Does our memory really improve by eating almonds and nuts? Or is it some other things that can help? We have often heard people saying that doing yoga and exercise improves your memory – but is it only the things that help us improve our memory? Let’s see what are the correct ways the psychologists have suggested for the improvement of memory and let’s check how many are new to us!
How good is your memory? Most of us have wished that we could improve our ability to retain facts and information. Fortunately, everyone can, with little work. Here are some tips;
Really think about what you want to remember. If you wish to enter into long-term memory, it is important to think about it. Ask questions about it, consider its meaning, and examine its relationship to the information you already know. In other words, engage in elaborate or “deep processing”. Doing so will help make the new information part of your existing knowledge frameworks and will increase your chances of remembering it later.
Pay careful attention to what you want to remember. Unless you consciously notice information you want to remember, it stands little chance of really getting “in”- into long-term memory. So, be sure to direct your full attention to the information you want to remember. True, this does involve a bit of work. But in long run, it will save you time and effort.
Minimize interference. Interference is a major cause of forgetting; and, in general, the more likely they are to produce interference. In practical terms, this means that you should arrange your studying so that you don’t study similar subjects one right after the other. Instead, work on the subjects that are unrelated; the result may be less interference between them- and potentially, better grades.
Engage in distribution learning. Don’t try to cram all information you want into memory into long-term storage at once. Rather, if at all possible, space your studying over several days. This is especially important if you want to retain the information for a long period of time rather than just until the next event!
Use visual imagery and other mnemonics. You’ve probably heard the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Where memory is considered is sometimes true; it is often easier to remember information associated with vivid mental images. You can put this principle to use by adopting any one of several different mnemonics- tactics for improving memory. One of several different methods is the method of loci, which involves linking points you want to remember with visual images arranged in some familiar order.
For instance, suppose you want to remember a speech you will soon make. You can imagine walking through some familiar place, say your own home. Then form a series of images in which each item you wish to remember is placed in a specific location. Perhaps the first point is “ the greenhouse effect is real.” You might imagine a large, steamy greenhouse right outside your front door. You’d form images in different locations, for the other points you want to make. Then, by taking an imaginary walk through your house, you can “see” each of these images and so remember the points in your speech.
Give yourself extra retrieval cues. Remember the concept of state-dependent retrieval? As I noted previously, you can use this principle to provide yourself with extra retrieval cues and so help to enhance your memory.
Develop your own short hand’s codes. When I learned the name of nine planets, I did so by the first letter of each word in a phrase that stands for an item to be remembered. In this case, the phase was ‘ my very energetic mom just served us….’ This can be a very useful technique if you need to remember lists of items.
These were the few techniques that often helped me in my childhood and are even useful now. Sharp memory is very important in every sphere of life if you are a student or in the office or working as a housemaker, remembering things is the most important thing. Hope that this article would help you in improving your memory.
