It is a rather common assumption that our memory fades and becomes less reliable with age, and whilst that may be true to an extent there are still many other factors which can determine how good our memory is, and how much we can rely on it.

As people, just like we all excel at different tasks and have different strengths and weaknesses, there will always be some of us who have a seemingly endless capacity for remembering every minute detail of every occurrence in our lives. On the other hand, others of us may not be so lucky as to be able to remember so much as what we had for dinner the previous night.

If you consider yourself to fit into the latter category, do not despair - hope is not lost. Most of us are still gifted with a perfectly adequate (if not exceptional) memory - it is what makes us intelligent human beings after all. In many cases we simply lack the know-how about how to keep our memory in tip-top shape.

Here are five simple and effective tips which when implemented can help you better condition your memory and increase your memory capacity over time.

1. Get plenty of exercise

It is no secret that exercise is good for us, but it is a mistake to assume that it is only our muscles that need a workout. In order to perform at peak performance, our brain needs one too. Don't make a further mistake of assuming that intellectual pursuits are enough on their own to keep our brains functioning, neither. Nothing beats a good old fashioned physical workout. Eating healthily and getting plenty of good exercise will increase our overall blood-flow, and that includes the blood-flow to our brain. Keep it fed and happy and it will thank you by functioning how you have always wanted it to.

2. Relaxation

You might be wondering why you are now being told to relax after you have just been advised to exercise. Actually, relaxation and exercise go hand-in-hand. Exercise is a great stress reliever. Not only does it normally wear us out and force us to sit down and chill out, but it releases endorphins - also known as happy chemicals. This is a wonderfully effective formulation for stress-relief and most of us tend to function better in chilled out, stress-free situations. Remember the last time your mind went blank when you were put into a stressful situation where you were expected to remember something, and you will know this makes sense.

3. Patience is a virtue

There will always be times in our lives when we experience information overload. Sometimes we are bombarded with too much from too many angles, in too short a time-frame. No matter how much we would like to (or think we can), we simply cannot remember everything, all of the time - particularly when we are under extreme stress. Accepting this fact is much more effective than beating ourselves up over it. It takes time to increase your memory and attempting to simply stuff in as much information as possible in the hope it will stick is likely going to have a much more detrimental effect than a desirable one. Be patient with yourself, and expand your memory over time. Think of it like a reverse diet; someone who is skinny is likely to have a smaller stomach than someone who is larger, and as such will not be able to eat as much food all at once. Simply going overboard and stuffing in as much food as possible will do nothing more than make you sick. Increase the volume over a longer period of time, and before you know it you are on your way to the world eating championships.

4. Stay alert

With many of us following numerous routines in our daily lifestyles, it is easy to become complacent at times. Complacency in many cases breeds the tendency to approach things with a very passively-engaged mind. What this means is that when we are going about our every day lives we are not as alert to new things as we would be in a situation which was new to us. In new situations, our natural defense shields go up, which gives us that slightly "on edge" feeling. In such cases, the things going on around us are likely to engage us a whole lot more than they normally would. Try your best to make small intentional changes to your routines on a day-to-day basis, as this will help your mind stay active and prevent you from falling into the proverbial pit of what could probably be referred to as "passive-person disorder".

5. Analyze the things that otherwise would not interest you

It's obvious that we like to spend more time thinking about the things that interest us than the things that don't. The things that do not interest us simply do not bring us enjoyment. However, we cannot turn a blind eye to all that is going on in the world that simply is not in line with our immediate hobbies and interests - at least, not if we are expecting to have a good memory. Remembering new details which relate to our own interests is easy; remembering new details about those things which are usually insignificant to us is not. Make some time to analyze the details of otherwise insignificant situations and activities in your life, and the more you thought you put into them, the more you will realize you enjoy them, get better at them, and the more your memory will improve. Sometimes the sad fact is that we have a tendency to pass ourselves off as having a bad memory when in fact it was merely ignorance which caused us to not absorb the information properly to begin with.

If you take the time to remember, consider and put these tips into practise, you will witness for yourself - and likely be impressed by - just how much your memory capacity expands over a relatively short period of time.