Memory for Mommies - Memory Spring

Memory for Mommies takes a holistic, proven, multi-level approach to helping moms improve their memory. The page focuses on taking a complex (and distressing) issue and providing simple solutions for improving moms’ lives.

Adopt an "Attitude of Gratitude" to Reduce Stress and Improve Focus

As we role into the upcoming joyous and hectic holiday season, it’s a great opportunity to adopt an “attitude of gratitude”. The power of gratitude, positive attitude, and positive thinking has long been espoused to help us live a happy and fulfilled life. UC Davis Psychologist Robert Emmons, author of Gratitude Works! A Twenty-One Day Program for Creating Emotional Prosperity (Jossey-Bass), defines gratitude as a felt sense of wonder, thankfulness, and appreciation for life”. Throughout recorded history physicians and writers have talked about the benefits of having a “mindset of gratitude”. Yet many of us struggle to appreciate what we do have, and hyper focus on what we are lacking on a daily basis.

As moms, we have so much on our plates. We can’t seem to get everything done to feel “caught up.” The question is, do we pat ourselves on the back for any of the little things we actually do accomplish or do we just beat ourselves up for the seemingly never-ending list of things that still have yet to be completed?

Click below to gain tips for Adopting an “Attitude of Gratitude.”

Overcoming Momnesia

Momnesia! What is it? The term momnesia is a term first coined by pediatrician Dr. Tanya Altman. Momnesia refers to the memory challenges mommies face in their 26th week of conception through the first 6-12 months of motherhood. Additional insight was revealed by neuropsychiatrist Dr. Louann Brizendine. Brizendine is the founder of the Women’s and Teen Girls’ Mood and Hormone Clinic at the University of California, San Francisco and author of The Female Brain. In her book, Dr. Brizendine discusses the impact of the biological and hormonal changes motherhood brings. For example, she says a big boost in the feel-good hormone oxytocin and other changes contribute to a shift in a mother’s priorities. Dr. Brizendine, who jokingly refers to the entry to motherhood as the “invasion of the brain snatchers” writes, “The parts of the brain responsible for focus and concentration are preoccupied with protecting and tracking the newborn for the first six months.” She elaborates the additional oxytocin released during breast feeding can “heighten and prolong this unfocused state.” The severity varies from mom to mom.

What can you do about your Momnesia? Here are a few tips from Lehigh Valley Health Network’s to help you through your momnesiatic state.

Five Simple Exercises to Improve Your Brain Health and Memory

With the new year right around the corner, it’s time to start considering some of the things that you can do to improve your memory and brain health. Many of us aspire to new exercise regimes and diets, but how many of us actually implement exercises to improve our memory and brain health? Not many of us. Make the new year different and memorable.

Click below for some simple (minimal time usage) exercises that you can implement that will help your memory and brain health.