--- title: Exercise, Dancing and Omega 3s: 5 Surprising Ways To Help Your Memory description: How do you strengthen memory in your brain? Dr. Majid Fotuhi shares the latest research-backed insights in improving brain function canonical: https://time.com/3915030/boost-memory-exercise/ author: Mandy Oaklander article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-10T16:35:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:58:59.054Z article:section: Health og:title: 5 Surprising Ways To Help Your Memory og:description: How do you strengthen memory in your brain? Dr. Majid Fotuhi shares the latest research-backed insights in improving brain function og:url: https://time.com/3915030/boost-memory-exercise/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfe1fab3dbbf39a07/698853efcd6848732c0a04a6/partner-dance-couple-tango.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: couple dance partner tango og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 5 Surprising Ways To Help Your Memory twitter:description: How do you strengthen memory in your brain? Dr. Majid Fotuhi shares the latest research-backed insights in improving brain function twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfe1fab3dbbf39a07/698853efcd6848732c0a04a6/partner-dance-couple-tango.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 5 Surprising Ways To Help Your Memory ## Video: Do Brain Exercises Really Keep You Mentally Fit? [Watch (HLS stream): Do Brain Exercises Really Keep You Mentally Fit?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/t67dFcgw.m3u8) (2:03)  _Published 2015-05-15. Do Brain Exercises Really Keep You Mentally Fit?_  by [Mandy Oaklander](https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Jun 10, 2015 4:35 PM UTC  Couple dancing tango Couple dancing tangoGetty Images  by [Mandy Oaklander](https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Jun 10, 2015 4:35 PM UTC A [recent study](http://time.com/3912512/statins-memory/) alleviated fears that statins—taken by 1 in 4 adults over the age of 40—cause memory loss. But how do you strengthen recall in general? We asked Dr. Majid Fotuhi, chairman of the Memosyn Neurology Institute, to share the latest research-backed insights. “People don’t appreciate that such simple factors have an impact on your brain health, but they do,” he says. “They’re more powerful than any medicine you can take.” **1\. Have a sense of purpose in life**. In one [study](http://m.stroke.ahajournals.org/content/early/2015/03/19/STROKEAHA.114.008010.abstract) published earlier this year in the journal _Stroke_, scientists studied autopsied adult brains and found that the odds of having a stroke were reduced by half or older people who had a high sense of purpose, compared to people who reported a low sense of purpose. **2\. Go dancing**. It’s a brain-building triple threat, he says: physical activity protects the brain, learning lets it grow, and socialization helps it thrive. (Fotuhi recommends the tango.) **3\. Learn something new**. Pre-GPS, cabbies had to learn their cities’ streets and traffic patterns—a challenging mental exercise that over their career actually grew the part of the brain associated with spatial memory, one [study](https://www.ucl.ac.uk/spierslab/Maguire2006Hippocampus) found. **4\. Take omega-3s** **fatty acids**. The combo of DHA and EPA increase blood flow to the brain, reduce inflammation and help repair neurons, Fotuhi says. His [research](http://www.nature.com/nrneurol/journal/v5/n3/full/ncpneuro1044.html) also suggests that DHA may slow cognitive decline. **5\. Exercise.** In a [study](http://www.pnas.org/content/108/7/3017.full) published in the journal _PNAS_, people who exercised every day for a year had 2% growth in their hippocampus—a part of the brain that plays a role in short- and long-term memory—while people who merely stretched saw shrinkage. Increasing blood flow to the brain helps it grow, Fotuhi says. “You need to be physically fit below your neck in order to have a fit brain above your neck.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3915030/boost-memory-exercise/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3915030/boost-memory-exercise/"},"headline":"5 Surprising Ways To Help Your Memory","datePublished":"2015-06-10T16:35:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:58:59.054Z","description":"Here's how to get your brain blood flowing","url":"https://time.com/3915030/boost-memory-exercise/","keywords":["Mental Health/Psychology","Exercise","Alzheimer's","Alzheimer's Disease","memory","dancing"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfe1fab3dbbf39a07/698853efcd6848732c0a04a6/partner-dance-couple-tango.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mandy Oaklander","jobTitle":"Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfe1fab3dbbf39a07/698853efcd6848732c0a04a6/partner-dance-couple-tango.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"couple dance partner tango","caption":"couple dance partner tango","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/mental-healthpsychology/","name":"Mental Health/Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3915030/boost-memory-exercise/","name":"5 Surprising Ways To Help Your Memory"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Do Brain Exercises Really Keep You Mentally Fit?","description":"Do Brain Exercises Really Keep You Mentally Fit?","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/t67dFcgw/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-05-15T21:17:02.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/t67dFcgw.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3915030/boost-memory-exercise/","duration":"PT2M3S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3915030/boost-memory-exercise/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```