11 simple ways to improve your memory

8/13/2019 11 Simple Ways to Improve Your Memory

1/4

11 Simple Ways to Improve Your MemoryDiscussion in 'Psychiatry'started by Egyptian Doctor, riday at !"#! PM$

1. CONCENTRATE FOR EIGHT SECONDS

These days were all about things being faster. Thats why this advice isinvaluable: When you really need to remember something, concentrate on it for

at least eight seconds. That can seem like a long time when you're running

around trying to get a million things done, but it is worth it. Studies have shown

that eight seconds is the minimum amount of time it takes for a piece of

information to go from your shortterm memory to your longterm memory.

2. DONT WALK THROUGH A DOORWAY

Weve all walked into a room and suddenly reali!ed we cant remember why weneeded to be there in the first place. "ont worry, youre not getting more

forgetful#chances are it was the act of walking through a doorway that made you

go completely blank. $esearchers found that participants in both virtual and real

world studies were far more likely to forget what ob%ect they had %ust placed in a

container if they were asked right after walking through a doorway than if they

carried the ob%ect the same distance in a single room. Scientists have yet to figure

out why, but something about entering a new place seems to restart our memory.

3. MAKE A FIST

&f youre having trouble remembering things at work, get a stress ball. The act of

clenching your fist, if done correctly, can significantly improve your ability to

recall information. Studies show that if you are righthanded, you should make a

fist with your right hand before you try to memori!e a piece of information. Then

when you need to remember it, clench your left hand the process is reversed for

lefties.( )e sure to hold that position for a little while though* the study that

discovered this had the participants s+uee!ing for a good - seconds before

letting go.

4. EXERCISE

t this point we should %ust accept it that science considers e/ercise the cure for

absolutely any problem, and memory is no different. The physical act increases

alertness and o/ygen supply to the brain, and may even increase cell growth in
http://forum.facmedicine.com/forums/psychiatry.42/http://forum.facmedicine.com/forums/psychiatry.42/http://forum.facmedicine.com/forums/psychiatry.42/http://forum.facmedicine.com/members/egyptian-doctor.4/http://forum.facmedicine.com/threads/11-simple-ways-to-improve-your-memory.16811/http://forum.facmedicine.com/members/egyptian-doctor.4/http://forum.facmedicine.com/threads/11-simple-ways-to-improve-your-memory.16811/http://forum.facmedicine.com/forums/psychiatry.42/


2/4

the parts of your brain responsible for memory. 0ne study found that right after

light e/ercise, women were able to recall things better than they could before

working up a sweat. nd while a +uick %og can help you out right now, it is even

more effective over the long term. different study found that women who kept

fit over si/ months significantly improved both their verbal and spatial memory.

5. SLEEP

t some point in high school or college, almost everyone has tried to pull an all

nighter before a big test or so pop culture would have us believe(. )ut even if you

left your cramming until almost the last minute, it is more beneficial to get a good

nights sleep than to study until dawn. Studies have found that the processes your

brain goes through while you're asleep actually help you remember information

better the ne/t day. 1our brain is bombarded with stimuli when youre awake,and it uses the time you are asleep to process everything. That's when it gets rid

of unnecessary information and doubles down on remembering important things,

like all that stuff in your biology te/tbook. Sleep is when it consolidates that

information into a longterm memory. &f you stay awake, your brain cant go

through this process.

6. USE CRAZY FONTS

Were all font snobs to some e/tent. When it comes to books, newspapers, or theinternet, we want everything to be clear and easy to read. )ut researchers have

discovered that one of the best ways to remember something youve read is to

read it in a weird font. The si!e and boldness makes no difference, although the

harder it is to read, the better. When something is unfamiliar and difficult to

read, you are forced to concentrate on it more, allowing you to remember it

easier.

2arge, bold fonts may actually hurt your ability to remember, as studies found

that when asked to memori!e a list of words, people predicted they would recallbold words easier than nonbold words, and therefore studied them less, leading

to the opposite result.

. CHEW GUM

&f you need to remember a piece of information for around 34 minutes, trying


3/4

chewing gum. Studies have found that people do better on both visual and audio

memory tasks if they are chewing gum while they do them. 5ust the act of

chewing seems to keep people more focused and improve concentration.

)ut if you have a pop +ui! sprung on you, leave the 5uicy 6ruit in your pocket.7eople who didnt chew gum did better on very short memory tasks, while

masticating helped people stay alert during longer ones.

!. WRITE THINGS OUT

These days its far more common to type up almost all the writing you need to do

on your phone or computer. Shopping lists are saved on your tablet, phone

numbers and email addresses under your contacts#its hardly necessary to

remember anything anymore. That is, until you forget your phone and reali!e youdont remember if you need to pick up bread and eggs. &n the future, if you want

to recall something, write it out in longhand. &t doesnt matter if you never

actually read back what you wrote: Studies have shown that %ust the act of writing

something out allows you to recall it in a way that touching a keyboard does not.

". KNOW WHEN TO TURN THE MUSIC ON#AND OFF

8any people like a bit of music playing while they work or study. nd listening to

music before you start reading something you need to remember does indeedgive you better recall. )ut once you start work, take out those ear buds.

$esearchers have found that listening to almost any noise, including music, while

studying is a distraction and you will recall less of what you read in the future. &t

doesnt matter if you love the music or hate it* it has the same distracting effect as

someone yelling random numbers at you. &t might seem strange at first studying

in complete silence, but science says it pays off in the long run.

1$. %ISUALIZE

0ne of the weirdest and most effective ways to remember something is to

associate it with a visual image. This can be taken to an e/treme, where you can

recall a huge number of pieces of information %ust by building up a detailed visual

image in your brain. 2ets say you wanted to remember that 5.9. $owling wrote

the arry 7otter books. $owling sounds like bowling, so visuali!e a bowling alley.

;ow add to this image a hairy potter. This hirsute man, his hands covered with


4/4

clay, gets up to roll the ball down the lane. 6rom there you could add other bits of

information, for e/ample the names of the different arry 7otter books.

percent more of what was on the tape than people who %ust satstill and listened.

11 simple ways to improve your memory

Documents