to music more.

六，听多一些音乐。

Music does more than just getting you relax after a long day of work, or keeping you motivated to workout, do you know that listening to music is actually great for your memory? This is because when music passes through your ears, your brain is able to memorize the lyrics and melody of it well, which stimulates the brain and strengthen your cognitive thinking. Even though you might not realize, but having music played in your head unconsciously is also an act of stimulation in your head. 

7, Stay hydrated.

七，保养身体的水分。

Aside from the cognitive and thinking aspect of this, our health plays a huge role in our memory as well. Drinking lots of water are not only excellent for our health, it is also amazing to our head. As our brain and head are made up of around 70% of water, keeping your brain in a healthy and hydrated state is definitely a great way to stay on top of your memory. Having an unhealthy brain will cause us to lose focus and ill, which can be detrimental to our brain.

8, Keep your body active.

八，保持活跃的身子。

Moving your body more doesn’t just affect your physique and health positively, it is also great for your brain. Exercising strengthens both the heart and the brain, and they also do slow down the aging process, keeping your skin and your brain more youthful. Studies have shown that people who exercise regularly, even something as simple as walking, has a better health and less likely to get brain diseases that elderlies tend to have.

9, Get enough sleep.

九，有足够的睡眠。

Sleep is perhaps one of the most important things in our lives, and yet many people tend to neglect this. Not getting enough sleep is bad for your health, weight, skin, and even brain, too. Sleep deprivation would lead to low in energy, lacking in focus, unable to think critically and so many more things that are harmful to your brain. Having sleep deprivation can also do your brain serious damage in the long term. 

10, Give yourself quiet time.

十，给自己安静的时间。

Meditation is great to improve your life, but it is definitely something that is underrated. Many people do not meditate because they feel like it would be a huge time waster, or perhaps they do not feel comfortable getting into a silent, focus state. However, getting just a short amount of time every day to be quiet and get into your thoughts does more benefits to your brain than you think. Meditation helps you to improve your memories and increase your attention, and they are also great for releasing stresses and enhancing your mood.

Having a decreased span of memory is definitely something inevitable. We are all aging and will eventually grow old. However, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing we can do about our memory. Engaging in the activities mentioned above would definitely help slow down your aging process, and thus improving your memory.

“It is the feeling of tiredness that creeps on you even if you haven’t done anything all day long. It is the crying spells that overtakes you when you are finally left all alone after a long day of pretending to be okay. It is the waking up every 2am with your thoughts all jumbled up and morose. It is the desire to sleep all the time, to stubbornly stay on bed, and be continually lost in dreams that never make sense.”