Memory Maximizers: September 2021
Breathing Exercise May Lower Blood Pressure, Sharpen Memory
A special breathing workout, originally designed to help strengthen the diaphragm and other breathing muscles of critically ill respiratory disease patients, may also benefit the heart and brain. The exercise, called High-Resistance Inspiratory Muscle Strength Training (IMST), involves inhaling through a special handheld device that provides resistance. Picture sucking through a straw that sucks back. In a study published recently in the Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers found that a daily five-minute IMST breathing workout (about 30 inhalations) was associated with a nine-point reduction in systolic (top number) blood pressure and a 45 percent improvement in the ability of arteries to expand when needed. The workouts also led to an increase in the levels of nitric oxide, a molecule that plays a key role in artery dilation and the prevention of plaque buildup within arteries. Earlier IMST studies also showed that the brief workouts may improve symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea. Individuals using the devices also showed improvements on tests of memory and cognition. Lowering blood pressure and improving circulation are two important steps in bolstering brain function. If you are interested in IMST, talk with your doctor. The exercises have been shown to be safe and simple to do. IMST shouldn’t take the place of regular exercise, but it may be a convenient and effective way to complement your usual exercise routine.
Overlearning Helps Prevent Anxiety from Interfering with Recall
Whether it’s rehearsing a speech or learning new material, practicing or reviewing the information so you know it inside and out will help you avoid anxiety-induced forgetfulness.
If you’re learning new information in hopes of retrieving it later, you might be tempted to stop studying or practicing once you think you’ve got it down. But a widely used memory strategy called overlearning may be more helpful. As the name implies, overlearning means continuing to go over the material or whatever it is you are trying to learn long after you have learned it. Reviewing information repeatedly accomplishes two important things that will help you down the road. First, the more you review information, the more likely you are to form new associations that will aid in recall later on. For example, if you’re trying to memorize vocabulary words for a language class you’re taking, you can go over the list as written in the book, and then write down the words and their meaning, and then practice saying them out loud. Each new way of going over the same material will encode the information a little differently, helping to cement it in your mind. The second advantage of overlearning is that if you feel the information is so secure in your memory, then you’re probably going to feel less anxiety about taking a test on it or having to retrieve it under pressure. Stress and anxiety have a way of interfering with recall, but overlearning can be a solid defense.
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