How to improve memory:
Daily habits for brain health

Updated October 2026 | 7 min read
Expert contributors: Associate Professor Michael Woodward AM, Honorary Medical Advisor, Dementia Australia; Professor Leon Flicker, Executive Director, Western Australian Centre for Health and Ageing
Words by Trudie McConnochie

Key takeaways

• Improve your memory and boost your brain health with simple daily exercises for your mind and body.
• Maintaining social connections and managing stress help support memory and brain health just as much as physical exercise.
• Hearing loss and dementia risk are closely linked, so regular hearing checks matter just as much as regular eye tests.
• Sleep plays a bigger role in brain health than many people realise.

Wondering how to improve your memory as you age? Discover the simple daily habits that could help you boost your brain health and lower your risk of dementia.

Noticing the odd memory lapse lately? Learning how to improve memory becomes a bigger priority as we get older, and there’s good reason for that. Dementia is now Australia’s leading cause of death, having overtaken heart disease.

But cognitive decline isn’t a given. Ageing is the biggest risk factor for dementia – your risk roughly doubles every five to six years after the age of 65 – but up to 45% of cases could be prevented or delayed by addressing modifiable risk factors like high LDL cholesterol, physical inactivity, smoking, obesity and excessive alcohol.

“There are certain areas that decline, like episodic memory – we’re more likely to misplace our keys or forget something that was just told to us – but if it becomes excessive, it’s not normal,” says Associate Professor Michael Woodward AM, Honorary Medical Advisor to Dementia Australia.

Other abilities, like wisdom and pattern recognition, can actually improve with age.

The good news is that small daily habits can help protect your memory and brain health well into your senior years. HCF also offers a range of programs to support your wellbeing, from mental health services to hearing and sleep support, to help make these habits easier to put into practice.

How to improve memory and boost brain health

Want to keep your brain sharp and your memory strong as you age? Drawing on the 2024 update of the Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, these 11 habits can help manage the risk factors for dementia.

1. Stay active

Being physically active improves blood flow and oxygen supply to your brain and stimulates the growth of new brain cells. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise most days, enough to leave you a little out of breath, including a mix of:

• aerobic exercise, like brisk walking, dancing or swimming
• resistance training, like lifting weights, push-ups or squats
• flexibility exercises, like yoga, Pilates or stretching.

HCF offers a range of programs to help you get active and keep moving. The COACH Program®^* offers eligible members with heart conditions or diabetes phone-based support, check to see if you’re eligible. Eligible members can also access the HCF No-Gap GLA:D^® Knees Program^{^}, combining group exercise and education to help ease knee osteoarthritis pain so you can keep moving. 

You should always check with your GP before making changes to your exercise regimen.

2. Train your brain: 5 brain exercises to try

Keeping your brain active is just as important as keeping your body active. Regular mental exercise helps build your ‘cognitive reserves’ – new brain cells and stronger connections between them – which can help protect your memory. Assoc Prof Woodward says you need to keep challenging yourself to get the benefits.

Try these five brain gym exercises, which are especially good for working memory:

• crosswords or cryptic puzzles
• learning a new language
• playing a musical instrument
• taking a course in something you’ve never tried
• memory games, like recalling a shopping list or a shuffled deck of cards.

“If you get really good at doing the quick crossword, maybe move to the cryptic version. Or try something completely different. Learn a language, learn a musical instrument or start reading Middle English,” says Assoc Prof Woodward.

Getting out of your comfort zone is especially important after you retire.

“If you can work [and you’d like to] until the mid-70s, you should. If you do retire, make sure you’re doing everything you can to keep yourself socially and mentally active, physically active and eating well,” says Assoc Prof Woodward.

3. Eat well

The Mediterranean diet excels when it comes to brain power. It involves eating plenty of vegies, fruits, nuts, legumes, seeds and fish, and using olive oil. You can also have a moderate amount of dairy and a little red meat.

Processed meats and packaged foods are best avoided or limited to rare occasions. As Assoc Prof Woodward puts it: “What we’d eat in a village in Italy or Greece, rather than in an English pub.”

4. Cut back on alcohol

Drinking more than the recommended amount of alcohol can damage your brain and raise your risk of dementia. If you drink, follow the government guidelines, which recommend no more than four standard drinks a day or 10 a week. One standard drink is about half a glass of wine or a 285ml glass of beer.

Looking to change your relationship with alcohol? Hello Sunday Morning’s Daybreak app is free for all Aussies and connects you anonymously with an online peer community and health coaches. Eligible HCF members⁺ can also be referred to additional mental health support through Daybreak. For those seeking additional support to reduce or stop drinking, eligible HCF members^{^} can access a trial of the Clean Slate Clinic’s medically supervised at-home alcohol detox program.

5. Quit smoking

A study of more than 700,000 people in South Korea suggested quitting smoking lowers the risk of all forms of dementia.

A chat with your GP about how to quit smoking is a great first step, especially if you have an existing health condition. They can also refer you to a psychologist for extra support and put you in touch with Quitline, a confidential telephone counselling service staffed by experts trained in quitting smoking.

6. Stay social

Being socially isolated raises your risk of cognitive decline, but you don’t need a huge social circle. The quality of your connections matters more than the size, says Professor Leon Flicker, Executive Director of the Western Australian Centre for Health and Ageing.

If your social circle has shrunk since retirement, try:

• joining a local walking group, book club or community class
• volunteering for a cause you care about
• scheduling regular catch-ups with family and friends, even a short weekly phone call
• using Active Locals, a free HCF-backed platform with more than 1,500 local groups nationwide, from walking and yoga to tennis and board games
• reconnecting with old hobbies alongside other people, rather than solo.

“Loneliness is a big risk factor for physical and cognitive health, but you don’t necessarily need a large social network – you need the quality of your social network to be suitable for you,” says Prof Flicker.

7. Look after your mental health

Stress can harm your brain cells over time, so regular meditation or relaxation exercises are worth adding to your routine.

With about 15% of Aussies over the age of 55 experiencing depression or anxiety, it’s important to seek support if you’re feeling sad, helpless, panicked, irritable or unmotivated for more than two weeks.

If you’re concerned, book an appointment with your GP. Through our partnership with GP2U, eligible members^# can access telehealth appointments, including a standard GP consultation (up to 10 minutes) for a fee of $50. Because we know it can be harder to access essential care outside cities, eligible rural and remote members** can access an annual 15-minute online GP consultation with GP2U for no additional cost.

A therapist or psychologist can also help. HCF offers eligible members a range of mental health services depending on your needs. These include an annual HealthyMinds Check-in^{^^} with a psychologist at no additional cost, or cover towards THIS WAY UP⁺⁺, which offers online cognitive behavioural therapy programs you can work through in your own time (depending on your level of cover).

8. Monitor your ear and eye health

Hearing loss is one of the biggest modifiable risk factors for dementia. Untreated hearing loss can make it harder to follow conversations, which often leads to social withdrawal.

Vision loss carries similar risks, since sensory difficulties of any kind can make daily life more isolating and put extra strain on your brain, says Prof Flicker.

“Sensory dysfunction is not good, so you should try to correct that as much as you can,” he adds.

Talk to your doctor if you suspect your vision or hearing isn’t what it used to be. Eligible members can get 100% back^## on a range of No-Gap services, including prescription glasses^***. Find a participating specialist near you using our Find a Provider tool. Our More For Hearing program offers eligible members access to discounts^{^^^} on hearing aids and assessments through our partners Specsavers and Hearing Australia.

9. Protect your heart

Looking after your heart by managing your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels will help keep your brain in good order, too. This includes keeping your weight within a healthy range. Talk to your doctor if you’re concerned.

Eligible members 18 years and older can get an HCF Heart and Diabetes Health Check for no additional cost, delivered by the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, at selected locations and dates⁺⁺⁺. It only takes 10 minutes, and you can get your results straight away.

10. Get vaccinated

After the age of 50, getting your zoster (shingles) vaccination is recommended if you have a healthy immune system, to reduce your chances of getting shingles.

It might have other benefits, too. “Shingles vaccines have been shown to reduce the risk of dementia,” says Assoc Prof Woodward.

11. Prioritise sleep

Good-quality sleep is essential for brain health. While you sleep, your brain clears out toxins linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Poor sleep over time is also linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, both of which affect brain health, too.

Sleep patterns often change as you get older. You might fall asleep more easily but wake earlier, or find your sleep is lighter and more easily disrupted. That’s normal, but persistent poor sleep isn’t something to just put up with.

A few sleep tips that can help:

• Keep a consistent sleep and wake time, even on weekends.
• Get natural light exposure earlier in the day.
• Limit caffeine and alcohol in the afternoon and evening.
• Keep your bedroom cool and dark, and use it only for sleep.
• Talk to your doctor if snoring, restless legs or frequent waking are disrupting your sleep.

Need sleep support? Eligible HCF members^### can get a 12-month subscription to the Sleepfit app at no additional cost, designed to improve sleep and overall wellbeing.

When should I be concerned?

It’s normal to forget things occasionally, but Dementia Australia says you should talk to your doctor if you’re forgetting things more than usual, struggling to remember new information or getting confused by things you’d normally find easy, like directions.

Other signs to watch out for include misplacing things regularly, changes in behaviour like unusual mood swings or loss of inhibitions, and decreasing motivation for work, home duties or social activities.

Take charge of your mental wellbeing

We understand everyone’s mental health journey is different. Often, finding where to go for support for yourself and your loved ones can be challenging. That’s why we provide a comprehensive range of wellbeing programs, with options available for all ages and the freedom to choose what works for you at all stages of your journey.