As of: February 5, 2024, 6:56 a.m
By: Katrin Woitsch
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You can train your memory: Many seniors use brain teaser games for this purpose.
© Robert Kneschke
Ewa Nowak used to often have problems remembering things.
It's different today.
The 47-year-old is a trained memory trainer and runs the Synapse Academy in Munich.
Everyone can improve their brain power, she emphasizes.
And this can often be achieved with just a few little tricks.
Ewa Nowak used to often have problems remembering things.
It's different today.
The 47-year-old is a trained memory trainer and runs the Synapse Academy in Munich.
Everyone can improve their brain power, she emphasizes.
And this can often be achieved with just a few little tricks.
Have you always had a good memory?
Unfortunately not.
As a child I was interested in many things, but couldn't really concentrate on anything.
I was easily distracted.
My head was overwhelmed.
I started a lot of things but didn't do well in anything.
Until I started working on my ability to concentrate.
What influence does intelligence have on memory?
You can have a good memory even with a low IQ.
Basically, every brain has similar possibilities.
The question is how much we demand our heads.
Because the brain can be easily trained.
Successes can often be noticed after just two weeks.
Can brain jogging games or apps also help?
They are definitely helpful because they train concentration.
In order to remember something, we have to focus.
We are always proud when we manage to complete several tasks at the same time.
But it does not work.
When it comes to brain training games, however, it is important not to always solve the same tasks.
Our brain needs variety.
We use many technical aids in everyday life that help us not to forget anything. Does this cause our memory to deteriorate?
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The technical aids and apps are very good - but in reality, we are less challenged as a result.
The modern world is changing our brains.
When technology wasn't as advanced as it is today, the working memory had to remember more.
But there was also more time for it.
Today the tasks come faster and faster, the brain has to react faster.
Not everything it records can be saved.
It has to be sorted out.
Does this happen while you sleep?
Exactly.
The hippocampus lies between short-term and long-term memory.
He is a kind of bridge.
When we sleep, the brain continues to work like a caretaker: it thinks about what needs to be put away and what needs to be sorted out.
Do we have different ways of remembering things?
You learn early on how best to remember something.
Everyone develops their own method that works well.
We continue to improve them over the course of our lives.
Basically, it is easy for the memory to remember images.
That's why I always advise connecting thoughts with images.
What role do emotions play in this?
They are important too.
We remember information better when it is linked to feelings.
These can be good, but also bad emotions such as anger.
As a result, we memorize things more intensively.
That's why, for example, we all remember where we were on September 11, 2001, during the attack on the World Trade Center.
What is difference between memory and memory?
Memories are in the memory.
They are experienced situations that are saved.
But this process takes a long time.
If we have experienced something, for example an accident, we talk about it differently after two weeks than we do the day after.
Memories change; for example, they are supplemented by similar situations.
One memory is placed on top of another.
That's why our grandparents sometimes tell stories differently than we remember them.
They specialize in mental activation training. What is that?
This training is a mixture of psychology, information theory and brain research.
You're trying to activate the brain and get it to work better.
My customers are seniors or people with concentration problems.
But also people with diseases such as Alzheimer's or dementia.
Ewa Nowak, memory trainer © private
Can memory training help with these diseases?
Yes, from experience.
There are still no medications that can stop dementia or Alzheimer's.
But you can slow down the progression of the disease.
Through medication, but also through mental activation training - by strengthening the remaining nerve cells that communicate with each other.
Are there tricks that everyone can learn?
Of course, you have to learn to focus.
There are people who work in a structured manner - and there are chaotic people.
The latter have more to nibble on.
We should isolate ourselves from the outside world when we are doing something important.
In order to concentrate we need a tidy desk without distractions.
We must not give our brain the opportunity to jump somewhere else.
What role does nutrition play in this?
A big.
The brain first supplies itself with sugar and oxygen, then the rest of the body.
This is important because it has to control all processes.
Drinking is also important for brain performance.
And movement.
You should go outside every day - even if it's just for 20 minutes.
It has been proven that the hippocampus grows through exercise.
And this is where the nerve cells that influence our memory are formed.
(By the way: Our Bavaria newsletter informs you about all the important stories from the Free State. Sign up here.)
How often should we take breaks?
They are extremely important.
We can concentrate for about 90 minutes, then the body needs a short break to relieve stress.
Many short breaks are better than one long one.
We should also warm up our brains with something else about ten minutes before we start an important task.
Despite all the tricks, there are people who can remember better than others. Is this genetic?
If we predict that we won't be able to remember names, it gets stuck in the brain.
Mostly unconsciously.
We can control and train a lot of things.
Nevertheless, some find it easier than others.
That depends on our type and our development.
I once worked at a telephone exchange and had an incredibly good memory for numbers.
Since I've been working in a different area, that's no longer the case.
And of course there are also a few super brains - why this is the case has not yet been researched.
We associate forgetfulness with age - is that really the case?
As we get older we forget more.
Because mental performance slowly declines after 40.
As we get older, our lifestyle also changes: we eat less, exercise less, and are no longer professionally active.
This also has an impact on our brain.
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