Over 40? Here Are 9 Clever Memory Exercises to Start Doing Today

Read out loud

A 2025 study published in Science Advances found that adults who frequently used their literary skills did not show typical age-related cognitive decline. These findings back up previous research suggesting that even reading once or twice a week offers long-term brain protection, regardless of education level.  

Want to take this mental workout a step further? Research published in the journal Memory found that reading out loud may strengthen long-term memory. This benefit likely comes from engaging multiple cognitive processes at once: speaking, hearing, and processing the information. 

Repeat, pause, repeat

As we move through midlife, our brains can become less efficient at forming new memories right away. That’s one reason a new coworker’s name or directions to that restaurant you want to try might not stick like they used to. 

Research shows that for midlife brains, repeated exposure is key to boosting memory retention. In one study published in Frontiers in Psychology, people who viewed pairs of images three times remembered them better than those who saw them only once—and not just after 10 minutes, but one day and even one week later. Other research has found increased activity in the hippocampus, a region of the brain essential for memory formation, among people exposed to images six times versus just once. Spacing out the learning experience by revisiting information over hours or days proves even more effective.

Use a mnemonic device

A mnemonic device is a memory aid, such as an acronym or rhyme, that helps you recall information more easily by creating shortcuts in the brain. They’re especially helpful when you need to remember lists or complex details. 

Our world is full of them. For instance, the BRAT Diet refers to the bland foods often recommended for an upset stomach: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) is another classic that helps medical students remember how to treat soft-tissue injuries. 

Mnemonics don’t have to be acronyms. You can try rhymes (“Leaflets three; let it be” to help you recognize poison ivy) or mental images (like picturing a child throwing a tantrum with bananas, applesauce, rice, and toast to remember the BRAT diet).

Enlist your “memory palace”

Another type of mnemonic device, known as the “method of loci” or “mental walk,” involves visualizing a familiar physical space—like your home—and mentally placing the information you need to remember within it. A 2025 review published in The British Journal of Psychology explains that this technique can significantly enhance memory retention by anchoring new information to familiar places with personal or emotional meaning, making details easier to recall later. 

One study illustrates how this can work in real life: medical students visualized their college campus, specifically the cafeteria, the dissection hall, and the main entrance. In each of these locations, they mentally “placed” information they needed to know about diabetes and insulin. Students who used this approach performed better on an assessment than those who learned the material through a traditional lecture. 

Don’t stress about stressing

Stress can take a toll on your mood and well-being, but research suggests that perceived stress—or how stressed you feel—may be just as important to brain health. In a paper co-authored by Dr. Zwerling and her colleagues, higher perceived stress was identified as a risk factor for a form of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). 

“Perceived stress is a marker for decline and can be affecting [brain] volume loss, which is the storage of memory,” Dr. Zwerling tells us. The good news is that perceived stress is modifiable. Strategies that help lower stress, such as medication, exercise, and yoga, have also been linked to better cognitive and brain health. 

Stretch

Physical activity is one of the pillars of brain health, as it is for heart and overall health. However, you may not need to work up a big sweat to benefit cognitively.

In a 2025 issue of Alzheimer’s & Dementia, the Alzheimer’s Association published findings from its EXERT (Exercise in Adults with Mild Memory Problems) trial, and the results surprised researchers. Adults with mild cognitive impairment were assigned to either moderate-to-high-intensity aerobic exercise or low-intensity stretching and mobility work over an 18-month period. Interestingly, both groups showed similarly stable cognitive function over time. 

“Both groups didn’t show a lot of decline, which was a surprise,” says Laurie Ryan, PhD, the Chief of the Dementias of Aging Branch in the Division of Neuroscience at the National Institute on Aging (NIA). “Maybe we don’t need full-on aerobic [exercise].” 

That doesn’t mean aerobic workouts or resistance training aren’t valuable—both are still strongly linked to brain (and overall) health. But the research suggests that even gentler forms of movement support lasting cognitive function. 

Dance with others

Emerging research points to ballroom dancing and other forms of “social dancing” as ways to bolster executive function, an umbrella term that encompasses planning, problem-solving, and reasoning, among other processes.

For example, a 2025 study published in Diagnostics found that regular dancing was associated with slower cognitive decline and improvements in executive function measures among adults. While physical activity helps the brain adapt to age-related changes, the research suggests that dancing offers additional benefits because it uses multiple cognitive systems at once. Following choreography, coordinating movement, and interacting socially all challenge—and, with practice, strengthen—key aspects of executive function. 

Solve a crossword puzzle

You may have heard that a crossword a day keeps dementia at bay—and 2022 research in the New England Journal of Medicine offers evidence to support the link. The study examined adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a potential precursor to Alzheimer’s disease. It found that those who completed computerized crossword puzzles showed slower cognitive decline than those who played computerized cognitive games. Participants in the crossword group also had improved memory scores and reduced brain volume loss. 

The findings surprised researchers, as they’d expected cognitive games to outperform crossword puzzles, says Dr. Ryan, whose organization, the NIA, funded the study. More research is needed to understand the outcome, but “if the results hold up in future studies, this could be significant.” 

One caveat from Dr. Zwerling: if you don’t love crosswords, don’t force yourself. The research also notes that regularly engaging in other complex mental activities, such as playing checkers or solving other types of puzzles, may also lower your risk of dementia. Research in 2020 showed that playing the tile game, mahjong, may also help.

Learn something new

This could be a new language, a musical instrument, or even chess. “Mental activities done on a regular basis have several features,” explains Joe Verghese, MD, FRCPI, founding director, Montefiore-Einstein Center for the Aging Brain. “These activities are challenging, so they really engage different brain processes, in general, more than one: memory, attention.”

Most of these activities also have progressive levels, moving from simple to more complex, so you can keep challenging your brain over time. “I tell patients to pick activities that you enjoy so you will do them regularly,” Dr. Verghese says. “If you find you do a crossword puzzle quickly, find a harder one.”

For daily wellness updates, subscribe to The Healthy newsletter and follow The Healthy on Facebook and Instagram. Keep reading:

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