For seven weeks, participants in the study received twice-weekly issues of Memory Tune, packed with information about memory and a variety of practical, brain-boosting exercises and puzzles. Most people spent around 20 minutes a day on the tasks. Everyone was tested before commencement and again at the end of the course.

At the Brain and Memory Foundation, we are delighted with the results. As you can see below, in just seven weeks, improvement was shown in every type of memory tested.

Dr. Lamont was astounded by a 27% improvement in prospective memory. This can be the bane of our lives as we get older and struggle with remembering appointments, that we left the potatoes boiling, and a myriad of other things we have to remember to do. The strategies in Memory Tune work!  If this is what happens in seven weeks, just imagine what you can do to ensure a vibrant, reliable memory in six months, or a year…

Figure 1: The difference in the results of July and September testing (%).

Don’t just take it from us!  In the words of Memory Tune trial participants:

I have loved your course which has given me a great boost of self-confidence. Gwen

It was really great to see such improvement, and it’s very encouraging to know that one can take active steps to reverse deteriorating memory. The course has been really enlightening and I am sure you must be very excited about the results too.  Jenny

Really enjoyed learning all these techniques. A very interesting and worthwhile addition to my life.  Many thanks for all your wonderful work.  Forever grateful.  Kathy

 Very enlightening. Learnt extremely valuable lessons Will definitely revisit and redo all exercises. Thank you.  Denise

This course is very stimulating. How did you know about all these things where I and my memory are lacking?  Peter

If you are interested in this premium brain training course, access will be available soon.

How’s your own memory right now?

If you want to check it out, a great place to start is with your own Memory Check

If you have any questions, please email me at dr.lamont@memoryclinic.co.nz .

Do you have your own memory story? We’d love to hear it so do leave us a comment below.

Many people over the age of 50 (and maybe even younger) experience mild forgetfulness.
Although these are a wake-up call to pay attention to your brain and memory, if the forgetfulness includes:
• Forgetting parts of an experience
• Forgetting where you park the car
• Forgetting events from the distant past
• Forgetting a person’s name, but remembering it later
Then, your memory loss is mild and would be regarded in the ‘normal’ range. It’s worrying though and, in the view of Dr. Allison Lamont, the Memory Doctor, “it’s time to take stock of your lifestyle and memory habits. Memory can be enhanced at this stage.”

When Should I Be Worried?

When you should be worried though, is when your memory loss is affecting your daily living. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive condition that damages areas of the brain involved in memory, intelligence, judgement, language, and behaviour. MRI scans are now able to determine what is happening in an Alzheimer’s but, prior to this, doctors have ways of identifying when the memory loss has become more serious.

When Should I Check With My Doctor?

It’s time to check with your doctor, if you, or someone close to you, is:

• Forgetting something you have just done, or an event you have just attended
• Forgetting how to do things that you’ve done many times before, like driving a car or telling the time
• Repeating phrases or stories in the same conversation
• Forgetting ever having known a particular person
• Frequently becoming confused, or seeming ‘far away’
• Having trouble making choices or handling money
• Noticing that forgetting like this has become more frequent over the past six months.

Never accept memory loss as normal – in mild cases, you can do something about it today – check out Seven Second Memory for a memory program that works.
In serious cases, then the sooner you have an accurate diagnosis, the sooner you can take the necessary steps.

For further information, read Nine Secrets of a Sharp Brain After 55 and Keep that Boomer Brain Growing

Being able to quickly perform addition, subtraction, multiplication and division is sure to impress your friends.

The problem is, not all of us picked this up in school.

If you’d like to learn some now, read on …..

Here are some simple tricks

How to multiply any two digits number by 11

Let’s say that you want to multiply 36 and 11. One way to find it would be to multiply 36 by 10 and then add 36 on the result. There is, however, a simple trick that’ll do the job for any two digits number.  Just write the first digit, then add the first and second digits together, followed by the second digit again.

Example:

If the sum of the two numbers is bigger than 9, you add 1 to the first number, then just use the second digit of the addition of the two numbers (you add ‘5’ because the sum of 8 + 7 is 15), and then add the second number.

Square any two digit number that ends with 5

To calculate the square of a number below 100 is extremely simple. If you want to find the square of 25 for example, you take the first digit (2), multiply it by the next higher number (3), and then add 25 to the result.

Multiply by 9

To multiply by 9, simply multiply by 10 and then subtract the number itself.

Quickly find percentages

• To find out the 15% of a number, divide it by 10 and the add half of it.
• To find out the 20% of a number, divide it by 10 and multiply the result by two.
• To find out the 5% of a number, divide it by 10 and the divide it by two.

Addition

At school, we were mostly taught to sum two or more numbers using the right to left approach. With this method, you first sum the decimal part of the number, then you move to the hundreds and so on. This works well on paper, but it’s not so easy for mental calculations.

Left to right approach

Try instead using a right to left approach. Take the following example:

Usually, you would first sum up 4 to 45, and then add 30 to the result. By using the left to right approach, you first sum up 30 to 45, and then you add 4 to the result. Although this example is very simple, you’ll see the advantages of this method as you start to use it.

If you’re working with three digit numbers, the process is the same.

This example is a bit more complicated than the previous one, yet it’s very easy to solve using the left to right approach. You first start by adding 600 to 459, which results in 1059. Now the problem is simplified to 1049 + 37. Simplify it even further by adding 30 to 1049, and then you finally add 7 to the result.

Subtraction

You can use the left to right approach for subtracting to numbers together. This time, however, it may feel uncomfortable to keep track of borrowings (a borrowing occurs when you subtract a number to a bigger one, like 16 – 9). Let’s see an example of this.

In this case, you first start by subtracting 10 to 64, resulting in 54, and now you only have to subtract 7 to 54. You can, however, subtract 20 to 64 and add 3 to the result. This way you don’t have to worry about borrowings.

You can use this technique to solve subtraction readily.

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Multiplication

In order to solve simple multiplication, it helps a lot being comfortable with the multiplication table for numbers below 10.

As you may have already guessed, we’re going to use the left to right approach to solve simple multiplication very easily. Take the following example:

We can reduce it by first calculating 30 × 7 (which is like 3 × 7 plus a 0) and then add 6 × 7 on the result.

This approach can be used for even larger numbers. Note that you can also round up instead of rounding down:

Multiply by 5

To multiply 5 simply cut the # in half then multiply by 10.

eg. 17×5
1/2 of 17 = 8.5
8.5 x 10 = 85

You might have some favourites, too!

But Which Ones Do I Need?

First you need to answer the question:

Is my memory normal?

Use ‘Memory Check’ to find out.

→     Memory Check

Remember: you can do this on-line, or print it off and complete it by hand.

How to use the Check-list:

1. Place the number of your choice into the correct column (e.g. if you think 3 describes your memory performance, place a 3 in the third column across).
2. On-line, your scores add downwards automatically. On paper you will have to add them up yourself.
3. You then manually add the scores across the bottom of the page to get your grand total.
4. To find out what your score means, go to: Memory Check Results

If you have any queries or comments, contact the author: To email us

If you’d like to improve your memory score, sign up for Brain Tune below. It’s free! And we will never share your details with anyone.

Want to read more Brain and Memory Foundation Memory Strategies?

You can read more articles to help improve your memory and brain on our Website: http://brainandmemoryfoundation.org

To purchase your own copy of the life-changing book, Seven Second Memory: Memory techniques that will change your life, visit http://sevensecondmemory.com; also available for reading on Kindle,  iPad, iPhone or other smartphones.

We hope you tried every strategy before coming to find the answers!

Memory Strategies Worksheet 5.

Working with Numbers – just the addition!

1.   640        11.  342    21. 577          31.   498        41.    513
2.  402        12.  539     22. 428        32.   608       42.    515
3.   597        13.  510     23. 464        33.   431        43.    603
4.  636        14.  582     24.  623       34.    617       44.    473
5.  288        15.   601     25.  430       35.    598      45.    608
6.  507        16.   364     26.  611        36.    580      46.    255
7.   620       17.   484     27.  613        37.    462      47.     637
8.   582       18.   626     28.  489      38.   607       48.     620
9.   283       19.   379     29. 527        39.   640       49.    560
10.  332      20.   549     30.  456      40.   258       50.    481

 Dorothy’s teasers:

1. Charcoal, as it is used in barbecuing.

2. The letter “e” which is the most common letter used in the English language, does not appear even once in the paragraph.

Lotti’s diagram:

Help! What’s the number?

The possible number of combinations (7 x 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1) is 5040. So the man has 1 in 5040 chances of dialling the right number (about .02 per cent). He may still be dialling!

Moving the Digits

2^{6 (two to the power of 6) –} 63 = 1 (Unfortunately, the editor will not allow me to show you this correctly – should be a large ’2′ and the ’6′ in small script!)

What’s the logic?

If you pull the thread up at a sharp angle, a tension (torque) is created that turns the spool away from you. If you pull the thread instead at a shallower angle, the opposite tension (torque) is created and the cotton reel will roll towards you.

Word Building: E  S  L  A  P

ale, ales, alp, ape, apes, apse, asp, lap, laps, lapse, lea, leap, leaps, leas, pal, pale, pales, pals, pas, pea, peal, peals, plea, pleas, sale, sap, sea, seal, sepal, slap, spa …any others??

Brain and Memory Foundation Worksheet 4.

Words and numbers, Working Memory

1   3    2    1/5  3   45 minutes   4 13.25    5   $40   6  12%

Word Power

E    G   L   D   A :age, aged, ale, dag, dale, deal, egad, gad, gal, gale, gel, geld, glad, glade, lad, lade, lag, lea, lead, led, leg

Puzzles:

Move the cards: Swap the 8 and 9 then turn the 9 upside down so it reads as a 6 – then both columns reach 18.

The dinner guests:

1. Mary, Denis, Kitty
2. Mark, Emma, John
3. James, Kate, Betty
4. Mary, Mark, James
5. Denis, Emma, Kate
6. Kitty, John, Betty
7. Mary, Emma, Betty
8. Kitty, Emma, James
9. Denis, John, James
10. Kitty, Mark, Kate
11. Mary, John, Kate
12. Denis, Mark, Betty

Dorothy’s teasers:

1.    Punctuate the following:
that that is is that that is not is not is not that so
Answer:-   That that is, is. That that is not , is not. Is not that so?

2.    Message suited to today’s texters.
yyuryyubicuryy4me.
Answer.  Too wise you are, too wise you be, I see you are too wise for me.

Cheese puzzle:

The cheese is cut twice vertically (forms a cross) and once horizontally right through the height of the cheese.

Brain and Memory Foundation Worksheet 3.

Working with numbers: Email me if you need the answers – there are a lot to write up here! (gillian@brainandmemoryfoundation.org)

How can this be?

1. Five people came past the basket and took one egg; then the sixth person picked up the basket with the egg still in the basket! (A tricky one …)
2. The recluse was a lighthouse keeper (I guess nearly everyone guessed that one!)

Colour pairs:

1. Yellow yellow;     green, green
2. Yellow, red;         green, yellow
3. Yellow, green;     green, red
4. Yellow, blue;       green, blue
5. Red, red;              blue, blue
6. Red, yellow;         blue, yellow
7. Red, green;          blue, red
8. Red, blue;            blue, green

Use your verbal and working memory:

Here are the letters again: A S C R H

Arc, arch, arcs, ash, car, cars, cash, char, chars, crash, has, rash, sac, scar

Did you find any more? Let me know!

Brain and Memory Foundation Worksheet 2.

1. den, doe, dole, don, done, end, eon, led, lend, lode, loden, lone, nod, node, ode, old, olden, ole, one – did you find any others?

3. First 4 columns not included – you’ll be able to work those out! Here are the answers to the final column:
238 + 127 – 49 = 316
17 – 11 + 16 = 22
4 x 13 – 7 + 9 = 54
3 x 15 – 17 + 3 = 31
7 + 37 + 108 = 152
573 + 904 ÷ 7 = 211
37 + 88 – 6 = 119
732 x 15 – 19 = 10961
489 x 4 ÷ 6 = 326
111 x 11 + 111 ÷ 11 = 12321

5. The Torn Cheque. Here’s one solution.
The man had ordered a bicycle for his son as a gift. The advertisement had not stated that it came in 217 pieces as a self-assembly kit. this was his revenge!

Brain and Memory Foundation Worksheet 1.

1. Bleak, beak, leak, kale, bale, ale, lea, lab, lake, bake, balk (yes, it’s allowed!), kea (NZ). Any others??

2. If you remembered 8 – 10 words, well done! Your short-term memory is functioning at a high level. Remembering 6 – 7 words is in the normal range. If you remembered less than that, short-term memory practice will produce pleasing results.

3. Mental arithmetic solutions.

43 + 28 = 76
83 – 47 = 36
7 x 17 = 119
68 divided by 4 = 17
6 x 3 divided by 2 plus 7 – 9 = 7
438 + 585 = 1023
647 – 369 = 278
13 x 67 = 871
324 divided by 27 = 12
2387 + 6844 = 9231
38 x 723 = 27474
28 + 54 – 18 x 2 divided by 6 = 21.3
67394 + 48617 = 116011
365 x 846 = 308790

4. Non-Verbal Memory.Did you remember them all? Well done! Remembering 4-5 shapes accurately is in the normal range.

5. James is an infant who is Crown Prince of his country. James’ father, the King, has just died leaving a very inexperienced new head of state!

Are you spending more and more time at your computer?

Take action on this memory strategy.

You think your PC or Mac is pretty hot, eh?

Well, did you know this?

Every second of every minute, your nervous system (and all of its 15 billion nerve cells) is sending millions of signals to and from your server (brain) out to your network (body).

This amazing bundle of cables  is protected by your spine.

So, if your posture isn’t upright then the information being carried is affected.

And so is your memory.

Your spine relays data back to your brain every time you move any of your 74 joints.

Your spine  tells your brain where you are (just like a GPS).

This signalling system also tells your brain you how you feel.

When you move and exercise you feel energetic and motivated.

BUT, when you slump over a keyboard, inactive, you feel tired and inattentive;
these are the ENEMIES of a sharp memory.

Why is this a memory strategy?

Posture and flexibility are powerful tools that can change the way you think, feel and operate.

Here are THREE STRATEGIES to improve your posture:

Strategy #1

• Stretch your shoulders back
• Neck back
• Tuck your chin in and relax.

If you are standing with an ideal posture, your ear should line up with the tip of your shoulder, your hip and your ankle. Remind yourself to be vigilant by placing a post it note on your computer screen saying, ‘sit up’.

Strategy #2

You can also try this modified Brueggers exercise:

After approximately 30min of being seated your postural muscles switch off. The following stretch will help turn them on again.

1. Sit up straight on the edge of your chair and push up off the balls of your feet as if you are about to sit up.
2. Then imagine there is a piece of string pulling your head up to the roof
3. With your arms out by your side roll your hands out and stretch your arms back
4. Take three big breaths then relax and see how you feel.

Repeat this every 30min while you’re seated.

(Watch a video of Brueggers exercise)

In the beginning you may feel you are sitting or standing ‘too straight’. Don’t worry, you’re not; it will just take time to get used to this new feeling.

Strategy #3

Perception is everything – or ‘seeing is believing’.

Have a friend use your phone to take a photo from the front then from the side. These are the ‘before’ photos. Then use the simple techniques above and retake the photos straight away.

Which looks better, which photo looks happier and more confident?
Who would you do business with?

Find out more Brain and Memory  Foundation Memory Strategies.

Source:  Dr Joel Taylor of Mt Eden Chiropractic.

And I knew exactly what she was going to say!

The eeriest feeling came over me as my mind was jumping ahead of her sentences and I only just stopped myself from completing them for her. I haven’t seen Megan for at least two years and I only knew her brother as a little boy when we were all at school together. I couldn’t have known about his accident …… could I? Was this what people call déjà vu?

If it was, then I had just become one of the nearly 70 percent who admit to getting this feeling at least once in their lives.

A higher percentage occurs in people 15 to 25 years. Anyway, the sight, sound, taste or even smell of something leads us to think that we’ve experienced before, although we know that we couldn’t have.

Déjà vu is a French term that literally means “already seen” and it has several variations, including déjà vécu, (already experienced); déjà senti, (already thought); and déjà visité, (already visited). French scientist Emile Boirac, one of the first to study this strange phenomenon, gave the subject its name in 1876.

There are more than 40 theories as to what déjà vu is and what causes it, and they range from reincarnation to lapses in our memory processes.

I’m still trying to work out why I knew what Megan was going to say. I even knew what the coffee shop was going to look like, although I can’t ever remember being in there before.

The most common misuse of the term déjà vu seems to be with precognitive experiences — experiences where someone gets a feeling that they know exactly what’s going to happen next, and it does. But it is important to remember that déjà vu is experienced during an event, not before. Precognitive experiences — if they are real — show things that will happen in the future, not things that you’ve already experienced.

Hallucinations that are brought on by illness or drugs sometimes bring a heightened awareness and these are confused with déjà vu. False memories that are brought on by schizophrenia can be confused with déjà vu as well. Unlike true déjà vu, which typically lasts from 10 to 30 seconds, these false memories or hallucinations can last much longer.

I don’t think I was having a hallucination! Actually, scientists don’t all agree about why these experiences happen. Déjà vu occurs in individuals with and without a medical conditions.

Several psychoanalysts attribute déjà vu to simple fantasy or wish fulfillment, while some psychiatrists ascribe it to a mismatching in the brain that causes the brain to mistake the present experience for something similar that has happened in the past. Hence the feeling of familiarity. Then again, many parapsychologists believe it is related to a past-life experience that may have been repressed or forgotten.

I know that I had an eerie experience in that coffee shop but it looks as if there’s a lot more investigation to be done before I can tell you, for certain, why.

Shocking headline UK, 2008

I don’t know about you but I had not given a nanosecond’s thought to dementia – in fact, I wasn’t even certain what dementia was, exactly. Something to do with being demented or crazy, maybe …..

So I wasn’t exactly ready for being told that some of the odd things my mother was doing were actually the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease, a kind of dementia.

Like she was thinking it was night time and putting herself to bed in the afternoon. Or forgetting that she had just had lunch and wondering when lunch would be ready …. that sort of thing. What’s really scary, though, is that I’ve caught myself out being a bit forgetful as well and I’m just a baby-boomer. So, being anxious to make sure that I wasn’t on a fast-track to dementia, myself, I’ve done some research.

I was very relieved to find a report In ‘Critical Care Nurse”, 2004:24, which told me about four main ways you can delay, or even better, avoid dementia altogether.

These were written up for critical care nurses – but I believe they are very important for you to know, too.

All of the following were seen to be of of vital importance to avoid or delay dementia:

1. Establishing and maintaining a BMI within the healthy range (19 to 25) – this is Body Mass Index and you can calculate it. A weight loss program was recommended for anyone with BMIs at both the obese (>30) and overweight (>25) levels.
2. Reducing elevated cholesterol and blood pressure levels to normal ranges
3. Regular and frequent eating of green, leafy and cruciferous vegetables known to be associated with decreased incidence of dementia
4. Regular and frequent participation in activities that are socially, intellectually, and physically engaging

So, Fellow Boomers:

* when it comes to eating vegetables, green it;

* when it comes to participating in activities, move it; and

* when it comes to carrying excess body weight, lose it.

For further information, read Nine Secrets of a Sharp Brain After 55 and Keep that Boomer Brain Growing

Our Burmese, Rosie, gave me a lot of ‘help’ with this edition – she’s addicted to computers!

We are delighted to hear how well Memory Tune is going with so many of you. Keep up the great work! Have you any favourite tips or brain-teasers? I’d love to include them for others to enjoy.

Download your free Brain Exercise Worksheet.
Try this month’s brain challenges. Missed an earlier worksheet? Check on the website or email me for your own copy.
Your Free Brain Exercise worksheet.

Helen asks Dr. Lamont: How can I prevent memory loss?
Helen’s worried about her friend who is increasingly forgetful. Now Helen wants to protect her own memory..
Read Dr. Lamont’s advice

Is it just mental fatigue? Or early signs of Alzheimer’s?
Still employed and worried about some memory changes you’ve noticed? Dr. Mary Sano, Bateman Alumni Scholar at UMass, Amherst this year, talks about the important signs to look for and the latest research into memory loss.
Watch the video

How much exercise a week do you need?
You might be surprised by the results of this Chicago research. (You can skip the ad a few seconds after the video starts).
Watch the video

A quick puzzle:
Three people check their coats at the same time in a theatre. The attendant mixes up the receipts as he hands them out. What are the chances that the three people will receive their own coats after the performance?

Shift that Mouse!
Dr. Lamont  shares a very easy way to build new brain connections.
Try it now.

Boost your Brain Power.
Everyday activities that will boost your neural connections – even while you are driving the car!
Get them now.

Ready to try Memory Tune?
Memory Tune (Lamont & Eadie, 2012) is a 14-part brain and memory training course delivered to you twice-weekly via email. Purchase the course.

For 8 other best-selling books on brain and memory improvement visit our website

Worksheet Answers  (if you really need them!)

Quick puzzle answer: One in six chances. Three coats can be distributed among three people in six ways:  ABC, ACB, BAC, BCA, CAB, CBA.

Don’t forget you can contact us at any time.
We are here to help you.

Gillian Eadie MEd, BA, Dip.Tchg, LTCL
Allison Lamont, PhD (Psych), MA, MAPS
http://brainandmemoryfoundation.org
gillian@brainandmemoryfoundation.org
Dr.Lamont@memoryclinic.co.nz

It has made such a difference to my life and how I feel about my memory.

Dear Gillian

I have been meaning to contact you to thank you so much for that 6 day memory course.

I really can’t thank you enough. I am so impressed with the generosity of your organization. You treated me like someone who had paid huge sums of money for that little free course, in your speedy response to emails etc. Needless to say I have recommended it to many people including my sister who bought your e-book for her kindle.

It has made such a difference to my life and how I feel about my memory. Instead of living with a vague but ever present fear that I was losing it and might end up with dementia, I am confident about my memory and find I can use the skills you suggested be sharpened. Once I had learnt the 14 side roads and 6 streets in the 12 Km stretch from the centre of town home, I was so very excited. Decided I could learn and remember anything I chose, so when I joined a singing group a couple of weeks ago I came home and could tell my husband the names of the 4 men and 8 women there that day. When I went back last Thursday after 2 weeks and there was one face I could not put a name to. A slight disappointment but I really felt pretty good about it having always been “hopeless at remembering names”! So far I have learnt the words by heart of 4 of the 8 songs we are singing in the group. Now I would not have believed I could do that would not have even attempted that before your course. This has been the most exciting discovery in my recent life.

I am careless about observation and so still have not done that exercise of observing 3 people a day for 4 days etc. Of course I don’t go out and see people every day but still I will get around to doing that.

Because I am left handed I can do many things with my right so some of the exercises don’t have any challenge, so I have to add a twist, e.g. if I want to say I am placing something somewhere with my right hand… I’ll add something silly like doing it with my back turned to the place and of course say that out aloud too! Moving the mouse makes no difference (except I need to clear a new space for it). But I moved it to the R hand a couple of years ago and it did irritate me for a short time.

I’ve got my mental pictures for numbers so I can memorise phone numbers but I’m a bit slow at this stage.

I want to comment on the lovely creativity of the presentation of your course and webpage as well. It’s as if you have given much thought to detail.  I love getting those brain exercise worksheets and whizzing through them, but some things catch me. Like I have not figured how there can be one egg left if everyone takes one. I’ll have to give it thought and not give up on it.

I really was impressed by the personal attention you gave me. A Benedictine monk who teaches meditation equates attention with love; “When you are giving full attention to someone or something you are giving your love.” It rings true to me, so thank you again.

 Yes I am still practicing, that fear will not be part of my life again.

With love,

Raewyn Blair

p.s. Thanks again, and I hope your trials go well and that your wonderful work is recognized world wide.