Whip Your Memory Into Shape: Mind Strengthening Tricks

Whip Your Memory Into Shape: Mind Strengthening Tricks

Unfortunately, accessing your memory is not as simple as just pushing a couple of keys. Some of the information we once knew is now forgotten. Read on to find out how to keep as many memories intact as you can by using a few simple techniques. Writing items down is always a good way to assist you in remembering. Writing things down helps strengthen your memory of the event, by increasing blood flow to parts of your brain where memories are stored. If you write detailed lists or keep a diary, you can increase your short-term memory abilities. One of the most popular ways to commit information to your long-term memory is to utilize one of many different mnemonic devices. Mnemonics can be used in a similar way to how writers use shorthand. By linking a bit of information to a word, phrase, or item, you will have a more concrete way to retrieve that memory. A good way to work to retain new information that you're learning is to actually study it in multiple locations. If you're stuck in the same location learning material, then you will associate material with only specific location. Simply put, learning things in different locations makes it much easier for your brain to convert information into long-term memories. You want to study all the information you're trying to learn in different areas, at different times, as much as you can. If you're stuck in the same location learning material, then you will associate material with only specific location. By moving around, however, you can easily store items in long-term memory by disassociating them from locations. Paying attention will help your memory. While you may think you are paying attention, your mind may be wandering and not absorbing information efficiently. When someone is communicating important information, make a concerted effort to give them the full force of your attention. Keep your goals and topic in mind and take notes if you have to.

Sticky Notes

If remembering obligations or tasks is hard for you, jog your memory with sticky notes. Make sure you place them in places you will look at frequently, for example next to your computer. These notes will make sure that you don't forget things that are important. Sticky notes and lists are very popular for those people that have difficulty remembering important things. Place them where you will notice then, for instance on your computer. Sticky notes are great tools to help you remember things. Stay socially active to keep your memory healthy. You will be happier and more alert if you do this. When you spend a lot of time alone, or are depressed, the brain stagnates and doesn't form connections, which are vital to learning and memory. Engaging in spirited social outings with your friends and family can help you to maintain an acute mind. Just as you need to keep your muscles fit through exercise, so do you have to keep your mind sharp through constant use. Studies show that playing puzzles will fight off senility. You can add a little fun to your memory games by associating something you're trying to remember with a song, saying or mental picture. Humorous phrases, songs, and the like have a way of staying in your mind even when you are trying to forget them! Take advantage of that fact. Anything that exercises memory, such as crossword puzzles or games, can strengthen your ability to remember. There are a number of enjoyable memory games to help you retain information and to keep your memory working well. Memory games have the added benefit of helping to steady your concentration, and lengthen your attention span. There are a lot of games you can find and play online. Try to avoid cramming information. Set up a series of organized study sessions, for the best results. Do not try to educate yourself on a subject all at once. Your mind can only absorb so much at a time, and you will simply lose most of the information you have tried to learn. You can promote mental acuity and enhanced memory by setting aside regular study sessions. Make sure you get enough good sleep. Both long-term and short-term memory can be affected by lack of sleep. If your mind is fatigued, you may become forgetful. Make every attempt to get in additional hours of sleep nightly if you want to improve memory. Try not to doubt yourself. It is assumed that your memory gets worse as you age. That's not always the case. You can damage your memory if you expect too much from it and stress yourself out. People calling out your memory, which is common, can make you start to question yourself. Simply extending the belief that you still have a strong memory can short-circuit this phenomenon. Fish oil should definitely be added to your diet. If you find your memory is not what it used to be, you may not be getting enough Omega-3 fatty acids in your diet. You can simply add it to your dietary intake in pill form, if fish consumption isn't going to become your thing. Repeat items that you are trying to remember aloud. As soon as you learn something like a name, repeat it out loud. Repeating the information aloud reinforces the information you just learned, making it easier to remember later. You can say it loudly, when you are alone. If you don't really care what people think, you can still repeat it in front of others. When faced with a major study session, you can help retention of information by studying in a new location. Changing surroundings reinvigorates the mind, and causes long-term memory to be more efficacious. Your brain wakes up when it detects any change to your routines, and when the brain is awake, it can take in more information. Meditation improves virtually all functions of the brain, memory included, while also benefiting your body. Allow yourself to spend a few moments breathing deeply and entering into a relaxed state in order to meditate. You will do your mind a world of good by practicing for about thirty minutes a day. Attempting to remember an idea or statement verbatim is extremely difficult for even the sharpest minds. Instead, it is much easier to restate the idea in a different way with your own words. Putting it into your own words takes understanding, and information that is understood is remembered more easily. Listening to classical music can increase your ability to remember information. Relaxing both your brain and your physical body through music that is soothing could benefit your memory in a big way. Lean back in a comfortable chair, in a room with low lit lights, to get the most out of this type of music. Utilize planners and calendars. Get yourself a day-planner and use it. Have a schedule written down, and make certain to look at it every now and then. Putting things down on paper, and then reading it helps the mind. You brain is taxed enough during the day, and writing things down often has the effect of reinforcing them in your mind. One way to get the most out of studying is to free yourself from distractions. Pick a quiet area for study. Humans store items to be remembered in the long-term memory part of the brain. Taking knowledge from your short term memory and moving it to your long term memory can be a very daunting challenge, and you need to make sure to aim all your focus on the subject you wish to learn.

Term Memory

Breaking down your studying into smaller sessions can help improve your memory. This gives you time to think about the material, and retain what you've learned. Studying in intervals, instead of attempting to cram everything in at once, is a proven method of knowledge retention. Procrastination often leads to cramming, so be sure to set a study schedule for yourself. Associate things you want to learn with things you already know in order to facilitate memory. Relating new information in short-term memory with other information already stored in your long-term memory helps to move the new information into that long term area of the mind. Paying true attention can go a long way when you try and recall things. When you are first introduced to someone, picture the spelling of their name in your head, or ask about the spelling. For example, check with them whether they spell Jodie with an "ie" or a "y". This can help lock their name into your memory. Address her by name whenever you ask her a question to help commit it to memory. Classical music has been known to help with memory improvement. Soft and soothing music helps to relax the mind and body, and it may help to improve memory. Try playing music while you relax in a bath, with lit candles to set the mood. Exercise is good for your memory, not just your body. You will find remembering and processing information much easier if your body is healthy. Exercise also gives more oxygen circulating to the brain, and thus reduces your risk of many common memory loss disorders. Exercising regularly allows chemicals in your brain to become active and protect brain cells. Improving your memory is not an impossible goal, and you do not have to accept a faulty memory as a sign of age. Using what you've read here is a great first step to better recall! Here is a helpful trick to making sure that new thoughts and ideas are retained. Add the new information to your information network by relating it to previously-learned information. If you create a link between this new information to something that is known already, it becomes much easier to recall the new material.