Have you started noticing where you can’t remember where you put the keys, or once again forgot about an important meeting, can’t concentrate on important things and get distracted all the time, don’t remember the new material well or don’t remember the recently handed over material? If so, then it is worth thinking about how to improve memory and attention in adults and regain the former state.
The first thing that comes to mind is to create a blog or online calendar with reminders so you don’t miss important events and appointments. But what about information that should be remembered and transferred to long-term memory?
Unfortunately, things are not that simple. Despite the variety of choices, tablet forms, various supplements, and medications, there is currently little scientific evidence that they actually improve brain function and thought processes. Trying a $ 50 drug that promises to strengthen nerve connections in the brain in just a couple of weeks sounds not very tempting, especially if the appointment was prescribed by a doctor as part of the promotion.
In the 21st century, in the field of information technology, it is not just a matter of taking the time to cover an entire volume or even prepare for an exam. The crux of the problem is often just poor memorization, impaired memory, and a wrong approach to the learning process.
Fortunately, there are scientifically proven effective ways to improve memory and ways to improve brain function, both in the short and long term, at home, and even to facilitate exam preparation. Below we will consider each of them separately.
Try to meditate to improve concentration
Focus is one of the main components of memory. In order for data to move from short-term memory to long-term memory, you need to focus on this material. Try to do important things without disturbing, e. g. , TV, music, telephones, chat rooms and other entertainment.
This isn't always easy to do, especially if you have noisy neighbors or children around you. Try to take time for yourself when nothing is bothering you to focus on your work.
Memory and concentration are in about the same part of the brain. Increased concentration of meditation has been shown to improve brain activity and the adult memory process.
Meditation helps to improve and develop working memory, which temporarily stores the necessary data during the day. Simply put, at any point in the brain there are 7 parts of information, when a new part comes, it displaces the old one, which is or is not stored in long-term memory. Meditation helps to get the information you need for a certain period of time faster.
How long it will take for positive results is not known. Generally, this can take 2 to 8 weeks.
Perhaps the calming effects of meditation increase the ability to overcome mental noise (distraction) and focus on what needs to be known at one point or another.
Here are some more powerful ways:
- Turn off all notifications while learning.
- Try to distance yourself from people you know while studying. Go to a library or cafe where you won’t be disturbed.
- Work on only one topic at a time, avoiding multiple tasks and frequent switching to another material.
Do not disturb
In order to process this or that information properly, it should be examined in several ways. Research has shown that those who regularly learn parts of a particular material remember it much better than those who learn it all at once.
Structure and manage your data
Researchers have found that information in the brain is organized in interconnected "clusters". This ability of the brain to structure data can be used in daily life. Try combining similar ideas and terms or drawing notes or grouping material from different books to make it easier to remember and highlight the information you want from different sources.
Use memos and abbreviations
Mnemonics is a memorization technique that students often use to retrieve data from the brain faster. In other words, it is an easy way to remember complex information. For example, you can associate a term you want to remember by associating it with something you know well. The best mnemonics are related to positive images or humor. You can come up with a rhyme, a song, or a joke to remember a specific segment of material.
Acronyms are the most commonly used technique for associative memorization of short lists or sequences.
In everyday life, we are already so accustomed to acronyms that we don't even notice them or think about what words they consist of.
You can create your own shortcuts as you learn new knowledge.
Analyze the material in detail and repeat what you passed
To remember information, you must first make it understandable to the brain, and then repeat everything you have learned again, and then the information will surely end up in long-term memory. E. g. , Read the definition of a key term, examine the definition of that term, and then read in more detail what that term means. By repeating this process several times, you will probably find that over time, you will remember this term more easily and quickly.
It is also recommended to divide the investigated material into three difficulty categories. For each of them, choose the time spent and days of the week.
Review the material again, if you remember it well, repeat only once a week.
If you're having trouble retrieving your information, read it again in a few hours or every other day.
And if you don't remember anything, then research the material for another 10 minutes. When the whole cycle repeats, you re-sort the information according to how you remember it and allocate time for iteration and filling in the gaps.
Visualize information
Visualizing information often helps people memorize material better because some people are more aware of the image. Pay attention to photos, charts, and tables, for example, in the same lessons. To remember the most important things and quickly find what you need, you can create your own charts, diagrams, and drawings, use notes in margins or colored markers.
Link new information to known information
When researching unfamiliar material, take the time to think about how this information relates to what you already know. Finding this relationship will make it easier for you to remember recent information.
Read aloud
Research shows that reading information aloud is easier to memorize. Teachers also support this concept and apply it in practice when asking their students to teach new material to their own classmates. You can also use this method and study new material with a friend.
Spend more time on complex information
What information is easiest to remember at the beginning or end? The researchers found that data processing procedures play an important role in determining how quickly the brain absorbs and delivers that information. And the material is best remembered at the beginning and end of the book.
Information is often lost in the middle, but this problem can be solved by repeating it several times. Another strategy is to try to reformulate what you have learned in your own words to make it easier to remember.
Change your usual environment
Another great way to improve memory is to change the learning environment. Change the place in the classroom or the time of day to study the material. By adding a novelty element to your learning activities, you can increase the effectiveness of your efforts and memorizing information.
Remember before you write
Teachers are often asked to write things down before teaching them so that the material is better remembered.
Remember and repeat in your mind what you wrote, not just rewrite it without thinking.
This process will not be difficult, as the information will remain in short-term memory for about 10 to 20 seconds. By mentally bringing this information back to your head, you will move it to long-term memory.
Get enough sleep and don't forget to take a nap if possible
Most students try to spend more time studying and completely forget about sleep. However, this only exacerbates the situation, as lack of sleep affects memory and some other cognitive abilities.
The link between sleep and memory has been confirmed by numerous studies, as many people know that memory is established during sleep. It follows that the quality of sleep is directly related to the clarity of memories. If the quality of your sleep suffers, you will soon notice that memories are drifting away from you. Conversely, with enough sleep from 8+ hours, remembering certain moments is much easier and faster.
Studies have also shown that sleep can improve memory performance. One of the best-known studies in this area has shown that REM sleep (just half an hour or more) increases the brain’s ability to store information. The researchers asked two groups of people to memorize a set of photos with different images, and after about 40 minutes showed another set of cards. One of the groups managed to take a nap during those 40 minutes.
Results:The sleeping group retained significantly more information about the pictures (85%) compared to those who did not sleep fully (60%).
Again, the reason is memory consolidation - the brain needs sleep for this process to go well, so a little sleep will only be beneficial.
Conclusion:To get the most out of your memory, get enough sleep for your body.
Train
Exercise is known to improve brain cognition, concentration, and blood flow through the flow of oxygen to cells and mood.
Exercise also causes the release of cathepsin B protein in the brain. It stimulates the growth of neurons (brain cells) and creates additional connections in the hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for long-term memory and maintenance.
There have been a lot of studies that have thought that exercise improves brain function, so let’s talk about it first. In one of them, just a few minutes of light exercise was shown to help improve memory instantly. Participants in the experiment performed exercises of varying intensity, while the researchers observed changes in brain activity at the time.
The results showed that these exercises improved the connection between the regions of the brain responsible for creating new episodic memories (autobiographical memories remembering according to the principle of “who, what, where and when”), including in the dental gut. and the hippocampus.
Therefore, you can improve your memory in a few minutes or even an hour of exercise. You can try a treadmill or a walk first, and most people can.
Drink coffee and tea
Caffeine is a well-known brain enhancer. In large quantities, it is unhealthy and even dangerous, but there is no doubt that it improves memory.
In one John Hopkins study, one group of volunteers was asked not to eat caffeinated foods at all, and another was given 200 mg of caffeine supplementation after 5 minutes of asking for pictures to be reviewed. The next day they were shown even more pictures, some of them identical to the past or somehow similar, there were also new ones.
The group that had used caffeine the day before was much better at identifying which photos were similar to the originals and even managed to distinguish them.
Tea and coffee have the highest caffeine content, and they have many other benefits, such as antioxidants. Try to get caffeine from natural teas and coffees, not sweet carbonated energy drinks. In addition to caffeine, green and black tea contain components that improve memory. It is recommended to drink them all day, but preferably not at bedtime.
Eat foods high in flavonoids
Foods that contain saturated fats and trans fats (red meat, butter) are harmful to memory. And just in preparation for exams, students often eat a lot of unhealthy foods that make the brain even worse.
Numerous studies have shown that these foods may even cause Alzheimer's disease and dementia in the future, leading to irreparable damage to brain health and memory loss.
To improve memory, it is recommended to eat foods that are good for the brain, more fish, olive oil, whole grains, walnuts, blueberries.
In the long run, foods high in flavonoids will help improve memory, especially dark-colored berries and cocoa. Flavonoids are anti-inflammatory compounds found in plants that improve cardiovascular health. Some studies have also proven to be an excellent cancer prevention tool, and the use of blueberries for a few weeks slows down memory loss.
Another study showed that regular use of blueberries for 12 weeks improved spatial memory. The first signs of improvement appeared as early as the third week of the experiment.
Dark chocolate, which contains 70% or more of cocoa, is also known to improve brain function.Medications and Supplements
Omega-3 fatty acids are best for improving brain function with supplements.
When choosing supplements and before taking any pills, pay attention to the label, omega-3 fats should be derived from highly refined fish oil, preferably from fish in cold water, as they contain less mercury. They improve memory, especially in the elderly, and other cognitive functions.