How do you train your memory effectively?
Memory can be trained, but the smartest investment is regular exercise: that has the strongest and broadest support for cognition and memory. Targeted memory training helps, but less spectacularly than is often assumed.
Exercise is the best-supported way to maintain your memory and cognition. Sessions of 45 to 60 minutes at at least moderate intensity produce the clearest benefits, and this holds for aerobics, strength training and tai chi. The type of exercise matters less than the regularity and the effort. In addition, more exercise over the long term reduces the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. That said, the effect is not permanent: if you stop exercising, the gains eventually disappear as well.
Targeted memory training in sessions works, but less impressively than you might expect. Of the older adults (aged 65 to 94) who completed ten sessions of verbal memory training, only a quarter showed a reliable improvement. For reasoning and speed training, that figure was 74 to 87 percent. The training gains remained visible for two years, but daily functioning did not improve in any measurable way. The latter does not mean that the training is useless, but it does mean that the benefits had not yet filtered through to real life during that period.
Booster sessions help maintain the gains from reasoning and speed training, but for memory training specifically that has not yet been demonstrated. Studying information without guessing ('errorless learning', in which you are given the correct answer immediately rather than first having to guess wrongly) turned out to work better than guessing followed by correction. That research was small and limited to a single task, but the indication is interesting if you want to remember faces or names.
A brief two-week mindfulness training improved the working memory of students and reduced mind-wandering. The effect was strongest in people who are naturally prone to distraction. Because this research was conducted only with students, it is not clear whether it works equally well in other groups.
Popular brain-training apps and computer games have no demonstrable broad effect outside the trained task. You get better at the game itself, but that does not translate into better memory in daily life. Simply cycling or walking without any mental challenge does not demonstrably improve executive functions either. And brain stimulation (a weak electrical current applied via the scalp) on top of cognitive training produced no convincing additional benefit in people with cognitive impairments.
This answer rests on multiple randomised studies, a large summary of 36 studies on exercise and cognition, and multiple reviews. The evidence for exercise is the strongest and most consistent. The evidence for targeted cognitive training is more robust for reasoning and speed than for memory specifically. The studies on mindfulness and errorless learning were small and focused on specific groups (students, 34 participants). The researchers behind the study on brain stimulation in people with cognitive impairments emphasised themselves that personalised protocols are needed before further conclusions can be drawn.
What are the causes of memory loss?
Memory loss has many possible causes that differ greatly from one another. If you suddenly develop memory problems, always have them assessed by a doctor so that a treatable cause is not missed.
Is eating 800 grams of fruits and vegetables per day healthier than the standard guideline?
More than 400 grams per day helps, but whether 800 grams is clearly healthier than 400 grams depends on your goal: for cardiovascular disease there is evidence that the curve continues toward 800 grams, while for life expectancy and cancer the benefit above five portions is less convincingly demonstrated.
What is the link between gum disease and heart disease?
There is a consistent association between gum disease and a higher risk of heart disease, although it has not been proven that one causes the other. Taking good care of your gums is sensible regardless, but do not expect any guaranteed protection against heart disease from doing so.