You may have noticed that it has become increasingly hard to remember the words to songs that you knew by heart, sayings that you would quote without even thinking of it or random facts that were drilled into your head by your high school history teacher. Truth is, your memory may not be as great as it used to be. This article is designed to help you change that.
Avoid cramming all your material into one short study session. Studies show that information is better retained, if you take some time to learn it. You can do this by scheduling short study sessions in the days and weeks, prior to an exam. Cramming everything into one sitting will only prove to be counter productive.
Brain-challenging games can be an enjoyable way to get your memory in high gear. It is actually not much different than the exercises you use to keep your body in tip-top shape. With regular brain exercises and fun stimulation, you can enjoy greater mental elasticity and improved memory, along with many other helpful benefits. Some of the best games for boosting memory include crossword puzzles, word searches and brain teasers.
To improve your memory, try to focus your attention on something by removing anything that can distract you from the task at hand. When you spend time to focus, the item of focus moves from short-term memory to long-term memory. Distraction adversely affects focus, and that results in poor memory.
One method you can use to help you commit things to memory is to use mnemonic devices. A mnemonic device is a simple technique to aid recall of information you are trying to remember. You might develop a rhyme, a joke or a joke to help you remember a piece of information. An example of a common mnemonic is “1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue”. You can utilize this same type of rhyming scheme to help you remember a specific date or term.
If you have a hard time remembering to do important things, you may want to leave yourself a voice message. Looking at your phone and seeing that you have a message will help to remind you that you have something important thing to do. Text messaging is another convenient reminder technique.
Keep lists of everything. Keep a shopping list at all times. Hang it on your refrigerator. Every time you think of something you need, add it to the list. This will help make sure you don’t forget anything. Keep lists for other things as well, such as things that need done around your house.
If you are trying to remember a large list of items, try placing them in categories. For instance, if you are headed to the grocery store and have a number of items that you want to get while are there, mentally group them into categories such as meat, dairy, produce and grains. Breaking down big lists into smaller subcategories makes them far easier to remember.
Being the proverbial social butterfly can actually help to strengthen your memory. This helps keep you in a good mood, and aware of your surroundings. If you’re depressed or lonely, your mind isn’t being stimulated and your brain cells aren’t getting a work out. Your mind stays strong when you are involved in stimulating conversations.
To improve your memory you need to have fun and laugh a lot. Your memory needs healthy fun besides training. Struggling for 6 hours with the latest Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle might seem to enhance memory functions, but in most cases socializing with friends, going to the movies or enjoying a play at the local theatre helps much more.
To better commit names to memory, repeat a person’s name after an introduction, and try to come up with something about the person that might help you remember his or her name. If you meet a Bob who mentions that he enjoys fishing, you might associate his name with a bobber like those used on a fishing line, for instance.
Get books on memory from a library to learn about this complex mechanism. Many psychiatrist have written books on bettering mind function and memory, so these could help you enhance your own ability to remember.
Write important appointments or events on a calendar, and make sure that you look at the calender every day. If you are a cell phone owner, most cell phones have a daily reminder or calendar in which you can program upcoming events.
Just because your memory isn’t what it once was doesn’t mean that it can’t be that again. Hopefully using this article, you can begin to take back the memory skills you once had and make even more of the skills you have now. Working with your memory is like working with any other part of your mind. Stick with it and you will soon see results.
