Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher, looked after his brain and memory. 
Every night before bed, he reviewed his entire day before he fell asleep.
That’s right – his entire day!
Not just the important ‘need-to-know’ memories.
He mentally recalled everything he did and learned from the second he got out of bed to the instant he crawled back in… everything. (Source: Andy Snyder, Manward Digest)
This activity trained his mind to pay attention – the first important step in processing information for storage in the long-term memory.
You can do this, too.
In bed each night, do your very best to recall the day’s events – from start to finish. Focus on as much detail as possible. Work to recall numbers, colours, your thoughts… everything.
Do it in the order it happened. Don’t allow yourself to skip parts of the day.
To begin with, you’ll recall just some of the day’s events.
But in just a few weeks, you’ll be recalling many details of your day.
Two more benefits of this strategy:
- You’ll find yourself doing things throughout the day to help boost your memory. You’ll become more aware of your day and you’ll stay more ‘in the moment’.
- By focusing on the events of the day, your brain slowly relaxes and your thoughts will lead to sleep.
Try it tonight!
For more reading about sleep and memory Tips for better sleep and Why can’t I sleep?
Do you have a sleep routine that you will share with us? Write it here!
My prepare to sleep routine is to read a novel, a biography or a historical book for 15-30 minutes, each night. I routinely change the type of book to widen my knowledge, part of keeping my brain active. I am also a member of U3A to keep that brain continuing to learn!.
I find I usually sleep very well after an evening yoga class.
I am going off to sleep so much quicker and sleeping more soundly since taking a good magnesium supplement.
A great routine – and, of course, once you are in your deep Rem sleep, your busy brain continues to process that information. Having your reading in book form (rather than on-screen) also allows for a relaxing beginning to the going-to-sleep routine.
Relaxation is SO important! Once the body is accustomed to the yoga poses, many people find the sequences very calming in both mind and body.
This is interesting. It seems many people may be deficient in magnesium so it is always sensible to check to see if supplements like this will make a difference. It obviously has for you – sleep well!