Some Simple Tips For Improving Your Memory
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.
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.
Sleep is vital to maintaining mental clarity and memory. By avoiding sleep, you make your senses and mind foggier, hurting your ability to focus and piece together information. In addition, during sleep, your brain forges pathways that lead to memory. Getting good sleep (and a good amount of it) will improve your memory.
Take care of any chronic health conditions that you have in order to help with improving your memory. When you do not feel well, you can become depressed. A depressed state of mind adversely affects how your brain retains information because your brain will not be able to focus. So, taking care of your physical health is important in improving your memory.
Try using mnemonic devices to aid in recall. A mnemonic is a way to remember information. One mnemonic is word association. Think of a word or phrase you are familiar with to remind yourself of the thing you wish to remember. Rhymes, songs, and humorous images make good mnemonics.
Exercise your body – exercise your brain. By exercising regularly, you increase the amount of oxygen that gets to your brain, and reduce the risk of illnesses that can contribute to memory loss, such as heart disease and diabetes. Exercise can also increase the effects of certain chemicals that help the brain to function at its best.
Color code information to help you memorize it. Color coding helps the left and right sides of your brain to work together, and better allows you to commit material to your long term memory. The color also plays as an association to the word or phrase you’re working to memorize.
Move around. Movement can help you remember things. If you are trying to learn something, repeat it to yourself while pacing or even while you are working out. Moving around can also be very helpful when you are trying to recall something you are having difficulty remembering. Full body movement will help your memory.
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.