Do you feel more forgetful these days? Especially with all the current affairs and endless chaos, you may be a little distracted. This can interfere with your neurological health, sleep habits and stress levels. Taking steps to reinforce your memory may help. A few methods you could use to enhance your memory are Mnemonic Devices, Brain Exercises, and the Chunking Method.
Mnemonic Devices
Mnemonic devices are techniques a person can use to help them improve their ability to remember something. Such as combining information together for a new interpretation, organizing details, or using mental visualization. “Examples of mnemonics include:
• forming a series of words into an acronym (such as ROY G BIV, for the colors of the rainbow) or a series of letters into an acrostic (Elephants And Donkeys Got Big Ears, for the notes of each string on a guitar, E-A-D-G-B)
• grouping to-be-remembered items together into categories (such as several types of food, when remembering what to buy at the grocery store)
• creating a memory palace: visualizing a series of objects, events, or other things appearing in a familiar physical space (such as a room at home), where each one represents something to be remembered; also called the method of loci” - Psychology Today
Brain Exercises
“Research has shown that there are many ways you can hone your mental sharpness and help your brain stay healthy, no matter what age you are. Doing certain brain exercises to help boost your memory, concentration, and focus can make daily tasks quicker and easier to do, and keep your brain sharp as you get older.” - Healthline
For example, trying playing card games. “Researchers who conducted a study in 2015 Trusted Source on mentally stimulating activities for adults, say a quick card game can lead to greater brain volume in several regions of the brain. The same study also found that a game of cards could improve memory and thinking skills.” - Healthline
See all thirteen evidence-based exercises Click Here
Chunking Method
“Chunking refers to the process of taking individual pieces of information and grouping them into larger units. By grouping each data point into a larger whole, you can improve the amount of information you can remember. Probably the most common example of chunking occurs in phone numbers. For example, a phone number sequence of 4-7-1-1-3-2-4 would be chunked into 471-1324.” By separating disparate individual elements into larger blocks, information becomes easier to retain and recall. This is due mainly to how limited our short-term memory can be.
While some research suggests people are capable of storing between five and nine units of information, more recent research posits that short-term memory has a capacity for about four chunks of information.
According to neuroscientist Daniel Bor, author of The Ravenous Brain, chunking represents our ability to "hack" the limits of our memory… The next time you are trying to remember items from a list, start by forming them into groups.”- Very Well Mind
All these methods are beneficial and can even be fun in your pursuit to improve your memory. Getting plenty of rest and decreasing your stress levels can help as well. Even though a lot is going on in the world, set time aside to take care of yourself. You are more beneficial to yourself and others when you are feeling great and feel in control of your neurological health. Give these methods a shot and share what works for you with anyone you know who could use a memory boost!
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