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Unfortunately there is no instant method of improving memory function - it’s something that takes practice over time. As with learning any new skill you will need to find the best techniques for you and then integrate those techniques into your daily life.
We all have different memory strengths and weaknesses which are linked to our preferred learning styles. The memory retrieval process relies on neural connections - the pathways that link relevant memories together to give them all more meaning. When memories are gathered in different ways and the pathways are not reinforced it can make memory retrieval almost impossible - and that’s when we forget!!
Any Google search will provide you with numerous tips for improving memory. Some of these tips will offer you pills and potions; others will provide you with online games and exercises designed to boost your capacity to remember.
When looking to see which memory improving tip may help you, it’s important to understand how memories are formed, stored and retrieved in order that you might be better able to judge whether that particular tip is going to be helpful to you - or not.
The easiest things to remember are the things in which we are interested and about which we already have some knowledge. The mind knows how to deal with things it already knows about - It will have pathways to follow and storage places for that ‘type’ of knowledge.
Each time you learn something new about that particular subject your memory is strengthened and reinforced and it is for this reason that studying is best done in short, regular bursts. This allows the memory mechanism to settle and then re-energise.
When learning something new your mind will not know what to do with new information. Initially it will want to leave it in the short term memory to see if you use it again. If you don’t, that memory will be wiped after a short while (It’s not called short term memory for nothing!) However, if that memory is retrieved it will be moved to the longer term memory banks and new memory paths will be formed. This is why repetition of anything new to us is so important.
Memory pathways, as with any other type of pathway, remain clear and passable only with regular use. This is why, if we do not use a particular memory for a while, it is possible for the pathway to become ‘choked’ preventing easy retrieval of the data we need. You will be familiar with the phrase ‘it’ll come back to me’, well that is precisely what happens when we reapply ourselves to a subject we have neglected for a while, our initial efforts are spent in reopening those neural pathways to retrieve the treasure trove of knowledge and data we stored there some time ago.
Making memories vivid is one of the best way to reinforce the memory mechanism. Now I’m not suggesting that you actively seek out extreme experiences in order to boost your memory! But, there is a lot you can do to make memories stick.
Always try to use more than one sense when remembering something new. Get a very vivid visual image - if you have to make it a silly or outrageous image, it doesn’t matter. This is your personal memory, no-one else can see it. Attach a sound to the memory. Attach a feeling to the memory and you can even try to attach a smell to the memory. All of these steps go a long way to really making that memory stick.
Take an organized approach when trying to remember things. Don’t be scattered about the process of remembering. Give yourself a chance of getting things filed in the right place. Often writing things down will improve your ability to remember as once again, it involves another sense.
Use ‘aides memoire’ mnemonics, acronyms, rhymes and pictures - whatever works for you best.
At the end of the day we are each of us unique and the way we show up in the world is unique to us and the way we remember is also unique. The best tip I can offer you is to try different techniques to discover which one really does help you in improving memory function - and then practice it every day.
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