How to Improve Your Memory _ To Memory Training

Tips and Techniques for Memory Enhancement

If our brains were computers, we'd simply add a chip to upgrade our memory. However, the human brain is more complex than even the most advanced machine, so improving human memory requires slightly more effort.
Just like muscular strength, your ability to remember increases when you exercise your memory and nurture it with a good diet and other healthy habits. There are a number of steps you can take to improve your memory and retrieval capacity. Physical exercise and engaging your brain with intellectually stimulating activities will not only improve your memory, it can also afford your brain greater protection against disease or injury as you age. First, however, it's helpful to understand how we remember.

In This Article:

• What is memory?
• Techniques to improve your memory
• Healthy habits to improve memory
• Nutrition and memory enhancement
• Preventing age-related memory decline
• Related links

What is memory?

Simply put, memory is the mental activity of recalling information that you have learned or experienced. That simple definition, though, covers a complex process that involves many different parts of the brain.

Memory can be short-term or long-term. In short-term memory, your mind stores information for a few seconds or a few minutes: the time it takes you to dial a phone number you just looked up or to compare the prices of several items in a store. Such memory is fragile, and it’s meant to be; your brain would soon read “disk full” if you retained every phone number you called, every dish you ordered in a restaurant, and the subject of every ad you watched on TV. Your brain is also meant to hold an average of seven items, which is why you can usually remember a new phone number for a few minutes but need your credit card in front of you when you’re buying something online.

Long-term memory involves the information you make an effort (conscious or unconscious) to retain, because it’s:

• Personally meaningful to you (for example, information about family and friends).
• You need it (such as job procedures or material you’re studying for a test).
• Or it made an emotional impression on you (a movie that had you riveted, the first time you ever caught a fish, the day your uncle died).

Some information that you store in long-term memory requires a conscious effort to recall:

• Episodic memories, which are personal memories about experiences you’ve had at specific times.
• Semantic memories (factual data not bound to time or place), which can be everything from the names of the planets to the color of your child’s hair.

Another type of long-term memory is procedural memory, which involves skills and routines you perform so often that they don’t require conscious recall.

Areas of the brain important in the formation and retention of memory:

• The hippocampus plays the single largest role in processing information as memory.
• The amygdala helps imprint memories that involve emotion.
• The cerebral cortex stores most long-term memory in different zones, depending on whether the information involves: language, sensory input, problem-solving, and so forth.
• In addition, memory involves communication among the brain’s network of neurons, millions of cells activated by brain chemicals called neurotransmitters.

11 Simple Ways to Improve Your Memory -To Memory Update

Because the neurons in our brain responsible for memory lose elasticity over time, we tend to forget things much easier as we age.

Although this is an unfortunate reality we all face, there are a myriad of lifestyle activities you can engage to slow this degenerative process.

Here are 11 effective methods you can integrate into your life to maintain a great memory for as long as possible:

1. Sleep Well

Consistently sleeping 7-8 hours a night will drastically increase your memory.  During sleep, the brain appears to firm up memories of newly acquired information.  The most effective “sleepers” experience the full spectrum of nocturnal cycles, and relaxation techniques before bed time can help really help your cognitive (and memory) capacity.  During the day, a quick nap can be the impetus for a solution to a problem you have been working.

2. Cross-pollinate Your Interests

Having diverse interests, and constantly trying new things, is a fantastic way to keep the mind sharp and fertile.  Neurons that connect to existing neurons give you fresh perspective and ability to use knowledge in a variety of new ways.

3. Teach Others

Teaching implants knowledge in your brain in a different manner than regular learning, and is excellent practice for increasing memory (it also helps if you are genuinely motivated to share the knowledge)!

4. Use Acronyms and Other Mnemonic Devices

Mnemonics are essentially tricks for remembering information. Some tricks are so effective that proper application will let you recall loads of mundane information years later.  This one recommendation can vastly improve your memory and effectiveness!

5. Write About It

An effective way to increase memory capacity is to write about the things you want to remember.  This will create oxygenated blood flow to the areas of your brain that are responsible for your memories and literally exercises them!  Keep a journal, write detailed emails, or start a blog to improve your capacity to memorize. 

6. Take a Break

Changing physical or mental perspective is a wonderful way to lighten the invisible stress that occurs when you sit in one place too long. Taking a 5-15 minute break every hour during work sessions is more beneficial than non-stop study. It gives your mind time to relax and absorb information.

7. Listen to Music

Researchers have long shown that certain types of music are instrumental in recalling memories. Information learned while listening to a particular song or collection can often be recalled simply by “playing” the songs mentally.

8. Eat Brain “Superfoods”

Roughly 50-60% of the brain’s overall weight is pure fat, which is used as insulation for its billions of nerve cells.  The better insulated a cell, the faster it sends messages and the speedier your thinking.  Therefore eating foods with a healthy mix of fats is essential for long-term memory.  Fish (wild salmon, mackerel, anchovies especially) and dark leafy green vegetables are excellent choices.

9. Try Ginkgo Biloba

Ginkgo biloba is a natural supplement that has been used in China and other countries for centuries and has been reputed to reverse memory loss. It’s also suggested by some health practitioners to be a highly effective mood enhancer and is worth trying if you experience memory problems.

10. Stretch

The brain accounts for only 2% of the body’s weight, but accounts for 15% of its blood flow, and regular stretching (and exercise) keeps the brain’s arteries open and unclogged.  Making a habit of stretching can also lead to increased energy, greater flexibility and a more relaxed attitude which all lead to better long-term memory!

11. Collaborate

Interaction with other humans fires a different set of neurons than working alone, and collaboration can vastly increase your memory.  Make a habit of joining forces at work and in your personal life to keep the brain fruitful!

We will all experience a degree of memory loss as we get older.  By implementing a few of the practices described in this article, you can inhibit a more rapid decline in memory.  Give them a try!

Improve Your Memory To Memory Training

Having a sharp memory is not required for a specific age group, profession or gender, but comes in handy for people all across the globe. It would be great to remember the minutest details about any specific event or person. Undoubtedly, people who are born with good memory are lucky; however the rest can take a few steps to improve their weak memories.

There are a number of factors that affect an individual's memory and learning processes. To be well aware about them and identify them with ease, you can simply keep in mind that anything that affects your overall well being and health will in turn influence your attention spans, learning and memory.

A lot of studies have been done in psychology regarding improving one's memory. To begin with, memory can be greatly improved with the aid of association. As the name suggests, by following this technique, one associates the thing which has to be memorized with something that he/she is already familiar with. For example, if you come across a person of another nationality than yours, whose name is hard for you to remember or pronounce, you can associate it with another word of your language that sounds alike or seems familiar.

Using mnemonics is another highly useful way of keeping things in mind. You can use anything that you think would work better for you, such as rhymes, music or model mnemonics which would be useful for you to remember things.

Remember how in school you were made to repeat things just so you could remember them easily? That's exactly how children easily learned alphabets and digits as they were made to repeat them a number of times, till they got them fixed in their memory. Thus, if there is something highly important that you just cannot afford to forget, keep repeating it yourself till you have memorized it completely.

It also becomes easy to remember things if one visualizes it in his/her mind. For example if someone asks you for the directions of the bakery near your house, you may find it easier to visualize the map in your mind, recalling all the places that you cross while going to the bakery.

Lastly, try to control the levels of stress in your life so that it does not start taking its toll on your health or mind. When a person is stressed out, it becomes difficult to concentrate on a single thing; if you haven't concentrated in the first place, there is no way you would be able to recall it later as you did not store it in your memory properly

Ways to Improve Brain Memory - To Memory Training

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HOME » Self Improvement » Memory Training

Ways to Improve Brain Memory
By Paul Andrew Todd Platinum Quality Author
Paul Andrew Todd
Level: Platinum

The author Paul Andrew Todd was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and Since a very early age Paul has had a interest in metaphysics. He has ...

Article Word Count: 695 [View Summary] Comments (0)
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The more you exercise the brain, the easier it will be to remember things and recall memories. Just by changing your daily habits you are creating new pathways and challenging your brain. This could include simple things like eating with your left hand or combing your hair with the other hand. This all comes down to doing things differently and also doing new things. This is a very effective way to keep your brain function at peek level.

There are also several ways to improve your memory. These are all fairly simple and should be practiced through out life.

Input information the way that works best for you - This means that if you learn best by seeing things, try to learn that way. Some people will learn best by hearing things. The most effective way is to have as many of your senses involved in the learning process as possible. This is why hands on training is so effective.

Show an interest in what you are learning - This means concentrate on the subject and pay attention. Try to involve yourself in the learning process and become an active participant. The brain can only focus on one thing at a time so when you are learning, put everything else aside.

If you can link or relate the new information to things you already know it will become much easier to retain and recall the information. It also helps if you can organize the information in a way that makes sense to you. You can organize in several different ways by using pictures, colors, sounds or words.

Break hard to learn material down into small portions. By doing this you are able to concentrate and master sections without having to be confused by an enormous problem. You can also paraphrase something to make it your own and easier to remember.

Repeat, repeat, repeat - At different times through out the day go over what you are learning. This is more effective then trying to cram all the information at once. The net result of this method is you will learn more with less studying.

Psych yourself up to learn what you need to learn, get excited about it and stay positive. Make suggestion to yourself prior to starting that you are looking forward to this and you will remember it easily.

Use mnemonic techniques to remember things. This is linking the information to something you already know. There are several different ways of doing this.

The first one involves using the first letter of each word to make a sentence. As an example "every good boy deserves favor" each letter represents the lines of the treble staff - E, G, B, D, F.

You can also link information to visual cues. As an example, if you want to remember peoples names at a party, the name Karen can become caring and picture her taking care of people. A simpler example could be someone named Rose, picture her as a big red rose because of her red hair.

You can also use acronyms. These are letters that when combined make a word. An example would be FAQ - frequently asked questions.

Another effective way to remember things is to put them in a rhyme, poem or song. When information is sung or goes together in a musical way we tend to remember it much better. Just think of all the songs you know the words to.

Putting large amounts of information into small groups is also very effective. Phone numbers work in this way. We arrange it into groups with first the area code, then three digit city region followed by the four digit number.

There are several things that can be done to improve your memory by improving your health. A diet that is high in fiber, fruits and vegetables, whole grains has been shown to help with memory recall and retention. There are specific vitamins that are associated more with the memory process then others. They are folic acid and the B, C and E vitamins and Omega-3.

Remember, have fun with these techniques and you will be amazed at how much they help.

The author Paul Andrew Todd was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and Since a very early age Paul has had a interest in metaphysics. He has read and studied extensively in the fields of spirituality, metaphysics, religion, mind control and other personal improvement areas. Paul has been a certified hypnotherapist for thirteen years. He graduated from the Cincinnati School of Hypnosis in 1996. Paul also has been practicing meditation daily since 1994. He is a trained yoga teacher and meditation instructor. Paul learned yoga at Rishikesh Yogpeeth in India. Since early 2009 Paul has been traveling the world and living on the road. His web site can be found at Brainwave Entrainment

Memory Training - Effective Tips To Improve Your Memory

As you grow older, one of the most common problems that you would come across is the difficulty to remember things. At times you will find yourself being absent-minded. You might have experienced certain experiences such as looking for a pen all over the room when the pen is still in your hand. Though these things are silly minor issues but if it takes place more frequently then you got to do something about it.

A good memory is a sign of vibrancy, youthfulness and intelligence. With a good memory, you can always succeed in life leaving far behind your competitors. Whether in school, job or your private life, it is always worth having a strong memory power. Even if you have a poor memory there are also a number of ways through which you can improve your memory power. Following are some of them:

1) Start playing memory games such as solving puzzles, brain twisters, etc. This will help in keeping your memory sharp and alert. Just as an iron gets rusted when not in use, similarly the brain also stops functioning properly if not used. So it would be helpful to feed the brain from time to time with brain games to sharpen it.

2) Watch what you eat. To a large diet also plays an important role in improving your memory power. Include fish oils and other brain foods in your diet. Omega 3 fatty acid is also found to be very good for the brain.

3) Stress also harms the proper functioning of the brain to a large extent having a strong impact on your memory. Adequate sleep and rest is important for the brain. Relax and follow a regular exercise schedule to improve your memory power.

How to Improve Your Short Term Memory and Escape From Short Term Memory Loss Problems

Did you forget that phone number, which was very important and you knew it minutes before? You might be troubled with short-term memory loss. But there is no need to press panic button as yet, because you can train your brain to fight the shot-term memory loss, effectively.

Brain train exercises are the most efficient way to deal with woes of short-term memory loss. Short-term memory loss is one of those signs of aging, so it is necessary to guard your brain from the any discrepancies in your memory. In fact, short-term memory loss can pose a serious trouble if you do not take action once you realize that you suffer from it. It may cause confusion and stress to yourself and also people around you. Exercises specially designed to regain short-term memory will surely help you to activate those areas of your brain that were hitherto not used.

To remember lots of information at any given time you can take the help of exercises for short-term memory, it will not cost you anything at all. They are simple yet successful means to get over the short-term memory loss. Connecting things you want to remember with images makes it all easier to recall better. If you read an article or a write up try to remember the details, and write whatever you recall from what you read, it is like a revision. This practice will eventually help you in fighting short-term memory loss. The other simple way to recall is to get accustomed to the environment, observe the surroundings and after a while close your eyes and try to remember what you saw sometime back. This indeed is really fun and an interesting practice too. Additionally, you can make a lot of difference to your short-term memory that can be an effective exercise for you to add in your things-to-do list!

The other exercise for short-term memory is the peg system. Here in which you try and associate a numeral with an image in order and later use the link or the connecting method to memorize and recall in the same order. This makes it easier to remember. Or you can practice games that are available online, which will serve as exercises to improve your short-term memory. Games such as identifying faces with names when flashed randomly will stabilize your ability to remember better.

Mind mapping is another exercise to improve your short-term memory. This is a rather old method wherein you collect loads of information and write it on a paper. This method helps in acquiring and recollecting large amount of information at one go. The aforementioned exercises will successfully help in dealing with short-term memory loss. So what for you are waiting? Go ahead and practice them now.

Who else wants to double their short-term memory in a matter of a few weeks? Thousands of people have already taken advantage of the free brain games which are scientifically designed to improve memory power, cognitive skills and concentration.

Memory Exercises For Everyday -To Memory Training

Yes it is possible to go through a programme to help you build up mind power and we have some of the very best here on our site. However for those of you who want to have a lighter touch you can help your memory by doing a little fun workout with mind games everyday.

Here are a few ideas to get you going:

Story Telling
Ask your friend to put a few items on a tray and then you have to try and remember them all correctly. Do it by making up a story - or even better make up a story about them all with your friend. It isn't cheating! Each of you take a turn telling a story you are just making up on the spot which connects each object with the next one. As you tell the story use your imagination to really create a good image of what is happening in the story. That makes it much easier to remember.

Here is an example of a story about the first three objects on a tray when they are a bowl, a leaf and a pen
Person 1:on the sideboard there is a big tall bowl made of very shiny metal and....
Person 2: John's mother decided that it would look beautiful if she put some small branches with autumn coloured leaves in it so she

Person 1: Decided that she would collect some branches from the park on the way to the supermarket. She took out her pen to write down her shopping list and on it she...
....
Once all the objects have been included in the story, take them away. Now see if you can remember everything. Next try to do it together as you will both probably remember different parts and that will help you get the whole list right.

Matching Pairs
This involves matching pairs of like playing cards when they have all initially been placed face down. One person at a time turns over a card, lets everyone see it and then places it back on the table, face side down again. Gradually the group of players begins to get an idea of where particular numbers or face cards are lying and can locate a matching pair when they turn up a card on their turn.

You can also play with a half deck of cards by removing two suits first and then use the 24 cards left. Once they are face down, move the cards around on the table so nobody really knows what is lying where anymore.