Every relationship that we have is built on memory, and the ability to remember. You do not have to suffer from memory loss. Keep reading for ideas on how to improve your memory and preserve your brain function.
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.
Try taking a brain boosting vitamin. Certain nutrients have been shown to affect our memory and brain function overall. Ginko Biloba and others are quite often considered to be the best at it. Take a vitamin that is geared towards memory retention or look for ways to incorporate foods rich in these nutrients into your diet.
One of the best ways to store new information in memory is to relate it to something else that you are already familiar with. Creating a logical link between the new information and something else that you already know will increase your chances of being able to successfully recall that information later. The link you create functions as a trigger to recall the new information.
If you need to retain a great deal of information, you may find it useful to regularly switch up your study locations. The reason for this is to dissociate the information with a specific location, and make it a more basic part of you. In other words, learning the material in different places encourages it to become a part of your long-term memory.
Increase the dark leafy greens in your diet like spinach to help boost your memory power. They contain important B vitamins and folic acid, which have a huge job in taking care of the neurons in your brain. They also help keep oxygen flowing through your body, which is integral to healthy brain activity.
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.
Try visualizing the ideas you need to remember. Look for pictures and charts related to the information you wish to remember; these visual cues will be memorized more easily than words. You might also want to consider creating your own graphs and charts.
Getting more of your senses involved will greatly aid you in remembering! Studies suggest speaking and hearing something will reinforce your memory of it so try reading things out loud to yourself if it is important for you to remember or as a general exercise for your memory. You will see the information, say it and hear it thereby tripling your sensory exposure to it!
Aid your memory by organizing facts into topic sets. Create outlines of study materials that are based on similar topics rather than when you originally learned that fact. Your brain remembers things better if they go together. By grouping similar concepts and topics together, you increase your chances of remembering those items later.
When trying to commit a long list of information to memory, it is usually better to arrange the information in chunks or smaller units and categories to help make the information easier to remember. As an example, it is easier to remember a telephone number as three units of three, three, and four numbers rather than a long string of ten numbers. The same tactics work when remembering social security numbers and computer passwords.
Keep a positive attitude. If you don’t want to or think you can’t remember something, you probably won’t. Constantly thinking about how bad your memory is can actually make the situation worse. Instead, focus on the good parts of memory and learning, and you’ll quickly see an improvement in your skills.
Use a mnemonic device to help yourself remember things. Create a picture in your head in relation to what you anticipate needing to remember. You can work it into an unusual sentence or make it into a fun acronym. Mnemonic devices are much easier for the brain to remember than straight facts.
Try visual association to help with memory issues. The technique basically entails putting a picture with each phrase you want to memorize, making remembering that phrase easier. Studies have shown that combining words and pictures can be an effective way to remember things. Try it next time you’re studying for an exam.
Recognize that your memories might be biased. How you perceive the world will always be from your point of view. Because of that, your memories of things will always be ever so slightly biased in your favor. It is important to recognize and compensate for this. To recall an event correctly, try recalling it from an objective point of view.
Find someone to work with. If you know someone who needs to remember the same information, take turn explaining it to each other. When you hear someone explain it to you, you will be able to make sure you understood the same thing. When you explain something to someone else, you are rephrasing the content.
To aviod age-related memory loss, you should keep your mind active. A fun, easy way to do this is the daily crossword puzzle in the newspaper. To benefit the most, try to complete puzzles which are challenging for you. If the clues are too easy, you will not exercise your brain as much.
Although people’s memories start to fade with age, there are various steps that people can take to literally teach their brains new ways of remembering. To aid this process, it is important to get enough sleep, get regular exercise, eat a healthy diet and keep your brain stimulated. This can be done with various activities such as games, crosswords and reading. And don’t forget to enjoy life, laugh a lot and keep stress to a minimum!
The very idea that you could forget something very important like your anniversary or birthday seems funny until it happens to you. These minor instances may be the beginning of your memory fading away. Your memories are too valuable not to give these effective tips a try.