TRICKS TO TRIP YOUR MEMORY

For those with minor memory problems, most often associated with aging, Dr. Arnold Starr, director of the Memory Disorders Clinic at UC Irvine, outlines a set of tricks that usually help:

* Train yourself to pay attention to certain details that previously required little thought, such as street names, people’s names and directions.

* Get in the habit of making word associations. For example, to remember the street name Equestrian Lane, think of a horse.

* Limit the number of things that require attention. If

you’re forgetting things, cut down on your activities--you may be overextending yourself.

* Simplify your life in other ways as well. Do chores on the same day every week so that they fall into a sequence and don’t complicate your schedule.

* To prevent losing keys, get a clapper device (it activates an alarm on the keys when clapped) or color code the keys and put them all in one place. Use giant key rings that are not easily misplaced.

* Keep an appointment book, and write everything down.