You began to notice that you cannot remember where you put your keys or once again forgot about an important meeting, you cannot concentrate on important matters and are distracted all the time, do not remember new material well or cannot remember the recently passed material? If so, then it is worth thinking about how to improve memory and attention in adults and regain their former state.
The first thing that comes to mind is to create a diary, or an online calendar with reminders so as not to miss important events and appointments. But what to do with information that should be remembered and transferred to long-term memory? !
Unfortunately, things are not so simple. Despite the variety of choices, 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 testing 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 made by a doctor as part of a promotion.
In the 21st century of information technology, in order to cover the entire volume or even prepare for an exam, it is necessary not only to spend time on it. The core of the problem is often just poor memorization, weakened memory and the wrong approach to the learning process.
Fortunately, there are scientifically proven effective memory enhancement methods and ways to improve brain function, both short and long term at home, and even make exam preparation easier. Below we will consider each of them separately.
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 piece of material. Try to do important things away from distractions such as television, music, phones, chat rooms, and other entertainment.
It is not always easy to do this, especially if there are noisy neighbors or children around you. Try to set aside a time for yourself when no one is in the way so you can focus on your work.
Memory and concentration are located approximately in the same region of the brain. It has been proven that with an increase in concentration of attention through meditation, it leads to an improvement in the performance of the brain and the process of remembering an adult.
Meditation helps improve and develop working memory, which temporarily stores the data needed throughout the day. Simply put, at any given time there are 7 pieces of information in the brain, when a new part arrives, it displaces the old one, which is or is not recorded in long-term memory. Meditation helps to get that piece of information that is needed in a given period of time faster.
How long it will take to see positive results is not known for certain. 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 learning.
- Try to isolate yourself from people you know while studying. Go to the library or cafe where you will not be disturbed.
- Work on only one topic at a time, avoid multitasking and frequent switching to other material.
Don't cram
In order to adequately process this or that information, it should be studied in several approaches. 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 in interconnected "clusters. "This ability of the brain to structure data can be used in everyday life. Try combining similar ideas and terms together, or sketching out 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 often used by students to fetch data from the brain faster. In other words, it's an easy way to remember complex information. For example, you can associate a term you want to remember by associating it with a subject that you are familiar with. The best mnemonics are those associated with positive imagery or humor. You can come up with a rhyme, song, or joke to remember a specific segment of the material.
Acronyms are the most commonly used technique for the associative memorization of short lists or sequences.
In everyday life, we are already so used to acronyms that we don’t even notice them and don’t think about what 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 passed
To remember information, you first need to make it understandable to the brain, 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. By repeating this process several times, you will probably find that you remember the term more easily and faster 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 days per week.
Review the material again, if you remember it well, then repeat it only once a week.
If you have difficulty in reproducing information, then re-read it in a few hours or every other day.
And if you don’t remember anything, then study the material again for 10 minutes. After the whole cycle repeats, you sort the information again according to how you remember it and allocate your time for repetition and filling in the gaps.
Visualize information
Visualization of information often helps people remember material better because some people have more visual perception. Pay attention to pictures, graphs and tables in the same tutorials, for example. You can create your own diagrams, diagrams and drawings, use notes in the margins or colored markers in order to remember the significant points and find what you need quickly.
Link new information with known information
When researching unfamiliar material, take time to think about how this information relates to what you already know. Having found this relationship, it will be easier for you to remember recently received information.
Read aloud
Research shows that reading out loud 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 easiest to remember at the beginning or at the end? The researchers found that the order in which the data is examined plays a significant role in how quickly the brain samples and outputs that information. And the material is best remembered at the beginning of the book and at the end.
Information in the middle is often lost, but this problem can be solved by repeating it several times. Another strategy is to try to rephrase 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 environment for learning. 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 the effort expended and the memorization of information.
Remember before you write
Teachers often tell you to write things down before you start teaching them so that the material is better remembered.
Remember and mentally repeat what you write down, and do 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 thereby into long-term memory.
Get enough sleep and do not 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 as well as some other cognitive abilities.
The link between sleep and memory has been confirmed by numerous studies, as many people know that memory consolidation occurs during sleep. It follows that the quality of sleep is directly related to the clarity of memories. If the quality of your sleep suffers, then you will soon notice that the memories are slipping away from you. Conversely, with enough sleep from 8+ hours, recalling 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 (just half an hour or so) increases the brain's ability to retain information. The researchers asked two groups of people to memorize a set of pictures with different images, and then after about 40 minutes 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 pictures (85%) compared to those who did not sleep at all (60%).
The reason, again, is to consolidate memory - the brain needs sleep for this process to go well, so a little sleep will only be beneficial.
Conclusion:If you want to make the most of your memory reserves, give your body enough sleep.
Train
Exercise is known for improving cognition, concentration, and blood circulation in the brain through the flow of oxygen to its cells and mood.
Exercise also triggers the release of the cathepsin B protein 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 proven to improve brain function in a number of studies, so let's talk about that first. In one of them, it was proven that just a few minutes of light exercise leads to an immediate improvement in memory. Participants in the experiment performed exercises of varying intensity, while scientists at that moment observed changes in brain activity.
The results showed that during these exercises, the connection between the areas of the brain responsible for the creation of new episodic memories (autobiographical memory, which remembers according to the principle of "who, what, where and when"), as well as in the dentate gyrus improvedand 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 for a start, and most people can do it.
Drink coffee and tea
Caffeine is a well-known brain booster. In large quantities, it is harmful to health and even dangerous, but there is no doubt that it improves memorization.
In one study by Johns Hopkins, one group of volunteers was asked not to consume caffeinated foods at all, and the other was given a 200 mg caffeinated supplement 5 minutes after being asked to view pictures. The next day they were shown even more pictures, some of them were identical to the past or similar in some way, there were also new ones.
The group that took caffeine the day before did a much better job at identifying which pictures were similar to the original ones 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 rather than sugary carbonated energy drinks. In addition to caffeine, green and black tea contains components that improve memory. Drinking them is recommended all day, but preferably not before bedtime.
Eat Flavonoid-Rich Foods
Foods that contain saturated fats and trans fats (red meat, butter) are bad for memory. And just in preparation for exams, 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 in the future, which causes irreparable damage to brain health and causes 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 term, 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 agent, 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.
Medicines and Supplements
If you are looking to improve brain function through supplementation, then omega-3 fatty acids are the best.
When choosing supplements and before taking any tablets, pay attention to the label, omega-3 fats must be obtained from highly refined fish oil, preferably from fish that are found in cold waters, as they containless mercury. They improve memory, especially in the elderly, and other cognitive functions.