Keep Sharp

Memory is a complex, critical function that helps improve brain health.

Certain factors can contribute to decreased brain function: lack of sleep, a sedentary lifestyle, poor health, brain injury, certain medications, isolation, limited education or intellectual stimulation, and old age. Yet, a decline in brain function is not inevitable. You can improve your brain health through specific activities. 

Memory, for example, creates a continuously changing, imperfect but improvable body of information. It requires that different parts of the brain work together, so improving memory means strengthening many aspects of the brain.

Building a memory involves encoding, storing and retrieving information.When encoding, the hippocampus creates new connections using information a person takes in through their senses and by paying attention.

In the storage stage, the hippocampus converts input into short-term memory, which holds about seven items. Connections to the cortex turn some short-term memories into long-term ones. 

In retrieval, a memory moves from the unconscious...