How To Archives - Plaid Swan

September 18, 2017

Doofus of the Year Award

My husband and I are vying for the Doofus of the Year award. We both got caught up in computer scams. In my case, I was trying to load the newest edition of Microsoft Office, and it just wasn’t working. I searched for a Microsoft help site, and there it was – TA-DA – glowing like a heavenly beacon on my screen: Help for Loading Microsoft Office. I called the number (bad choice – red flag #1) and was connected to a pleasant-sounding man with a heavy foreign accent (possibly a foreign sweat shop? – red flag #2) who said he would take care of loading it for me (red flag #3). First, he would remotely control my computer (giant red flag #4), and as soon as he did, he said there was a multitude of viruses on my computer that needed to be fixed (red flag #5). Fortunately, something went off in my head, the bulls started charging the red flags, and I hung up and turned off my computer. I immediately unplugged and rushed to my trusted computer doctor. Yes, I did indeed now have a bevy of viral beauties.

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My husband’s shining example started with two emails suggesting that he had problems with Microsoft Office 365. He asked for help from a friend who told him to change his passwords and not to click on any links in those emails but to go to another site. He had trouble finding what he needed, so he clicked on a link that told him to enter his name and phone number. He immediately received “the phone call” (ominous music playing in the background), and the caller wanted to access his computer remotely. (NEVER EVER LET THAT HAPPEN, folks!) Same scenario: all of a sudden the caller “realizes” that my husband’s computer is infected, and that not only can he repair it, but he has a service that will protect up to three computers for three years for a mere $500. “Too much!” my husband protests. Okay, he then has a special deal that covers one computer for $300. Hesitance, then acceptance. All he has to do is leave his computer on for 90 minutes, and he will be completely protected. He comes down to tell me what has happened, and I give a very polite gasp. TURN OFF AND UNPLUG IMMEDIATELY. So, we cancel the credit card number, dispute the charge and rush again to our trusted computer guru, who gives a chuckle every time we walk in the door and suggests we put him on retainer.

www.peekworthy.com

So, you vote – who wins the Doofus of the Year? I hope we will not be in the running in the next year, but the truth is that there are so many scammers out there, and it is hard to keep your guard up 24/7. Hurricane Harvey has just pummeled Texas, and already the warnings are out for the scammers who purportedly want to do repair work and for the dishonest charities soliciting funds to help. Every day we get several robo phone calls all popping up with city names for caller ID; they are easy to ignore. But lately, they have gotten more sophisticated in that they use our area code and local prefixes for the number. I don’t know all my friends’ phone numbers, so I feel I have to answer. Our local paper has headlined articles the past few days about a group of young people aged 19 to 37 who have been charged with hundreds of counts of wire fraud targeting the elderly.

The FBI has lists of common schemes that may have affected people we know or that have been proposed to us. Fraudulent reverse mortgage schemes steal equity that people have built up in their homes. There are counterfeit prescription drugs on the market that are not only illegal, but may be harmful. Ponzi and pyramid schemes abound to bilk investors out of their hard-earned dollars. We all would like to think that we are immune or too savvy to have that happen to us, so there are habits we can develop that will prevent such attacks.

If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Nothing is free. Free trial offers or free vacations almost always have expensive strings attached to them.
Take a time out. Ask for the name of the company that is offering you services and then tell them that you want to do some research on them. If they’re legitimate, they won’t balk. Then get online and do some reading or talk to an expert.
Caller ID can fool you. If it looks like a local call, it might not be. Hang up on robo calls.
Be wary of pop-ups on your computer screen and phone calls that tell you your computer is infected. Find a computer expert that you can trust so that you have someone to ask about oddities regarding your computer. Keep security and virus programs up to date.
The Federal Trade Commission at consumer.ftc.gov/scam-alerts runs an updated list of scam alerts that are worth checking occasionally. You can also sign up to have tips and advice sent directly to your email address.

It is embarrassing to get scammed. You feel foolish and violated. In these times, scams are abundant, so be aware, educate yourself, and ask for help and advice before making monetary expenditures. Good luck!

www.giphy.com

Diane Repass is a retired tenured assistant professor
from The University of Dubuque and now a beloved
writer for Plaid Swan Inc. She received her M.A. from
The University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

September 11, 2017

Damage Control: How to Respond to Negative Reviews Online

As Taylor Swift once said, “The haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.” That’s a lot of hate for one song, but sometimes we receive a lot of hate in our daily lives, especially online. Today, with social media right at our fingertips, negative reviews tend to arise. What you need to do is take these reviews, learn from them if possible, and then simply, shake it off. By following these guidelines, you and your business can maintain damage control before it gets, shall we say, out of control, and respond in a proper manner. Let’s get started!

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Find a Fix: Have a team of people constantly reviewing all social posts. Whenever a customer or viewer comments on your social media platforms, or perhaps leaves a negative review, have a team or team member set up to receive notifications so the review or comment is seen immediately. That way you can respond promptly and in a timely manner. People care when you go the extra mile and make their needs known. By responding right away, you are showing their opinion matters and sometimes that extra care can turn into a positive review for you and your business. A Win-Win!

Think Positive:

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For most of us, we are passionate about our company and care about our customers. So whenever we get a negative review, it stings. The key to negative reviews is how you respond to them. Always stay positive. Good things will come from it. Take a step back, take a deep breath, and handle the problem with a positive attitude. Just because you get a negative review, that doesn’t make you a bad company. Think of it more like a sticky situation to tackle and an opportunity to learn and grow. There are always going to be people in the world who thrive off of negativity and drama. Often times they are the ones who take the time to write a bad review. It just goes with the territory. There will also be those who are genuinely disappointed in your product or company and are taking the time to share the reasons why. Approach every one of these with an open mind and a guarded heart and always remember, this is business. Learning means growing.

Empathize & Apologize: People are looking for humanity. Be genuine in your response. A negative review can be a great opportunity for your business to respond in a positive and clear way. That approach will have a significant impact on your customers – even on those who didn’t write the negative comment but saw you replied in a positive manner. Empathize with people, and if you’re wrong, admit you’re wrong. People respond well to sincerity and admitting when a mistake was made. It helps everyone move forward and may also help you gain a new customer.

www.tenor.com

Get More Positive Reviews: When customers get a proper and rapid response, they are more likely to edit, delete, or replace their negative review with a positive one. However, not everyone changes their mind, and unfortunately, you can’t delete reviews from certain platforms. However, you can reduce where they pop up online for people to see. By obtaining and promoting more positive reviews, you can push the negative ones further down the line. Never be afraid to ask your valued customers to give you a review or a ‘like’ on social media. Everyone understands how important that can be, and more people than you could ever imagine will want to help you thrive. It’s as simple as asking.

To be successful in business it can be as simple as listening to your customers and learning from your mistakes. Every business has a learning curve and the most successful businesses are not afraid to try new things. If Taylor Swift can teach us anything in this world, it’s to “shake it off.” Use negative reviews to improve your company, grow from them, and then move on. You have a business to run, get to it!

www.favim.com

Plaid Swan is a women-owned marketing communications firm operating out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The firm represents clients across the United States in public relations, media planning, social and digital media, graphic design and strategic planning. Visit us online at PlaidSwan.com or on our social media channels as @PlaidSwan. Lines are meant to be crossed.

August 14, 2017

How to Improve Your Productivity at Work

I hate when a sentence doesn’t end the way I think it octopus… I’m sorry, what was I saying?

Distractions. They tend to happen, especially at work. There are only so many hours in the day for us to get our tasks done. Would you rather put in more work or work more efficiently? We’re guessing you went with option two. So how can this be accomplished?

Here are 8 Effective Strategies for Increasing Your Productivity at Work.

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Get Yourself Some High-Quality H2O: Water sucks. Gatorade is better. Right? If you ask Bobby Boucher, aka “The Waterboy”, you couldn’t be more wrong. As Adam Sandler once taught us in this classic comedy, water can be very beneficial. The same can be true for when you’re at work. Water is healthy, refreshing, and can actually subside the feeling of fatigue or hunger. Much has been touted that we actually mistake hunger for when we are simply thirsty. This thought being, if we would stay hydrated our brain wouldn’t be telling us we are hungry and we could eliminate the overeating issues that are prevalent in our society. By keeping a Yeti filled with ice water within arm’s reach, you can stay focused at your desk instead of having to get up and fill it repeatedly at the water cooler, and in return, possibly lose those stubborn five pounds.

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All Hail the Snacks: Just like water, make sure you have healthy snacks readily available. This can help control hunger, as well as keep you productive. It also keeps you within your workspace and eliminates those office ‘chats’ and ‘visit sessions’ at the vending machines. It’s good to know how certain foods interact with your brain. For example, research has found that the brain works best with about 25 grams of glucose circulating in the blood stream —the amount found in a banana. Other foods that give your brain the best boost and power are blueberries, carrots, whole grains, nuts, seeds, avocados, and dark chocolate. Hungry yet?

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Prioritize Your Tasks: Did you know people are the most productive during the first hour of work? Why? Because you have just started the day and your energy levels are at their highest. By putting your most critical and challenging tasks on your calendar during your first few hours on the job, you’ll be approaching them with attention and energy. By scheduling the most difficult tasks in the first part of your day, and following those up with the easier tasks, you’ll find you are able to concentrate more and be more efficient. There is nothing worse than having a task ahead of you that you are dreading. It can consume the rest of your day. Better to tackle those right away. Do this simple plan and you will stay focused, not stressed.

www.noplacelikeanywhere.com

Headphones Can Be Music to Your Ears: Ring! Ring! Is that a cellphone I hear? Did someone just drop their stapler? Is that the mailcart making the rounds? In most offices, there are a variety of sources of sounds that tend to distract us. How can you protect yourself from these distractions? Put on a pair of headphones. They will help block out any unwanted or surprising sounds and keep you focused on the task at hand.

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Trust in the Two-Minute Rule: You might be asking yourself, what is the two-minute rule? Simple, the two-minute rule consist of finding a task you can complete in two minutes or less, and doing it immediately. This simple rule helps overcome procrastination and basic laziness by focusing on tasks that are so easy to do; there is no reason you wouldn’t just ‘do them’! The two minute rule in the work place can mean; send that email, make that phone call, text that message. Anything that can be done in two minutes is such an easy thing to accomplish; you might as well just do them now.

www.giphy.com

Work in 90-Minute Intervals: According to Inc.com, researchers at Florida State University have found elite performers (athletes, chess players, musicians, etc.) who work in intervals of no more than 90 minutes are more productive than those who work 90 minutes-plus. They also found that top performing subjects tend to work no more than 4.5 hours per day. We can’t argue with those stats!

www.giphy.com

Spice Up Your Space: Interesting enough, research shows that decorating an office with visually pleasing appealing elements—such as plants–can increase productivity by up to 15 percent. Spice up your workspace with pictures, candles, and other decorations to boost your mood and your work performance. By making your space at work your own, you will enjoy being there and it can also help your mood considerably.

We’re Feeling Blue: Did you know the color blue is known to stimulate the mind? Studies show that blue rooms improve your study capabilities and increase productivity. Blue can also slow your heart rate and reduce your appetite. Try painting your office blue to increase concentration and your work performance. You’re my boy blue!

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By following these simple strategies, you could start seeing improvement in your productivity at work!

Plaid Swan Inc. is a female owned and operated marketing communications firm with multiple offices located in the Midwest. Looking to make your company’s blog stand out? Don’t have a blog, but want one? What’s a BLOG? Contact us today to see how we can bring your brand to a new stellar level!

Plaid Swan: (563) 556-1633

Email: betsy@plaidswan.com

-Haley Corkery │ Public Relations Specialist

July 10, 2017

Coping with Writer’s Block

Recently, I wrote an article which took more time than it should have based on the topic and the length of the final creation. Usually when I write, I do some research/reading, put together an outline, and finally sit down and write. This time I did some research and tried to put together an outline with some detail, but it just wasn’t coming. So, I did some more research and then some more. I came up with an unsatisfactory plan but decided to try to write on some of the internal details and hope that the beginning, ending, and most important details would follow. It just didn’t work. I was stuck. The last number of months I have been doing a great deal of writing, but this was the first time that I had experienced writer’s block to this degree. At the time, I did not read about writer’s block and what it was or what I could do, but after finally finishing the project (with some good advice from a trusted friend), I decided to read about the causes and cures for this problem to be more proactive should it ever happen again.

www.theodysseyonline.com

Merriam-Webster defines writer’s block as “a psychological inhibition preventing a writer from proceeding with a piece.” The term “writer’s block” was first used in about 1949 by a psychiatrist named Edmund Bergler. He said that it wasn’t a matter of being out of inspiration or “lack of external motivation.” Rather, the writer is psychologically blocked and requires therapy (Maria Konnikova). Other psychologists’ research in the 1970s and 80s came up with similar conclusions, saying that writers were just unhappy, but suggested a series of exercises rather than therapy.

TJ Philpott lists “5 Common Causes of Writer’s Block: fatigue, anxiety, distractions, pressure, and self-doubt.” He suggests that identifying the cause can lead to unblocking the creative flow. David Taylor has also written about some of the causes, listing fear as a common cause. That can mean fear of not writing something significant or credible (my problem), not being able to match previous successes in writing, or not having had former editors (teachers or bosses) highlight the strengths in your work.

www.tenor.com

It may be that you cannot identify the cause, so you may need to move on to trying one or more of the many suggestions writers have made about dealing with the problem.

Just write. Getting ideas down on paper is a major step in starting the actual writing process. So, start writing anything; it can be a list of points that are roaming around in your head or random thoughts about a topic. Anne Lamott, author of the writing manual Bird by Bird, says, “I encourage my students at times like these to get one page of anything written, three hundred words of memories or dreams or stream of consciousness on how much they hate writing—just for the hell of it, just to keep their fingers from becoming too arthritic, just because they have made a commitment to try to write three hundred words every day.”

Begin your writing at some place other than the beginning. Many writers leave the introduction to the end of their writing process. They choose a point in the article/essay that seems less daunting and more comfortable to begin writing.

www.imgur.com

Change the target audience or the perspective. John Steinbeck advised a young writer who was struggling with writer’s block to “pretend that you’re writing not to your editor or to an audience or to a readership, but to someone close, like your sister, or your mother, or someone that you like.” Or the audience could be an imaginary friend who loves your work. Write a letter to this person or start a written conversation (Henneke Duistermaat). On the other hand, you could pretend to be someone else writing the piece and write from the perspective of someone with a different investment in the topic.

Talk about your writing project with someone else. This piece of advice comes from many writers, except one who felt it was possible to over-talk the piece. On this last article I wrote, talking is what changed the game for me. A friend, a freelance writer/editor/former PR specialist, and I spoke about what it was I wanted to do and about a stronger framework that I could build on. With that I began filling in the slots and finally came up with a piece that still needed editing, but was a solid beginning.

Change the conditions or situation of your writing task. Write with pencil/paper rather than the computer, or temporarily do something different like take a walk. Change your work environment; use a different chair or work from a different place in your house or office.

If all these fail, spend a little time reading what others have written about writer’s block on the internet. You’ll find many more ideas – some a little out there, like ranting and cursing out loud to let out the inner frustration. There is not one cause for this problem, and there is not one cure. One of the differences between a professional writer and a beginner or amateur writer is that the pros will work very hard not to let themselves be paralyzed. They keep moving on and writing.

www.pandawhale.com

June 21, 2017

How Your Company Can Best Utilize Snapchat

www.diply.com

Can I have a moment of your thyme, I mean time! Snapchat can be one ‘punny’ place, ahem pardon the pun, and a social media platform that is perfect for engagement. Is your company on Snapchat? If you answered no, then this is the blog for you. There are currently 100 million active users on Snapchat and more than 10 billion Snapchat videos viewed daily. With all that interaction, your business should be using it to their advantage. Want to know how? Here are some of the best ways your company can utilize Snapchat.

Take People Behind the Scenes: Ever wonder what’s going on behind the curtain? Now is your chance to get a sneak peek. Snapchat is a great tool to show clients and viewers a look at your business and operation. A picture is worth a thousand words but a video is worth a million. Snapchat can be more powerful than Instagram and Twitter. Give people a glimpse of the atmosphere at your work, employees, or projects you are working on. This gives the public a chance to get more involved on your website, as well as increase visibility, brand awareness, and gain a following.

Use Snap Ads to Your Advantage: According to Hootsuite, a Snap Ad is a 10-second, full screen vertical video ad that appears between Stories. With a Snap Ad, advertisers give viewers the choice to swipe up from the video to see the full version, learn more, or read an article that ties in to the video. According to Snapchat, the swipe-up rate for Snap Ads is five times higher than the average click-through rate on comparable social media platforms. A good example of this is Spotify. Spotify, a music service, purchased Snap Ads to promote a campaign called “Year in Music” that allowed users to see a list of all the music they listened to that year. What were the end results? Spotify earned 26 million total views and a 30 percent increase on subscriber intent. Certainly that was music to their ears. The same can be true for you and your company.

www.community.spotify.com

Create Contests or Promotions: We all love social media giveaways, promotions, and perks. A great way for your company to utilize Snapchat is to give back to your followers. Some fun and clever ideas include, offering promo codes or discounts to anyone who watches your entire Snap story. You could also ask them to take a photo with a product of yours, your logo, or your building. GrubHub did just that with a Snapchat scavenger hunt. Each day during the five-day campaign, they asked their followers to post a daily snap, whether it was a food selfie or a drawing of food. This showcased their brand and personality, as well as allowed them to communicate with their customers. This idea gets people involved and gets your name out in the public eye for all to see. What a great sight that can be.

www.socialmediaexaminer.com

Address Relevant Issues or Hot News: Did you hear about the latest Trump tweet? What the hell is covfefe? Should Tiger Woods just avoid cars in general? Did you see the new Wonder Woman movie? People love to talk. Especially when it comes to relevant issues, pop culture, and anything going on in the news. Don’t be afraid to be a part of the discussion. Be authentic. Be engaged. Be active. Make a Snapchat addressing any one of these topics and encourage viewers to express their voice. What do they think? What are their views? By being engaged, and current, people will soon realize you up to date on current affairs, you know what you’re talking about and you care about their opinions.

Use Snapchat Lenses: What’s that on your face? Ah, it’s one of the Snapchat lenses! According to Snapchat, “To activate Lenses, Snapchatters simply press and hold their finger on their faces on their phones.” Some Lenses include prompts like ‘raise your eyebrows’ to trigger an animation, adding a fun twist to the experience. Basically a lens is a selfie with goofy animations. They add animations to your face. To active a Snapchat lens, o to the Camera screen in Snapchat. Tap on a face! The lens options will appear below. Swipe left to select the lens you want to use and follow any action prompts that appear. You then tap the capture button to take a Snap, or press and hold on the capture button to record a video. When you’re finished playing, it’s easy to send Lenses to a friend or post one to your Story. On average, Snapchatters play with a Sponsored Lens for 20 seconds. As for cost, according to wallaroommedia, a general rule of thumb for Snapchat Sponsored Lenses costs is this: $450,000 per day Sunday through Thursday, $500,000 for Fridays and Saturdays, and $700,000 plus for holidays or special events (like the Super Bowl). If you’re looking for a cheaper route try a Snapchat Geofilter. According to Hootsuite, Snapchat has two types of custom Geofilters that businesses can take advantage of: On-Demand Geofilters, which start at $5, and the much pricier option of Sponsored Geofilters, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Geofilters are small art graphics that show up on your snap. These can be a great way to bring in business.

www.snapchat.com

www.snapchat.com

So, how can you use these to your company’s advantage? Let’s say you sell tacos, make a lens that turns users faces into just that!

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If your company is a bank or credit union, have money falling from the sky or have the users face turn into Benjamin Franklin. The ideas are endless. Get creative and have fun with it.

Snapchat is a great way to give your company a voice and start a conversation. It’s fun, simple, and impactful. According to Hootsuite, Snapchat had 5 million daily users in 2013, but that number has now increased to 100 million. Those numbers are only expected to grow. So get your business involved. Take people behind the scenes, use snap ads, create promotions, address relevant issues, and use those snapchat lenses to your advantage. By doing so you will increase your brand awareness, interact with viewers and potential clients in an entertaining way, and start a conversation. What are you waiting for? Snap away!

Plaid Swan: (563) 556-1633

Email: betsy@plaidswan.com

-Haley Corkery │ Public Relations Specialist

June 12, 2017

Five Tips to More Effective Writing

“It ain’t whatcha write, it’s the way atcha [that you] write it.”

–Jack Kerouac

Learning to write is like parenting; the job never ends. It is an ongoing process which requires frequent practice and selfless critiquing. Writers have written mountains about what a writer needs to do to build skills and create the best writing environment. James Altucher suggests that by having a large bowel movement daily, your body and mind will flow better. I don’t know if that is valid, but there are several helpful strategies which help to create effective business nonfiction (essays, reports, proposals, letters). I have taught and used the following five tips to create compelling and informative articles.

First – plan, then write.

Know who your audience is going to be. Such knowledge will change what information you choose to use and the language you choose to convey the message. Also, take time to research your topic. Doing some background reading will confirm what you believe to be true and may add a perspective you had not thought of before. Finally, don’t be afraid to create an outline of what you want to say. Writing outlines on the computer allows you to move ideas around and add supporting details. Sometimes they are almost as long as the paper or article I want to write so that I can do some early editing. Your informal outline can be in any format you like, but it makes the writing so much easier.

www.skilledmedia.com

Second – construct strong beginnings and simple endings.

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Your first sentence is the most important because it induces the reader to continue reading. The full introduction should capture interest and state your purpose. Your statement of purpose should be something that requires further explanation. Statements of fact don’t work because there is nothing more to explain (e.g. It rained yesterday. What else is there to say about that?). Some writers suggest that you should write the introduction last. I don’t usually do that because I like having that statement of purpose out there to remind me to stay on target. The ending or conclusion should reaffirm your purpose. It can highlight the most important points, and it can refer to something said in the introduction.

Third – state opinions simply and back them up.

Be self-confident when stating opinions. Don’t use phrases like “in my opinion” or “I believe.” Such statements belittle the power of your statements. Always back up opinions with sound arguments and researchable facts. It doesn’t hurt to review fallacies in reasoning so you don’t get caught in their trap. There are many sites on the internet that list such fallacies as hasty generalization or damning the source rather than the substance of an argument.

Fourth – keep it simple.

Be concise, not verbose. In other words, don’t use 20 words when you could use 10. Use simple, declarative sentences, and avoid long, complex sentences. While many say you should never use the passive voice, I think that “never” is too strong. It should, however, be used sparingly (e.g. the previous sentence is passive – we don’t need to know who the actor is). Active voice makes a more powerful statement, but sometimes knowing the “actor” in the passive is just not necessary. Lastly, choose your words carefully. Your vocabulary needs to be understood well by your target audience. Technical jargon has a limited audience. Using words that your audience needs to look up is annoying. However, improving your vocabulary is a “must” for anyone who does a lot of writing. A broad vocabulary makes for interesting reading. One way to improve your vocabulary is to be a voracious reader.

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Finally – revise.

Rewriting is the essence of writing well: it’s where the game is won or lost. That idea is hard to accept. We all have an emotional equity in our first draft; we can’t believe that it wasn’t born perfect. But the odds are close to 100 percent that it wasn’t.

–William Zinsser (On Writing Well, p. 83)

Despite best efforts, typos, spelling, and grammar errors pop up. Those are the easy ones to eliminate. Use a spell checker in your word processing program, or load an app from the internet that checks for errors as well as possible plagiarism. I use a program called “Grammarly” to review my work. Most of the time corrections are helpful, but don’t be afraid to reject suggestions. Put some time between edits; in fact, sleep on your work. In the morning, with fresh eyes, you can see what needs to be rearranged, deleted or reworded. Getting a second opinion is helpful. If someone is confused or unconvinced by what you say, you know you have some serious editing to do.

There are excellent books and articles available for people who want to improve their writing. The experts are prolific with their experienced advice. Being a successful writer means that you have become an avid reader, have educated yourself, and have repeatedly practiced writing. The five tips – plan, then write; start and end strong; state opinions simply with backup; keep it simple; and revise – will give you a boost to becoming a more effective writer.

www.giphy.com

May 10, 2017

5 Tips to Improve Your Memory

Wait! Was that PR plan due today? Do I have a client meeting? Did I turn the stove off? Is that fire I smell?… In an ever-changing and fast-paced world, it’s easy for us to forget.

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We have emails to check, papers to write, clients to meet, the list never stops. However, that doesn’t mean our memory has too. As a working professional, we want to stay as mentally sharp as possible, and now you can! There are many tips and tricks to improve your memory. Here are five simple tips to act as your how-to-manual guide!

1. One Sheep, Two Sheep: Sleep? What is that exactly? The sad truth is one-third of Americans do not get enough sleep. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 34.8 percent of American adults are getting less than seven hours of sleep a night. But 95% actually need between 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep every night to avoid sleep deprivation, obesity, high blood pressure, and mental stress. Sleep is critical when it comes to memory and learning. Research has shown that sleep is necessary for memory, with memory-enhancing activity taking place during the deepest stages of sleep. Tips to help you get the hours of sleep you need to help enhance your memory include: getting yourself on a regular sleeping schedule, avoid caffeine at night, and avoid all screens, (whether it be your phone, TV, or tablet) one hour before bed. Trust us, your brain will ‘lobe’ you for it!

www.giphy.com

2. Have a Good Laugh: “I hate Russian nesting dolls, they’re so full of themselves. I also hate when a sentence doesn’t end the way I thought it octopus.” Laughing yet? We’ve all heard laughter is the best medicine, and the same is true for the brain, memory, and the body. Listening to and reading jokes and puns can activate areas of the brain which are essential to learning and creativity. To laugh is to live. So, get to it. Laugh at yourelf, surround yourself with humorous people, watch a comedy. Your brain and body will thank you for it.

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3. Put Down That Black Pen: Research tells us that using colored pens creates visual stimulation which triggers memory. So put down that black pen and swap it for a red or blue one. According to Science Daily, red pens are most effective at enhancing our attention to detail, while blue pens are the best at boosting our creative abilities. Blue and red pens are also linked to cognitive performance. One experiment studied a group of male and female students in the 9th grade. The study found participants had better recall with red text than blue, and greater recall with blue than with black (33% vs. 27%). Long story short, put the black pens down. Red and blue are so in this season.

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www.giphy.com

www.blog.aturessunshine.com

4. Let’s Get Physical: According to research published in the journal Neurology, physical activity can slow brain aging by as much as 10 years! Exercise helps your brain stay sharp. It increases the oxygen flow and reduces the risk of memory loss, diabetes, and heart disease. Research also shows that exercising four hours after learning something new can help you recall what you’ve just learned. Ever feel sluggish when you wake up? Once again, exercise has you covered. Try working out in the morning. It clears out the fog and peaks you for learning throughout the day.

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5. Dear Broccoli, We Need to Talk: Your brain is a well-oiled powerful machine, so feed it the fuel it deserves. The Mediterranean Diet, also known as the MIND Diet, has been attributed to boosting memory. Research has shown people who follow this diet have the lowest rates of Alzheimer’s disease. According to a MIND Diet study, over 1,000 seniors were tracked for 8 years. When the participants thoroughly followed the MIND diet, they reduced their risk for Alzheimer’s by 53%. It is a low carb diet that focuses on avoiding sugar and trans fats. Interesting enough, one of these influential mind foods is broccoli. Eating broccoli not only makes your brain more powerful, but it also sharpens your thinking. Broccoli, we may have had a bad relationship in the past, but we’re ready to give this another try. What do you say?

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-Haley Corkery │ Public Relations Specialist

Sources:

36 Proven Ways to Improve Your Memory

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/memory/how-to-improve-your-memory.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/americans-arent-getting-enough-sleep_us_56c61306e4b0b40245c9687b
http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2016/07/08/how-exercise-improves-memory.aspx
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090205142143.htm
http://www.neurology.org/content/86/20/1897

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