A Few Ways To Improve Your Memory
Memory is important in our lives as it allows us retrieve information stored in the brain, remember skills that we’ve learned or recall a moment in the past. Whether you are trying to sharpen your memory or are a student studying for an exam, here are some ways to improve your memory:
Take Exercise
Regular exercise, particularly aerobic excercise can be beneficial to your memory. A study done at the University of British Columbia found that regular aerobic exercise, the type of exercise to get your heart pounding, boosts the size of the hippocampus, the area of the brain involved in memory and learning.
Sleep
REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is important in consolidating memories related to motor skills such as riding a bike. Having a good sleep allows you to strengthen these skills by allowing you to perform them on autopilot.
Meditating
Meditating has positive effects on our ability to remember and consolidate facts. People who meditate are better at screening out distractions in our every day life that can impair our ability to recall things. Meditating also reduces stress which has a significant negative impact on memory.
Writing by Hand
Simply writing things down, such as a shopping list, can help you remember it for later. It serves as a visual cue for the brain as the brain has to process and reframe the information before writing it down, more so than if you were to type it.
Take a Break
The brain needs enough downtime to consolidate the memories being formed at regular intervals during the day, not just during sleep. Neuroscientists have shown that people are more able to retain a list of words if the task is followed by periods of break time.
