Did you start to notice that you cannot remember where you put your keys or once again you forgot an important meeting, you cannot focus on important matters and you are distracted all the time, you do not remember new material well or you cannot remembermaterial just passed? If so, then it is worth thinking about how to improve memory and attention in adults and regain their previous state.
The first thing that comes to mind is creating an online agenda or calendar with reminders so you don't miss important events and meetings. But what to do with the information that needs to be remembered and transferred to long-term memory?
Unfortunately, things are not that simple. Despite the variety of options, tablet formulations, and the variety of supplements and medications, there is currently not much scientific evidence that they actually improve brain activity and thought processes. And trying a $ 50 drug that promises to strengthen neural connections in the brain in just a couple of weeks doesn't sound very tempting, especially if the appointment was scheduled by a doctor as part of a promotion.
In the 21st century of information technology, to cover the entire volume or even prepare for an exam, you need not only spend time on it. The core of the problem is often poor memorization, weakened memory, and an incorrect approach to the learning process.
Fortunately, there are scientifically proven effective methods for improving memory and ways to improve brain function, both short-term and long-term at home, and even make exam preparation easier. We will consider each of them separately below.
Try meditation to improve concentration
Attention is one of the main components of memory. For data to move from short-term memory to long-term memory, you need to focus on this particular material. Try to do important things away from distractions like television, music, telephones, chat rooms, and other entertainment.
It is not always easy to do this, especially if you are surrounded by noisy neighbors or children. Try to set aside time for yourself when no one is in your way so you can focus on your work.
Memory and concentration are in roughly the same region of the brain. Increased concentration of attention through meditation has been shown to lead to an improvement in brain performance and in the process of remembering an adult.
Meditation helps to improve and develop working memory, which temporarily stores necessary data during the day. In short, at a given moment in the brain there are 7 pieces of information, when a new part arrives, it displaces the previous one, which is or is not registered in long-term memory. Meditation helps to obtain more quickly that information that is needed in a certain period of time.
It is not clear how long it will take to see positive results. In general, this can take 2 to 8 weeks.
Perhaps the calming effect of meditation enhances the ability to overcome mental noise (distractions) and focus on what you need to know at one point or another.
Here are some more powerful ways:
- Turn off all notifications when you learn.
- Try to isolate yourself from the people you meet while studying. Go to the library or cafeteria where you will not be disturbed.
- Work on only one topic at a time, avoid multitasking and frequent switching to other material.
Don't grocery
To properly process this or that information, various approaches must be studied. Studies have shown that those who regularly learn a particular material in parts memorize it much better than those who learn everything at once.
Structure and organize your data
Researchers have found that information is organized in the brain into interconnected "clusters". This ability of the brain to structure data can be used in daily life. Try combining similar ideas and terms, sketching notes, or grouping material from different books - this will make it easier to remember and highlight the information you want from different sources.
Use mnemonics and abbreviations
Mnemonics is a memorization technique that students often use to get data from the brain more quickly. In other words, it is an easy way to remember complex information. For example, you can associate a term that you want to remember by associating it with a topic that you are familiar with. The best mnemonics are those associated with positive images or humor. You can make up a rhyme, song, or joke to remember a specific segment of the material.
Acronyms are the most used technique for associative memorization of short lists or sequences.
In everyday life, we are already so used to acronyms that we do not even notice them and do not think about the words they are made of.
As you learn new knowledge, you can create your own abbreviations.
Analyze the material in detail and repeat what you have happened
To remember information, you need to make it understandable to the brain first, and then repeat everything learned again, then the information will definitely fall into long-term memory. For example, read the definition of a key term, study the definition of that term, and then read a more detailed description of what the term means. If you repeat this process several times, you will probably find that you will remember the term more easily and quickly over time.
To review the material studied, it is also recommended to divide it into three categories of difficulty. For each of them, select the amount of time you spend and the days per week.
Check the material again, if you remember it correctly, repeat it only once a week.
If you have difficulty reproducing information, reread it in a few hours or every other day.
And if you don't remember anything, go back to studying the material for 10 minutes. After the entire loop repeats, rearrange the information according to how you remember it and allocate your time for repetition and filling in the blanks.
View information
Viewing information often helps people remember material better because some people have more visual perception. Pay attention to pictures, graphs, and tables in the tutorials themselves, for example. You can create your own diagrams, diagrams and drawings, use margin notes or colored markers to remember important points and find what you need quickly.
Link new information with known information
When looking for unfamiliar material, take the time to think about how this information relates to what you already know. Once you have found this relationship, it will be easier for you to recall recently received information.
Read aloud
Research shows that reading aloud makes it easier to remember information. Teachers also support this concept and apply it in practice when they ask their students to teach new material to their own classmates. You can also use this approach and study new material with your friend.
Spend more time on complex information
What information is easier to remember at the beginning or at the end? The researchers found that the order in which the data is examined plays an important role in how quickly the brain is sampled and removed. And the material is best remembered at the beginning and end of the book.
Information in the middle is often lost, but this problem can be solved by repeating it several times. Another strategy is to try to paraphrase what you have learned in your own words to make it easier to remember.
Change the usual environment
Another great way to improve memorization is to change the learning environment. Change the place in the classroom or the time of day to study the material. By adding an element of novelty to your learning activities, you can improve the efficiency of your effort and memorization of information.
Remember before you write
Teachers often tell you to write things down before you start teaching to help you remember the material.
Remember and mentally repeat what you write, not just rewrite without thinking.
This process is not difficult because the information will remain in short-term memory for about 10-20 seconds. And having mentally banished this information in your head, you will transfer 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. But this only makes the situation worse, because lack of sleep affects memorization and some other cognitive skills.
The link between sleep and memory has been confirmed by numerous studies, as many people know that memory consolidation occurs during sleep. From this 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 slipping away. On the contrary, with enough sleep of more than 8 hours, remembering certain moments is much easier and faster.
Research has also shown that naps can improve memory performance. One of the best-known studies in this area has shown that REM sleep (only about half an hour) increases the brain's ability to retain information. The researchers asked two groups of people to memorize a set of pictures with different pictures and then after about 40 minutes, they showed another set of cards. One of the groups managed to take a nap in those 40 minutes.
Results:the group that took a nap retained significantly more information about the images (85%) compared to those that did not sleep at all (60%).
The reason, again, is memory consolidation - the brain needs sleep for this process to work well, so a little sleep will only do you good.
Conclusion:If you want to make the most of your memory reserves, let your body get enough sleep.
Train
Exercise is known to improve cognition, concentration, and blood circulation in the brain through the flow of oxygen to your cells and mood.
Exercise also triggers the release of the protein cathepsin B in the brain. This stimulates the growth of neurons (brain cells) and creates additional connections in the hippocampus, an area of the brain responsible for long-term memory and retention.
Exercise has been shown to improve brain function in several studies, so let's talk about that first. In one of them, it was shown that just a few minutes of light exercise leads to instant memory improvement. Participants in the experiment performed exercises of varying intensity, while scientists at that time observed changes in brain activity.
The results showed that during these exercises, the connection between the brain regions responsible for the creation of new episodic memories (autobiographical memory, which remembers according to the principle of "who, what, where and when") improved, as well as inthe dentate gyrus. and the hippocampus.
Therefore, in just a few minutes or even an hour of exercise, you can improve your memory. You can try a treadmill or walking to get started, and most people can.
Drink coffee and tea
Caffeine is a known brain stimulant. In large quantities, it is harmful to health and even dangerous, but there is no doubt that it improves memorization.
In a Johns Hopkins study, one group of volunteers was asked not to consume caffeinated foods at all, and a second group was given 200 mg of caffeine supplements 5 minutes after they were asked to watch. Photographs. The next day even more images were shown to them, some of them were identical to the past or similar in some way, there were also new ones.
The group that drank caffeine the day before did much better at identifying which images were similar to the originals, and were even able to tell the difference between them.
Tea and coffee contain the highest amount of caffeine, in addition to this, they have many other benefits, the presence of antioxidants, for example. Try to get your caffeine from natural teas and coffees, not carbonated, sugary energy drinks. In addition to caffeine, green and black tea contain components that enhance memory. It is recommended to drink them all day, but preferably not before bedtime.
Eat foods rich in flavonoids
Foods that contain saturated fat and trans fat (red meat, butter) are bad for memory. And just in preparation for the tests, students often eat a lot of unhealthy foods that are even worse for the brain.
Numerous studies have shown that these foods can even lead to Alzheimer's and dementia later in life, causing 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, nuts, blueberries.
In the long term, foods rich in flavonoids will help improve memory, especially dark berries and cocoa. Flavonoids are anti-inflammatory compounds found in plants that improve cardiovascular health. Some studies have also shown it to be an excellent cancer preventative, and consuming blueberries for several weeks slows down memory loss.
Another study found that consuming blueberries regularly for 12 weeks improved spatial memory. The first signs of improvement appeared already in the third week of the experiment.
Dark chocolate containing 70% or more cocoa is also known to improve brain function.
Medications and supplements
If you are looking to improve brain function through supplementation, omega-3 fatty acids are the best.
When choosing supplements and before taking any tablet, pay attention to the label, omega-3 fats must be obtained from highly refined fish oil, preferably from fish found in cold water, as they contain less mercury. They improve memory, especially in the elderly, and other cognitive functions.