Have you noticed that you no longer remember where you put the keys or once again forgot about an important meeting, can not concentrate on important issues and are constantly in the mood, do not remember new material well or do not remember recently completed material? If so, then you need to think about how to improve memory and attention in adults and get them back to their former state.
The first thing that comes to mind is to create a blog, or an online calendar to remind you not to miss important events and meetings. But what about information that needs to be remembered and transferred to long-term memory? !
Unfortunately, not everything is so simple. Despite the variety of choices, pill formulations, supplements, and medications, there is currently no scientific evidence that they actually improve brain activity and thought processes. Testing a $ 50 drug that promises to strengthen neural connections in your brain just doesn’t sound tempting, especially if the appointment was made by a doctor within a promotion.
In the information technology of the XXI century, to cover the whole volume or to prepare for the test, it is necessary not only to spend time on it. The main problem is often just poor memory, weakened memory and incorrect approach to the learning process.Fortunately, there are scientifically proven methods to enhance memory and ways to improve brain function in both the short and long term at home and even simplify test preparation. Below we discuss each of them separately.
Try Meditation to Improve Concentration
Attention 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 particular material. Try to do important things away from attention, such as television, music, phones, chats, and other entertainment.
This is not always easy to do, especially if you have noisy neighbors or children around you. Try to set aside time for yourself when no one is on the road so you can focus on your work.
Memory and concentration are located in approximately the same region of the brain. It has been proven that with an increase in concentration, meditation leads to improved brain function and the process of adult memory.
Meditation helps to improve and develop working memory, which temporarily stores the necessary data throughout the day. Simply put, there are 7 pieces of information in the brain at any given time when a new part arrives, it moves the old one, which is fixed in long-term memory or not recorded. Meditation helps to get the part of the information that is needed faster in a given period.
How long it will take to see positive results is unknown. Generally, this may take 2 to 8 weeks.
Maybe the calming effect of meditation enhances mental noise overcoming and focusing on what you need to know at this or that stage.
Here are some more powerful ways:
- Turn off all messages while studying.
- Try to isolate yourself from people you know while studying. Go to a library or cafe where you will not be disturbed.
- Work one at a time, avoid multiple assignments and frequent transitions to other material.
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In order to adequately process this or that information, it must be studied in several ways. Studies have shown that those who regularly teach specific material in parts will remember it much better than those who learn everything at once.
Structure and organization of your data
Researchers have found that information in the body is organized into interconnected "clusters". This ability of the brain in data structure can be used in everyday life. Try to combine similar ideas and terms together, or express notes or group material from different books, which will make it easier for you to remember and separate the desired information from different sources.
Use mnemonics and abbreviations
Mnemonics is a memorization technique often used by students to retrieve brain data faster. In other words, it's an easy way to memorize complex information. For example, you can add a term that you want to memorize to be associated with the subject you want. The best mnemonics are those that are associated with a positive image or humor. You can win a rhyme, song or joke to remember a specific segment of the material.
Abbreviation is the most commonly used technique for associative memorization of short lists or sequences.
Every dayAs you learn new knowledge, you can create your own acronym.
Analyze the material in detail and repeat the submitted
To recall the information, first you need to make it clear to the brain, and then repeat everything you have learned, then the information will really be remembered for a long time. For example, read the definition of a key term, study the definition of that term, and then read a more detailed description of what that term means. By repeating this process several times, you will probably find that the term is easier and faster to remember over time.
When reviewing the material studied, it is also recommended to divide the complexity into three categories. For each of them, select the time spent and the days of the week.
Review the material again, if you remember correctly, then repeat only once a week.
If you have difficulty reproducing the information, read it in a few hours or the next day.
And if you do not remember something, study the material again for 10 minutes. After repeating the whole cycle, you will again sort the information according to how you remember it and take your time to repeat and fill in the blanks.
Information visualization
Visualizing information often helps people remember material better, as some have more visual perception. Pay attention to pictures, graphs, and tables in the same tutorials, for example. You can create your own charts, diagrams and drawings, use notes in margins or colored markers to memorize important points and quickly find what you need.
Connect new information with already known information
When researching foreign material, take the time to relate how that information relates to what you already know. Finding this relationship will make it easier for you to remember the information you just received.
Read aloud
Research has shown that reading aloud makes it easier to recall information. Teachers also support this concept and apply it in practice when they ask students to teach new material to their classmates. You can also use this approach and explore new material with your friend.
Spend more time on difficult information
Which information is easiest to remember at the beginning or end? The researchers found that the sequence of data analysis played an important role in the brain sampling and output process. 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 paraphrase the words you have learned with your words so that you can remember them easily.
Change the default environment
Another great way to improve your memory is to change your learning environment. Change the place in the classroom or time of day to study the material. By adding an element of novelty to your learning activities, you can increase the effectiveness of your efforts and memorize information.
Remember before you write
Teachers often tell you to write things down before you start teaching them so that you can memorize the material better.
Remember and mentally repeat what you write and do not write just without thinking.
This process will not be difficult as the information will remain in short term memory for 10-20 seconds. If you mentally expel this information in your head, you will transfer it to long-term memory.
Get enough sleep and don't forget to sleep if possible
Most students try to devote more time to study and forget about sleep altogether. But this only aggravates the situation because lack of sleep affects memory as well as other cognitive abilities.
The link between sleep and memory has been proven by many studies, as many know that memory consolidation occurs during sleep. It follows that the quality of sleep is directly related to the purity of memories. If your sleep quality suffers, then you will soon notice that the memories are gone. Conversely, with enough sleep from 8+ hours, remembering certain moments is much easier and faster.
Research has also shown that sleep can improve memory performance. One of the most well-known studies in this field has shown that REM sleep (just over 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 images, and then about 40 minutes later showed another set of cards. One of the groups managed to rest during these 40 minutes.
Results:The group that inhaled retained significantly more information about the images (85%) than those who did not sleep at all (60%).
The reason is again memory consolidation - the brain needs sleep for this process to go well, so a little sleep will only be beneficial.
Daily remedy:If you want to make the most of your memory reserves, your body needs enough sleep.
train
Exercises are known to improve cognition, concentration, and blood flow to the brain, to oxygen to its cells, and to mood.
Exercise also triggers the release of cathepsin B protein into 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 retention.Exercise has been shown to improve brain function in a number of studies, so let’s talk about that first. In one of them it was shown that just a few minutes of light exercise causes an instant improvement in memory. Participants in the experiment performed exercises of varying intensity, and the scientists observed changes in brain activity at that point.
The results showed that during these exercises, improvements were made between the regions of the brain responsible for creating new episodic memories (an autobiographical memory that remembers according to the "who, what, where and when" principle), as well as the dentate gyrus hippocampus.
Therefore, in just a few minutes or even an hour of exercise, you can improve your memory. To begin with you can try a treadmill or a walk, and most people can do that.
Drink coffee and tea
Caffeine is a good brain booster. In large quantities, it is harmful to health and even dangerous, but there is no doubt that it improves memory.
In one study by Johns Hopkins, one group of volunteers was asked not to eat caffeinated foods at all, while the other group was given 200 mg of caffeine supplements 5 minutes after viewing the images. The next day they showed even more pictures, some of them were identical to the past or somehow similar, there were new ones as well. Thegroup that received the caffeine the day before did a much better job of identifying which images were similar to the original and were even able to tell the difference between them.
Tea and coffee contain the most caffeine and they also have many other benefits, such as antioxidants. Try to get your caffeine from natural tea and coffee and not sugary fizzy energy drinks. In addition to caffeine, green and black tea contain components that improve memory. Drinking them is recommended throughout the day, but preferably not at bedtime.
Eat flavonoid-rich foods
Foods that contain saturated fat and trans fats (red meat, butter) are bad for memory. Just to prepare for exams, students often eat a lot of unhealthy foods, which is even worse for the brain.
Numerous studies have shown that these foods can lead to Alzheimer's and even dementia in the future, 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 run, foods rich in flavonoids can help improve memory, especially dark-colored berries and cocoa. Flavonoids are anti-inflammatory compounds in plants that improve cardiovascular health. Some studies have proven that it is an excellent prevention of cancer and taking blueberries for a few weeks slows down memory loss.
Another study has shown that regular consumption of blueberries for 12 weeks improves spatial memory. Already in the third week of the experiment the first signs of improvement appeared.
Dark chocolate with 70% or more cocoa is also known to improve brain function.
Medications and Supplements
If you are looking to improve brain function through supplements, then omega-3 fatty acids are best.
When choosing supplements and before taking any tablet, pay attention to the label, omega-3 fats should be obtained from highly calibrated 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.