Covid Brain Fog? 3 techniques to help your memory

Brain Training for Healthcare workers – 3 techniques to help your memory

 What was the name of the movie you watched over the weekend?   Where did you put your keys?   Did you complete the chart for the patient you were with an hour ago?

It’s frustrating and time consuming if you must double-check yourself throughout the day.

Trouble with total recall can come from many physical and mental conditions not related to aging, like dehydration, infections, and stress.  We’ve all had some extra stress over the last 18 months dealing with the Pandemic.

There are many ways to maintain general brain health and most of them are the same way you take care of your body, including eating less sugar, getting more sleep, maintain healthy weight, exercise, and meditate.

Here are just 3 methods you can use to improve your memory:

• Be mindful. Mindfulness is a mental state in which you focus on your present situation, maintaining awareness of your surroundings and feelings. It’s a mental habit you can use in any situation.
  • Incorporate mindfulness techniques into your daily routine by paying more attention to your present situation, concentrating on your breathing, and gently resetting your attention when your mind wanders.  When you are with a patient – be fully present -not thinking about the next one or the last one or what you are doing after work.  It takes practice.

• Use Memory tools. Quick hacks to help your recall such as
  1. Creating clusters. Structure and organize like thoughts, concepts, and terms
  2. Mnemonic devices -healthcare is full of acronyms but you can use a mnemonic device to help as well – create an acronym or new phrase from the first letter of each word – for example: ABC – Airway, breathing, Circulation
  3. Create pictures from words – say you need to remember to bring a patient an extra pillow – picture in your mind –a photo of the patient sitting on top of a bed of pillows.
• Take some Vitamin D. Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to a host of health issues, including a reduction in cognitive function. Vitamin-D deficiency is quite common, especially in colder climates. A study that followed 318 older adults for five years found that those who had blood levels of vitamin D less than 20 nanograms per ml lost their memory and other cognitive abilities faster than those with normal vitamin D levels.

It will take some effort and even involve tweaking or dramatically changing your normal study routine, but there are a number of strategies you can utilize to get more out of your memory.

One thing that is easy to remember is SOS Healthcare Staffing is here to help!   We help with matching the right talent to fill the right position, quickly, efficiently and effectively – that’s a no-brainer!