Concentration and Memory: Part III

Strategies to maintain good concentration and Memory

1) Relax atleast 10 minutes before the meal and have a well-balanced diet.

2) During long study regime, have lots of fluid intake and high caloric diet. Coffee, tea and soft drinks must not be taken in excess.

3) Sleep atleast 8-9 hours a day and don't compromise sleep with work; otherwise it may reduce the work performance.

4) Neither oversleep nor undersleep. Avoid sleeping during daytime . Concentration reduces both before and after sleep. Try maintaining regularity in sleep timings and duration.

5) If you are anxious, try to relax periodically. On inability to sleep try excercising and relax 30 minutes before going to sleep.

6) Choose an exercise that you are comfortable with- like jogging, swimming etc. Try maintaining it regularly.

7) To fight fatigue, use your body to help you concentrate. Choose or create a study environment with a straight but comfortable chair (but not too relaxing), a desk with all the equipment you need, daylight or indirect light which is bright enough but doesn't glare on your book or strain your eyes.

8) Study according to your biorhythms: schedule your most difficult subjects when you are at peak mental efficiency and plan to do easier tasks when you are mentally at low efficiency.

9) Try to study in the peak time when the concentration is maximum. It yields better results than studying for long hours during dull time.

10) Taking study breaks really refreshes a lot. Including it in study time is a good decision and performing light exercise during breaks is even a better task.

Risk Factors for Memory Loss & Cognitive Decline

Hypertension.Associations between hypertension and deterioration in mental function has been found out.

Diabetes. Diabetes is associated with lower levels of cognitive function and greater cognitive decline among older women.

Low serum folate. Low serum folate was strongly associated with atrophy of the cerebral cortex.

Vitamin B12 deficiency. An important manifestation of B12 deficiency is cognitive impairment.

Hyperhomocysteinemia is related to poor recall and this association was partially independent of folate status.
Other nutrient deficiencies can lead to dementia.

A lack of thiamine is known to produce Wernicke's encephalopathy. Such a patient presents with malnutrition, confusion, ataxia, and diplopia.

A severe lack of vitamin B12, folic acid or omega 3 fatty acids may cause, among other things, dementia due to damage to cerebral myelinated fibers.

Deficiency of nicotinic acid (pellagra) and pyridoxine may cause spastic paraparesis, peripheral neuropathy, fatigue, irritability, and dementia.

Toxicities known to produce dementias include narcotic poisoning, heavy metal intoxication, dialysis dementia (aluminum), and other organic toxins.

Hypothyroidism.

Menopause. A fairly common symptom of menopause is decreased memory and concentration.

Candida infection. A yeast infection of the gastrointestinal tract can lead to symptoms of spaciness and difficulty concentration.

Reference Links

1) http://www.connecticutcenterforhealth.com/memory-loss.html
2) http://www.sbcc.edu/learningresources/website/orientation/skills/concent...