Boost Your Brainpower After 50: Easy Tricks To Improve Your Focus and Memory Fast
You don't need to overhaul your life to keep your mind functioning at its peak
Feeling a little forgetful lately? Us too. The CDC notes that one in 10 adults age 45 and up experience worsening memory loss. By age 70, that number jumps to two in three adults, found a study in the journal SSM Population Health. But there’s good news: You can stay sharper for longer with smart tips that boost your brainpower. From enhancing your problem-solving skills to reducing your risk of age-related memory loss, here’s what works.
How to boost your brainpower naturally
Good news: Whether you’re feeling blocked creatively or need to rev your attention span to plow through a pesky to-do list, studies show these tricks are sure to help you stay sharp and focused.
Woman's World Answers
Enjoy a girls’ night
Spending time with friends can protect against cognitive decline, according to research in Alzheimer’s & Dementia. Scientists found that older adults who regularly engage in social activities such as visiting friends, traveling or playing games avoided dementia and other cognitive issues five years longer than those who weren’t social. Researchers suspect socialization reduces stress on the brain.
Grab a paperclip
Need a quick creativity boost before planning your next neighborhood get-together or mapping out your garden? Get your creative juices flowing by grabbing a paper clip and thinking of five new ways to use it—like as a bookmark, a zipper pull or even a tiny phone stand. A University of Minnesota study found this “alternative use” exercise, in which you try to come up with new ways to use everyday objects like a brick, rubber band, spoon or sock, primes your brain to think outside the box.
Soak up the sun
Research in the journal Cell Reports shows the critical role of sleep in memory functions such as cognitive mapping, where the brain stitches together snippets of memory to form a more complete, longer-lasting picture. Struggling to get the brain-boosting quality sleep you need? A study in Sleep Health revealed that exposure to bright light in the morning and day helps you fall asleep faster at night and enjoy a more restful snooze by regulating your body clock. (Discover more tips on how to get better sleep after 50.)
Try a pilot’s trick
Sometimes worry that you left the oven on or forgot to close a window? A “point and name” technique used by aircraft pilots might help. Before leaving the house, point at what you need to check and say it aloud (“Oven off? Check! Window closed? Check! Keys in bag? Check!”).
This simple strategy reinforces your actions, linking thought and movement and locking them into your memory. Indeed, research cited by the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society found that when volunteers adopted the simple technique, their errors dropped nearly 85 percent.
Snack on popcorn
A study in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity found that eating a diet high in refined and processed foods low in fiber negatively impacted brain function, particularly in aging brains, by increasing inflammatory signaling. To boost your brainpower and protect your memory, eat plenty of fiber-rich foods such as whole grains, popcorn, beans and berries. Aim for 25 grams of fiber per day.
Use a pen and paper
Whether you’re trying to memorize the names of your granddaughter’s new playmates or master a tricky new Scrabble word, putting pen to paper could help you learn it significantly faster, suggests a Johns Hopkins University study. Researchers explain that handwriting boosts memory and learning more than typing into your smartphone or computer because it engages physical movement, sight and sound. This combination strengthens brain connections that make new information stick.
Look out the window
Can’t focus? Taking a 40-second break to glance at the pretty greenery just outside your window can enhance your ability to concentrate. A study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology reveals that even this brief nature break boosts your brain’s cognitive function in seconds. What’s more, a separate study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied found that this simple trick instantly improves productivity by 15 percent.
Build strength
A review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that weight-bearing exercises such as squats, wall pushups and lifting small hand weights improve cognitive resilience. Study participants saw an increase in brain function after 12 weeks of regular exercise—around 30 minutes a day, five days a week (a total of about 150 minutes per week). The boost in brainpower can be partially attributed to the increased blood flow that exercise provides.
Inhale the scent of roses
Want an easy way to boost your brainpower fast? Try misting your clothes with rose-scented spray or perfume. Japanese research shows that women who wore the floral fragrance daily for four weeks showed a significant increase in the brain’s gray matter, the region tied to memory, learning and information processing. Researchers believe continuous exposure to the scent strengthens neural connections and improves brain health by giving your mind a gentle, fragrant workout. A rose-scented spritz to try: Ellis Brooklyn Rrose Eau de Parfum.
Have a cuppa
Coffee’s brainpower boost lasts long after you finish your drink. Scientists at Johns Hopkins found that caffeine can increase long-term memory when enjoyed regularly in moderation, improving the mind’s ability to recognize similar but different items—key to deeper memory retention.
Power up with protein
Working more protein-rich foods into your diet may help ward off age-related memory loss, suggests a study in Nutrition Research Reviews. The researchers found that protein, especially the kind found in nuts, may improve mental speed, attention and memory. Plus, a separate Harvard study suggests that eating protein may be associated with a lower risk of developing cognitive decline later in life when compared to eating carbohydrates. For a brainpower-boosting protein fix on the go, try Day Out Peanut Butter Cup Protein Balls.
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