Keep Your Brain Functioning If your brain gets too much or too little of what it needs, vital processes are disrupted. When things are out of sync in your brain, it can play havoc with your thoughts and emotions. Depriving your brain of sleep, for example, will impair your ability to concentrate and make decisions. Five Steps to Better Memory Aging can make it harder to remember some things. But by focusing on your potential and continuing to exercise your mind, you may be able to boost your memory power. Here are some strategies. Memory Boosters Most experts agree that there is no solid proof that memory-enhancing supplements work. These products may not even contain much of their "active herbal ingredients."