Whether it’s the stress of modern lifestyles, tiredness or a sign of age, it can be difficult to remember things from time to time. When trying to keep your brain healthy and maintain a good memory, who better to give advice than world memory champion Dominic O’Brien?
Here are some of Dominic’s quirkier tips...
The Body System
This helps with remembering a list of things to do. For example if you need to write a letter, walk the dog and buy a birthday cake, picture yourself with the letter stuck to your head, eating some cake and holding a dog. The visual mental image will help you remember the separate tasks.
Numbers as pictures
Numbers can be hard to remember, as on their own they don’t mean anything. Try thinking of numbers as pictures, for example an 8 as a snowman 2 as a swan. You could also think of an object or person that relates to the number, such as David Cameron for 10 as that’s his door number or a key for 21.
Sequences of numbers
Once you assign pictures to numbers you can remember long sequences by creating a story to anchor them together. For example, picture David Cameron, number 10, knocking at your front door. In the kitchen a snowman, number 8, is melting from the heat of the oven and a swan is sitting in the puddle, number 2. See if you can recall those numbers.
Names and Faces
It can be embarrassing to forget people’s names after meeting them, so try and associate names with pictures. Mike Hammond can be remembered by thinking of a man playing a Hammond Organ using a microphone.
In general, try and keep your mind active, with regular puzzles like Sudoku and crosswords. You can also challenge your brain by carrying out an everyday task differently, for example brushing your teeth with your left hand if you’re right handed and vice versa. Anything that makes the body work in an unfamiliar way challenges the brain and can help keep it healthy. Try looking at our tips for more inspiration.
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