Keep reading for an introduction to effective memorization techniques that will help you in school. In addition to visual and spatial memory techniques, there are many others tricks you can use to help your brain remember information.

Here are some simple tips to try. Check out this video from the Learning Center for a quick explanation of many of these tips. Try to understand the information first.

Information that is organized and makes sense to you is easier to memorize. Link it. Connect the information you are trying to memorize to something that you already know. Material in isolation is more difficult to remember than material that is connected to other concepts.

If you cannot think of a way to connect the information to something you already know, make up a crazy connection. Link these two by imagining throwing your phone into a boiling ocean. Sleep on it. Studies show that your brain processes and stores information while you sleep.

Quiz yourself every so often by actively recalling the information you are trying to study. Make sure to actively quiz yourself—do not simply reread notes or a textbook. Often, students think they remember material just because it is familiar to them when they reread it.

Instead, ask yourself questions and force yourself to remember it without looking at the answer or material. This will enable you to identify areas that you are struggling with; you can then go back to one of the memory tricks to help yourself memorize it.

Also, avoid quizzing yourself immediately after trying to memorize something. Wait a few hours, or even a day or two, to see if it has really stuck in your memory.

Use distributed practice. For a concept to move from your temporary working memory to your long-term memory, two things need to happen: the concept should be memorable and it should be repeated.

Use repetition to firmly lodge information in your memory. Repetition techniques can involve things like flash cards, using the simple tips in this section, and self-testing.

Space out your studying and repetition over several days, and start to increase the time in between each study session. Spacing it out and gradually extending the times in between can help us become more certain of mastery and lock the concepts into place. Write it out. Try writing your notes by hand during a lecture or rewriting and reorganizing notes or information by hand after a lecture.

While you are writing out a concept you want to remember, try to say the information out loud and visualize the concept as well. Create meaningful groups. A good strategy for memorizing is to create meaningful groups that simplify the material. The first letters abbreviate to GRHM, so you can connect that with the image of a GRAHAM cracker.

Now all you need to do is remember to picture a graham cracker, and the names of the plants will be easier to recall. Use mnemonics. Mnemonics are systems and tricks that make information for memorable. One common type is when the first letter of each word in a sentence is also the first letter of each word in a list that needs to be memorized.

For example, many children learned the order of operations in math by using the sentence Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally parentheses, exponents, multiply, divide, add, subtract. They are convenient to bring with you anywhere, and can be used effectively whether a student has one minute or an hour.

Create your own flash cards using index cards, writing the questions on one side and the answers on the other. Creating the flash cards help with memory because you need to decide what is important to put on the cards, summarize key principles, and the act of writing it down helps too.

You can use them almost anywhere. For example, you can pull out the flash cards on the bus and test yourself during your commute. What do the names of the Great Lakes, the makings of a Big Mac, and the number of days in a month have in common?

They are easily remembered by using mnemonic devices. Mnemonics pronounced neh-MA-nicks are tricks for memorizing lists and data. They create artificial but strong links to the data, making recall easier.

The most commonly used mnemonic devices are acronyms, acrostics, rhymes, and jingles. Acronyms are words or phrases made up by using the first letter of each word in a list or phrase. Need to remember the names of the Great Lakes?

Try the acronym HOMES using the first letter of each lake:. To create an acronym, first write down the first letters of each term you need to memorize. Then rearrange the letters to create a word or words. Organizing information in this way can be helpful because it is not as difficult to memorize the acronym, and with practice and repetition, the acronym can trigger the brain to recall the entire piece of information.

Acronyms work best when your list of letters includes vowels as well as consonants and when the order of the terms is not important.

If no vowels are available, or if the list should be learned in a particular order, try using an acrostic instead. Acrostics are similar to acronyms in that they work off the first letter of each word in a list. But rather than using them to form a word, the letters are represented by entire words in a sentence or phrase.

To create an acrostic, list the first letters of the terms to be memorized in the order in which you want to learn them like the planet names.

Then create a sentence or phrase using words that start with those letters. Rhymes are short verses used to remember data. Writing rhymes is a talent that can be developed with practice. To start, keep your rhymes short and simple. Define the key information you want to remember and break it down into a series of short phrases.

Look at the last words of the phrases: can you rhyme any of them? Jingles are phrases set to music, so that the music helps trigger your memory. Jingles are commonly used by advertisers to get you to remember their product or product features. Anytime you add rhythm to the terms you want to memorize, you are activating your auditory sense, and the more senses you use for memorization, the stronger the links to the data you are creating in your mind.

To create a jingle for your data, start with a familiar tune and try to create alternate lyrics using the terms you want to memorize. Another approach you may want to try is reading your data aloud in a hip-hop or rap music style.

The late Velma McKay, a former math instructor at College of the Rockies, was well known for singing to her students. She replaced the lyrics to many familiar songs and sang them in class to help them remember important math formulas. Create an acrostic to remember the noble gasses: helium He , neon Ne , argon Ar , krypton Kr , xenon Xe , and the radioactive radon Rn.

Create an acronym to remember the names of the G8 group of countries: France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada. Create a jingle to remember the names of the Seven Dwarfs: Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, and Sneezy.

Since they lack meaning, they can also be easily forgotten later on, although you may remember them through the course. Select one course where memorizing key concepts is a part of your exam preparation. Choose at least one new strategy from the chart above this week.

Monitor—is this strategy effective for what you are trying to learn? A good way to monitor is to see if you can recall the information accurately without looking at a text or notes. Atkinson-Shiffrin model of memory: Sensory input leads to sensory memory.

Information not transferred is lost. Sensory memory leads to short-term memory. Information that is rehearsed may remain in short-term memory.

Short term memory leads to long-term memory. Student Success by Mary Shier is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4. Skip to content Chapter 5 Study Skills. Atkinson-Shiffrin model of memory. Learning, Remembering, and Retrieving Information The first thing our brains do is to take in information from our senses what we see, hear, taste, touch and smell.

Moving Information from the Short-term Memory to the Long-term Memory This is something that takes a lot of time: there is no shortcut for it. Make a deliberate decision to remember the specific data. Link the information to your everyday life. Ask yourself how this is related to other information you have.

Look for ways to tie items together. Are they used in similar ways? Do they have similar meanings? Do they sound alike? For example, if you have to memorize a vocabulary list for a Spanish class, group the nouns together with other nouns, verbs with verbs, and so forth. Available here.

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Many factors play a role in memory loss, including genetics, age, and medical conditions that affect the brain. There are also some manageable risk factors for memory loss, such as diet and lifestyle.

While not all memory loss is preventable, people may be able to take measures to protect the brain against cognitive decline as they age. In a similar way to muscles, the brain needs regular use to stay healthy. Mental workouts are just as essential to gray matter as other factors, and challenging the mind can help it grow and expand, which may improve memory.

A large trial from the journal PLoS One found that people who did just 15 minutes of brain training activities at least 5 days a week had improvements in brain function. The researchers used brain training activities from the website Lumosity.

Physical exercise has a direct impact on brain health. As the author of research in the Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation notes, regular exercise reduces the risk of cognitive decline with age and protects the brain against degeneration.

The control group did nonaerobic stretching and toning. Mindfulness meditation may help improve memory. The authors of a research paper note that many studies show meditation improves brain function, reduces markers of brain degeneration, and improves both working memory and long term memory.

The researchers observed the brains of people who regularly practiced meditation and those who did not. Their results indicated that making a habit of meditating may cause long term changes in the brain, including increasing brain plasticity, which helps keep it healthy.

Learn about a variety of different meditation types and how to do them in this article. Sleep is vital for overall brain health. Sugary foods can taste delicious and feel rewarding at first, but they may play a role in memory loss. Avoiding extra sugar may help combat this risk.

While naturally sweet foods, such as fruits, are a good addition to a healthful diet, people can avoid drinks sweetened with sugar and foods with added, processed sugars. Along with cutting out sources of excess sugar, reducing overall caloric intake may also help protect the brain.

Researchers note that high calorie diets can impair memory and lead to obesity. The effects on memory may be due to how high calorie diets lead to inflammation in particular parts of the brain. While most research in this area has been with animals, a study from looked at whether restricting calories in humans could improve memory.

Female participants with an average age of The researchers found that they had a significant improvement in verbal memory scores and that the benefit was most significant in those who stuck to the diet best. Caffeine from sources such as coffee or green tea may be helpful for the memory.

People who took milligrams of caffeine scored better on recall tests after 24 hours than people who did not take caffeine. Caffeine may also boost memory in the short term. A study in Frontiers in Psychology found that young adults who took caffeine in the morning had improved short term memory.

This insight might be useful for individuals who have to take tests or recall information during a time of day when they may otherwise be tired. The results of a study suggest that cocoa flavonoids, which are the active compounds in chocolate, help boost brain function.

People who ate dark chocolate performed better on spatial memory tests than those who did not. The researchers noted that cocoa flavonoids improved the blood flow to the brain.

There are risk factors a person has no control over, such as genetics. In other cases, a person may be able to reduce the risk of memory impairment. Eating a diet high in refined sugar and fats and leading a sedentary lifestyle may increase the risk of memory loss.

Eating a rounded, healthful diet and exercising regularly may contribute to keeping the mind sharp and reduce memory loss. For example, practicing mindfulness meditation may not only make a person less forgetful but can also reduce stress. Some activities may boost brain function and connectivity, which may help protect the brain from age-related degeneration.

Here are 22 brain exercises…. The diet can have a significant impact on the brain's function. A brain-healthy diet, rich in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids, can boost memory…. Short-term memory refers to small amounts of information that people can remember for a short period of time.

Whether you're a student, professional, or simply looking to enhance your cognitive abilities, improving your memory function is a goal well worth pursuing. So, let's dive into what memory is, why it matters, and explore the most effective strategies to help you achieve your memory goals.

Memory is the process of absorbing, processing, and storing information in your brain in order to retrieve it at a later time. It can be divided into two categories: short-term and long-term.

Short-term memory is important for simple tasks such as remembering where you left your car keys. Long-term memory plays a significant role in developing who you are since it allows you to learn unique skills and gain knowledge to be retained for regular use. Much of what you remember happens subconsciously and is out of your control.

Experiences that are tied to strong emotions tend to create powerful, longer lasting memories due the effect these emotions have on neural networks and the activation of specific regions in our brain.

However, you can control your memory to a certain degree with some effort. There are skills and habits you can develop to enhance your ability to remember information. By committing to memory-boosting activities and practices, you can strengthen your cognitive abilities and enjoy the benefits of a sharper mind.

Let's explore some effective strategies that you can implement right now to improve your memory retention. We've divided them into "lifestyle" and "learning" strategies. Lifestyle factors directly affect the health and functioning of the brain. The brain requires nutrients and stimulation to perform at its best.

Positive lifestyle habits can promote brain health and function. Sleep has been consistently proven to help consolidate memories. Specifically Stage 3 sleep, also known as slow wave sleep or deep sleep, is believed to be essential for improving memory retention. Moderate-intensity exercise is excellent for brain health.

Stress can have a negative impact on our memory. Yoga, meditation, and other forms of physical activity are great options to manage your stress levels. There are all kinds of games you can use to get your brain activated, from puzzles to cards.

Keeping your brain active can be both fun and effective in improving your memory. Water accounts for 75 percent of your brain's mass [ 1 ]. Proper hydration is critical for your brain to be working at its best.

It helps transport nutrients and bring more oxygen to the brain. The amount you need varies from person to person based on factors such as age, but a good place to start is to aim for at least As we learn new information, it is processed and stored in our brains to retrieve for later use.

The way that we learn can impact how we encode and retain information in our memory. Active recall is key when it comes to storing information as memories.