The benefits of learning how to improve memory they are infinite.
Just being able to use any information in our brain would be amazing.
A prodigious memory is an invaluable weapon that projects professionalism and leadership. (Learn how to project leadership with these 6 positions)
If you are not one of the people who knows how to improve memory; don’t worry. In the same way that we can exercise our body, we are able to exercise our mind.
The first thing we must understand is the following:
How memory works.
Most of what we learn we forget in a short time; because our brain has limited space. The brain in one way or another determines if a certain detail will be useful to us in the future or not; and from there he decides whether to forget it or retain it.
Also read: How to take care of the brain to be more creative.
Annie Murphy Paul explains this process as follows: “Every time a student learns, he or she has to bring two types of prior knowledge:
- knowledge on the topic in question. (For example, math or history)
- Knowledge about how learning itself works.
Also read: Brain Hacking: Achieve what you think is impossible.
Parents and teachers are quite good at imparting the first kind of knowledge. And it is understandable, we feel comfortable talking about concrete information: names, dates, numbers, facts.
However, a more effective way to educate yourself is to understand how we learn to learn. According to John Dunslosky, a professor of psychology at Kent University, he and his colleagues found that the following learning methods help retain knowledge…
How to study to better remember what we learn.
Dunslosky explains that, contrary to the traditional idea of studying all the content by blocks; so when you’re done with topic A, you move on to topic B. It’s better to interleave the topics.
By doing it this way, students are better at discriminating between different problems. One explanation for this is that this practice promotes the organizational processing and the processing of specific items. Since it allows people to more easily compare different types of problems.
On the other hand, when you study by “blocks”, the necessary information is retained; either to solve a problem or memorize something to answer a question. This type of memory is work memory.
It’s easy to access, since you’ve been working on it. But when the topics of study are interspersed, the long-term memory is stimulated. If you go from topic A to topic B, but are asked a question about topic A, you must “recall” the memory of what you have already learned if you want to give an answer. It is something like recovering the previous information in your memory.
At this point, you already know how memory works and how to learn to stimulate long-term memory and retain information for longer.
How to improve memory.
Joseph Mercola is an osteopathic physician, entrepreneur with a large following thanks to his website mercola.com, and co-author of the best-selling books The No-Grain Diet
1. Eat well.
What we eat and stop eating plays a vital role in our performance; and in the case of memory it is no exception.
Dr Mercola recommends the consumption of fresh vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and celery, as well as curry and nuts; since they contain antioxidants that stimulate the production of brain cells.
It also suggests avoiding the intake of sugars, grains and carbohydrates.
Also read: Eating habits that increase your productivity
He also cites Dr. Mary Newport, who has spent years studying Alzheimer’s disease. Her investigations show as a result the importance of coconut oil for the cure of this disease. Since only 35 ml of coconut oil is equivalent to 20 grams of medium chain triglycerides; that are recommended to prevent neurological degeneration.
2. Exercise.
Physical activity allows us to look good but it has been shown that it is not simple vanity. Regular physical activity stimulates the production of nerve cells and, in turn, these release neurotrophins; that directly benefit mental health and cognitive functions.
In addition, a study carried out with monkeys showed that exercise allowed the animals to learn new features in half the time that he took them regularly.
Also read: How to create and maintain an exercise routine
3. Sleep well.
A good night’s sleep allows the brain to reboot and be prepared to perform cognitive functions with better performance.
A study conducted by Dr. Jeffrey Ellenbogen, a neurologist at Harvard Medical School and director of the Sleep Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital, found that you are 33% more likely to make connections between distant ideas after you sleep.
Also read: The science of taking a nap and why it is good for you
4. Practice with applications.
If we want to work our arms, we can do exercises to tone biceps and triceps. If we want to exercise our brain, we can practice games to exercise the brain.
Logical, right? First hand I can suggest 3 amazing apps. By clicking here, you will be able to know what they are and their characteristics.
5. Use Mnemonics.
Mnemonics is everything related to mental associations that make it easy to remember various things. For example, links with similar images, phrases or sounds.
Surely you have seen people use their knuckles to remember which months have 31 days.
If you need to remember specific things, like the order of the planets, you can use different mnemonic tools or create your own.
And if you need to remember a long number and want to practice your English, you can remember numbers by associating them with word images. For example like this:
- One–Bun
- Two-Shoes
- Three–Tree
- Four–Door
- Five–Hive
- Six-Sticks
- Seven–Heaven
- Eight–Gate
- Nine–Vine
- Ten–Hen
conclusion
We saw how memory works, how to study correctly to remember things more easily and also how to improve memory with 5 practical tips.
I believe that as in everything we do, if we do our part, it is impossible for us not to improve.
Many successes with your new memory 😉!
And remember, if you are really interested in creating your own business, you can read our book “How to create a company while working: Discover how to manage your time, manage your money and motivate yourself while creating a company and working for another” , where you will find all the information you need to found your own company, without having to leave your job.
