Remember These: Great Ways to Improve Memory
Engage Your Senses
Through a study that paired images with smells, participants were shown images with a certain smell each. Later they were shown images without any particular smell present. The participants were found to best remember the images paired with smells, over those that weren’t. Additionally, the part of the brain that deals with smells was activated during the image presentations, despite the absence of odor.
Organize Your Mind
Imagine your mind as an organized library of information. Like arranging books by genre, you may find it easier to remember a single author’s literary masterpieces by genre category, rather than the titles themselves.
Dose Up on Fish Oil
One study found that the consumption of fish oil improves episodic(or sporadic) memory. Fish oil has shown to better working memory and short term memory in those with slight cognitive issues, as well as having fats that help keep inflammation at bay, improve stress levels, and reduce anxiety.
Know Thyself
Three popular learning styles are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. With visual, which works for most, seeing is memorizing. Some may memorize information best through auditory style; what they hear while others may learn best through the kinesthetic(hands-on learning) style. Through acting or through the hand motions in writing, are two examples of things can be committed to memory.
Enjoy a Cup of Tea or Coffee
Studies have noted that certain teas, like green tea and black tea, have memory enhancing effects. Like coffee, their caffeine content improves a wide array of cognitive functions (like memory, reaction time, etc.). In one study, for example, researchers had participants take either caffeine pills or placebo pills after viewing images. The next day they were shown images that either were almost the same or different. Conclusively, only those who took the caffeine pills were able to differentiate between the images they were shown the day before.
Sources:
1. Harvard Medical School. (2020, March 30). 7 Ways to Keep Your Memory Sharp at Any Age. Harvard Medical School. Retrieved from: https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/7-ways-to-keep-your-memory-sharp-at-any-age
2. Dartmouth College. (n.d.). Improving Memory & Retention. Dartmouth College. Retrieved from: https://students.dartmouth.edu/academic-skills/learning-resources/learning-strategies/improving-memory-retention
3. Kubala, J. (2018, March 26). 14 Ways to Improve Your Memory. Healthline. Retrieved from: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ways-to-improve-memory
4. WebMD. (2000). Tips for a Better Memory. WebMD. Retrieved from: https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/tips-for-better-memory
5. DiSalvo, D. (2018, September 30). What Are the Best Ways to Improve Your Memory According to Science. Forbes. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2018/09/30/what-are-the-best-ways-to-improve-your-memory-according-to-science/