Support Your Working Memory With This Brain-Healthy Supplement*

April 27, 2022 — 10:28 AM

Working memory is the amount of information we can mentally hold at any given time—essentially, it's the mental notepad your brain scribbles on when it needs to remember or process something.

Picture this: It's your lunch break and you're standing in line at the salad place down the street from your office. You decide to build your own salad bowl, but there are so many ingredients to choose from—do you want chickpeas or chicken? Kale or spring greens? Beets and sweet potato, or cucumber and tomato? 

Perhaps you're visualizing each veggie, nut, and protein being tossed into a bowl until it looks delicious in your mind, or maybe you're repeating ingredients in your head until they sound like a satisfying combo. Either way, your working memory is helping you hold that growing list of ingredients as you're taking in the menu so you can mentally assemble the perfect salad. 

After you take in sensory information (in this case, that big list of yummy salad ingredients), working memory helps you temporarily hold that information and decide what to do with it (i.e., put it in long-term memory or let it go once it's no longer needed). While our long-term memory storage space is infinite (totally cool, right?), researchers estimate our brains can remember approximately five to nine things at once (though it varies from person to person).

Some people struggle with tasks that require working memory more than others and may find themselves in bouts of transient forgetfulness. If you regularly misplace items you need, you know exactly what I mean. (I once spent 20 minutes looking for my car keys and found them in my freezer, so trust me when I say I've been there.) And even people with strong working memories can encounter working memory problems when they're stressed or exhausted.

So, what are we to do? Is there a way to support our working memory in order to plan, process, and organize more effectively, even if we're admittedly a bit more scatterbrained than others?

It turns out there's a supplement that can help us keep our keys out of the kitchen (literally and metaphorically). Our brains need omega-3 fatty acids to function optimally, and DHA is the perfect nutrient for the job.* 

A 2013 randomized controlled trial showed that DHA improves memory and the reaction time of memory in healthy, young adults.* When it came to working memory, men saw greater improvement than women, and women, alternatively, were found more likely to experience improved episodic memory (i.e., the ability to recall past events).*

Many other studies have found cognitive function benefits for adults of all ages. DHA intake and supplementation are tied to significant improvements in working and semantic memory (i.e., our general understanding/knowledge of the world), while episodic memory is helped by EPA and DHA (particularly when 1 gram or more of these fats are consumed daily).*

Whether you're 27 or 77, DHA is crucial for optimizing neurocognitive function and overall brain health through all stages of life—and a high-quality fish oil supplement is perfectly positioned to help you reach your daily marine omega-3 goals (you know, that 1-gram-plus of EPA and DHA)!* 

Adding omega-3s to your diet by upping your weekly fatty fish intake to two or more servings a week (per the American Health Association's recommendations) and/or introducing a potent omega-3 supplement can not only ensure healthy omega-3 levels in the body but help improve memory and overall cognitive function.*

mindbodygreen's omega-3 potency+ is a sustainable, high-quality fish oil supplement that delivers 1.5 grams of EPA plus DHA daily. (That's the omega-3 equivalent of eating one serving of fish every day!)† Consider omega-3 potency+ to reach sufficient omega-3 status and reap all the brainy benefits.*