12 Tips For Improving Memory

Have you ever walked into a supermarket with a small list of items you need for dinner, only to forget what a couple of them were? Well, you’re not alone, because many people experience a time when they can’t remember something for whatever reason.

That’s an example of short-term memory loss. Long-term memory loss is also prevalent, but there are memory-boosting exercises that can be practiced to improve cognitive function. 

What exactly is memory?

The brain and memory are interconnected. Memory refers to the processes that are used to acquire, store, retain, and later retrieve information. There are three major types of memory: Sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory memory

Sensory memory is the earliest stage of memory. It’s the very genesis of when what we see, smell, touch, taste, or sense begins to form a memory. Unlike short-term or long-term memory, sensory memory is very brief – about half of a second for visual input and three to four seconds for auditory. After that, the brain decides whether it’s important enough to proceed on either short-term or long-term memory storage.

Short-term memory

Short-term memory, also known as active memory, is the information we are currently aware of or thinking about, like remembering that grocery list. Many of our short-term memories are quickly forgotten. Most of the information stored in active memory will be kept for approximately 20 to 30 seconds. However, the information that is deemed important enough to be permanently stored is moved on to long-term memory (also called secondary memory).

Long-term memory

The process of retaining long-term memory is called consolidation. After consolidation, it can remain permanently to some degree. Only a small number of short-term memories are consolidated, which depends on the personal significance of the information being retrieved. 

It should also be noted that long-term memory, including age-related memory loss, does not necessarily have to pass through short-term memory first to be stored as long-term memory, which is the reason why some people with bad short-term memory can still have excellent long-term memory.

What are some causes of memory loss?

Many factors can contribute to memory loss. Some of the most common include the following.

Lack of sleep

Not getting enough sleep is perhaps the greatest unappreciated cause of forgetfulness. Research shows that when a person is sleeping, there is a production of brain waves that play an important role in memory storage. These waves transmit memories from the hippocampus, a portion of the brain where long-term memories are kept. Low-quality sleep in adults causes memories to linger in the hippocampus and not reach the prefrontal cortex, which results in forgetfulness and memory loss.

Alcohol

Drinking too much alcohol can interfere with short-term memory, even after the effects of alcohol have worn off. Consuming too much alcohol can affect short-term memory by slowing down how nerves communicate with each other in the hippocampus. The hippocampus plays a significant role in maintaining memories, and therefore when healthy nerve activity slows down, short-term memory loss can subsequently also occur.

Stress and anxiety

It’s normal to periodically forget little unimportant details and tasks. Add to that stress, and the information trying to get in your brain and stay there becomes even more arduous. Generalized anxiety disorder can cause your working memory to become hindered by your worry, thereby causing you to forget short-term memory items like tasks or appointments.

Depression

Depression is associated with short-term memory loss. However, it doesn’t affect other types of memory, such as long-term memory. People dealing with depression often have trouble remembering the fine details of the events they’ve experienced. For example, they might remember going to a barbeque but may have difficulty remembering some of the people who were there or the different types of food that were served.

Medications

Antidepressants, certain blood pressure medications, and other medications can affect memory, usually by causing sedation or confusion. In addition, the combination of medications and alcohol can increase sedation or confusion, and further memory loss.

Underactive thyroid

This is the only physiological-related item on this list, but just as important. Studies show that overt hypothyroidism (abnormally low activity of the thyroid gland) can affect a range of cognitive domains, including attention/concentration and memory.

12 Tips to improve memory

There are many things you can do to improve your memory overall, including making small lifestyle changes and implementing healthy habits. Here are 12 recommendations for improving your memory.

1. Get organized

The chances of forgetting things can increase if your home or workspace is cluttered and your notes are unclear. Get organized by clearly jotting down tasks and appointments where they can be easily retrieved and understood.

2. Repeat

Repetition helps the brain solidify connections to recall memories. When you learn something new, your brain attempts to associate it with something that you already know through a process of assimilation. Some people use what is called mega-drilling. This technique requires a person to repeat, repeat, repeat – literally. For example, if they meet someone new at a business function, they might repeat the name of the person they just met 20, 30, or even 40 times to drill the memory firmly into their brain; and when they meet that person an hour later, they remember their name.

3. Attach meaning

Something that has meaning will more likely be retained versus something that has little or no value. By attaching meaning to a piece of information, such as connecting it to a loved one or favorite experience, you can make yourself more likely to remember it. This can be helpful for age-related memory loss.

4. Try brain games

Brain games are activities that stimulate your thinking. That includes word puzzles like crosswords and traditional games like chess and bridge. Brain games may also help with learning and memory by building up the brain’s cognitive reserve – a memory reserve in the brain that can be stored away and used when quick thinking is required.

5. Mnemonics

Mnemonics [ni-mon-iks] are tools that help you remember certain facts or large amounts of information. They can come in the form of a song, rhyme, acronym, image, phrase, or sentence. 

6. Grouping

This can be an effective memory tool by grouping items that can be placed into categories. By grouping the items, you can associate them with each other to remember them more easily. If you’re experiencing age-related memory loss, this tip might help you. In addition, this can be helpful to develop the needed time to consolidate your memories.

7. Give your brain a workout

Memory, like muscular strength, requires you to “use it or lose it.” The more you work out your brain, the better you’ll be able to process and remember information. Try to actively recall information, both new and old, frequently to test your memory’s accuracy.

8. Get enough sleep

Studies reveal the critical role sleep plays in retaining memory. Sleep is a vital piece in consolidating memories (making them stick) so that they can be recalled in the future.

9. Practice mindfulness

Moment-to-moment non-judgmental awareness is a mindfulness practice that guides us to be “grounded in the present” and experience thoughts “without clinging to them.” As a result, our minds become more present to what is happening around us moment-to-moment, and, because our minds are not wandering or distracted, our memories can become longer-lasting.

10. Alcohol and medication

Reducing the intake of alcohol and becoming educated on the effects that the medication you’re taking might have on your memory is a great step toward improving your memory. The interactions of alcohol with certain medications can increase the effect of memory loss or forgetfulness.

11. Manage stress

Lowering your stress can allow your body and mind to relax, thereby fostering the environment of your brain to take in, and retain, information better than if your brain is already filled with stressors.

12. Exercise

Physical exercise helps keep your memory keen because it increases oxygen to your brain, and regular exercise over time can increase the volume of the hippocampus, a key part of the brain’s memory network.