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6 Extremely Effective Ways to Improve Your Memory
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How Memories are Formed
- Create a memory. Our brain sends signals in a particular pattern associated with the event we're experiencing and creates connections between our neurons, called synapses.
- Consolidate that memory. It's the process of committing something to long-term memory so we can recall it later. Much of this process happens while we're sleeping as our brains recreate that same pattern of brain activity and strengthen the synapses created earlier.
- Recall. Recalling a memory is easier if it has been strengthened over time.
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Effective Ways to Improve Your Memory
- Meditate to improve working memory. Take a pause to empty your mind and to reduce stress.
- Although still debatable, drink coffee to help improve memory consolidation.
- Eat berries for better long-term memory. Berries contain flavanoids, which appear to strengthen connections in the brain.
- Exercise not only to improve memory recall, but also to enhance cognitive abilities.
- Chew gum to make stronger memories. It is proven that it increases activity in the hippocampus. It also increases heart rate which causes more blood to flow in the brain.
- Sleep more to consolidate and easily remember memories.
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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Key Ideas
Say it out loud
Learning and memory benefit from active involvement. When you add speaking to it, the content becomes more defined in long-term memory and more memorable.
Take notes by hand
Most of us can type very fast, but research shows writing your notes by hand will allow you to learn more.
Taking notes by hand enhances both comprehension and retention.
Chunk your study sessions
Studying over a period of time is more effective than waiting until the last minute.
Distributed practice works because each time you try to remember something, the memory becomes harder to forget.
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Memorizing new material
When we try to memorize new information, we assume that the more work we put in, the better we will do.
But, our memory for new information is the most fragile just after it has first been en...
Take some downtime
Aiming for minimal interference - to do literally nothing - is the best way to consolidate the facts and remember it better.
Research found that short periods of rest increased the ability to recall information up to 30 % in healthy individuals. For people with neurological injury, such as a stroke, the ability to recall after some rest, places them almost within the range of healthy people.
We remember better after rest
When memories are initially encoded, they pass through a period of consolidation that cements them in long-term storage.
It was once thought to happen mostly during sleep; studies have found that it is not limited to sleep, because it happens during periods of wakeful rest, too.
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Early memories are not reliable
Scientists believe that it is impossible to recall the first few years of life. Many of the necessary brain structures for memory have not yet matured at the time. It means that it is physiological...
Your memory depends on context
If we learn facts while we are doing something, we will be able to recall them better, when we are doing that same thing again.
You can use this information to your advantage: for instance, try chewing a particular gum while studying.
Your mental timeline is skewed
Research has shown that we often underestimate the amount of time that has passed from long ago, and overestimate the amount of time that has passed since more recent events.