Wouldn’t it be nice to just look at a page and never forget what was on there? What if you could never again forget a friend’s birthday? The bad news is, almost all scientific experts agree that photographic memory—the ability to recall facts, images, and events perfectly—simply doesn’t exist. The good news, however, is that everyone can take steps to improve their memory, and with time and practice most people can gain the ability to memorize seemingly impossible amounts of information. Whether you want to win the World Memory Championships, ace your history test, or simply remember where you put your keys, this article can get you started.
Steps
- Keep your brain active. The brain is not a muscle, but regularly “exercising” the brain actually does keep it growing and spurs the development of new nerve connections that can help improve memory. By developing new mental skills—especially complex ones such as learning a new language or learning to play a new musical instrument—and challenging your brain with puzzles and games you can keep your brain active and improve its physiological functioning.
- Exercise daily. Regular aerobic exercise improves circulation and efficiency throughout the body, including in the brain, and can help ward off the memory loss that comes with aging. Exercise also makes you more alert and relaxed, and can thereby improve your memory uptake, allowing you to take better mental “pictures.”
- Reduce stress. Chronic stress can damage the brain in the long run, and even temporary stresses can make it more difficult to effectively focus on concepts and observe things. Try to relax, regularly practice yoga or other stretching exercises, and see a doctor if you have severe chronic stress.
- Eat well and eat right. There are a lot of herbal supplements on the market that claim to improve memory, but none have yet been shown to be effective in clinical tests (although small studies have shown some promising results for ginkgo biloba and phosphatidylserine). A healthy diet, however, contributes to a healthy brain, and foods containing antioxidants—broccoli, spinach, and berries, for example—and Omega-3 fatty acids appear to promote healthy brain functioning. Grazing, eating 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 large meals, also seems to improve mental functioning (including memory) by limiting dips in blood sugar, which may negatively affect the brain.
- Take better pictures. Often we forget things not because our memory is bad, but rather because our observational skills need work. One common situation where this occurs (and which almost everyone can relate to) is meeting new people. Often we don’t really learn people’s names at first because we aren’t really concentrating on remembering them. You’ll find that if you make a conscious effort to remember such things, you’ll do much better. One way to train yourself to be more observant is to look at an unfamiliar photograph for a few seconds and then turn the photograph over and describe or write down as many details as you can about the photograph. Try closing your eyes and picturing the photo in your mind. Use a new photograph each time you try this exercise, and with regular practice you will find you’re able to remember more details with even shorter glimpses of the photos.
- Give yourself time to form a memory. Memories are very fragile in the short-term, and distractions can make you quickly forget something as simple as a phone number. The key to avoid losing memories before you can even form them is to be able to focus on the thing to be remembered for a while without thinking about other things, so when you’re trying to remember something, avoid distractions and complicated tasks for a few minutes.
- Repeat things you need to learn. The more times your hear, see, or think about something, the more surely you’ll remember it, right? It’s a no-brainer. When you want to remember something, be it your new coworker’s name or the date of the Battle of Hastings, repeat it, either out loud or silently. Try writing it down; think about it.
- Group things you need to remember. Random lists of things (a shopping list, for example) can be especially difficult to remember. To make it easier, try categorizing the individual things from the list. If you can remember that, among other things, you wanted to buy four different kinds of vegetables, you’ll find it easier to remember all four.
- Use mnemonics. Mnemonics, also called “mnemonic devices” are memory aids. There are a wide variety of mnemonics suitable for different tasks. Some are very simple, such as “first-letter” mnemonics: the nonsense name Roy G. Biv, for example, uses the first letters of each of the colors of the spectrum in order. Mnemonics of increasing complexity, such as creating a story which includes things you need to remember, or creating a sentence the words of which correspond to a series of digits (the number of letters in each word is the next number in the series) can be used to remember longer or more complex ideas. One of the most powerful mnemonics is the “memory palace,” a mental journey that can be used to remember almost anything.
- Organize your life. Keep items that you frequently need, such as keys and eyeglasses, in the same place every time. Use an electronic organizer or daily planner to keep track of appointments, due dates for bills, and other tasks. Keep phone numbers and addresses in an address book or enter them into your computer or cell phone. Improved organization can help free up your powers of concentration so that you can remember less routine things. Even if being organized doesn’t improve your memory, you’ll receive a lot of the same benefits (i.e. you won’t have to search for your keys anymore).
Tips
- Most people’s brains are not very good at remembering abstract information, such as numbers. The key to being able to recall such things is to build associations and links that evoke the memory. This is why almost anybody with normal brain functioning can dramatically improve their ability to recall things using mnemonics. While building a memory palace, for example, actually requires that you “remember” more, by associating the thing to be remembered with other things (emotions, other memories, images, etc.) you build more mental “links” to the memory, thus making it easier to access.
- A large number of memory improvement products are available (a search on the internet will produce hundreds of such products). Most of these products actually teach you mnemonic strategies, and while some are no doubt bunk, some are legitimate.
- One easy method to help you remember people’s names is to look at the person when you are introduced and say the person’s name: “Nice to meet you, Bill.”
Warnings
- If you notice a severe or sudden deterioration of memory, talk to your doctor immediately. Sometimes “senior moments” can be precursors to Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.
- While improving your ability to recall things can make a lot of tasks easier, it does not guarantee any sort of success in life.
- Exercise due diligence when purchasing a memory improvement product. Find out as much as you can about how the program works, and do your own research to determine if it will work for you. Some of these products are simply scams. Be especially wary of products that promise to improve your memory instantly or with little or no effort: effective strategies to improve recall take time and practice.
- While some herbal supplements that claim to improve memory may in fact work, there is no conclusive evidence that any of these are effective. Most are harmless, however, and may be worth a try, but exercise caution: some supplements can have harmful effects, and not all contain what they say they contain.
External Links
人脑有很大的潜力，通过一定的训练，你可以改善你的记忆力，记住很多你以前不敢想象能够记住的东西。WikiHow上的一篇文章告诉大家如何能够改善你的记忆力：
- 让大脑保持活跃。大脑就象肌肉，常锻炼能促进大脑发育。学一种新语言、一种乐器，或者玩玩智力游戏都是保持大脑活跃的好办法。
- 每天锻炼。有氧锻炼对身体的各部分，包括大脑都有好处。
- 减轻压力。持续的压力对大脑有损害。突发性的压力也会让你暂时难以专心有效的工作。放松，练练瑜珈或者看看心理医生来排解压力。
- 吃好吃对。西兰花、菠菜和浆果这些含去氧化剂的食品，以及Omega-3脂肪酸都对大脑有好处。每日多餐少食也可以通过降低血糖滴度改善神经系统的功能。
- 善于观察。很多时候记不住不是因为记性差，是因为看的不仔细。头天见到的新人，第二天再碰见就想不起来了，多半是因为没有专门去记。训练观察力可以用一张自己不熟悉的画面，看几秒钟后翻过去，尝试叙述画中的内容。每次做这个练习的时候都找一张自己没见过的画，多加训练就可练就过目难忘。
- 花时间去记。不专心去记的东西一定是转眼就忘。如果你真想记住，不要分心，放下手中复杂的工作，花一点时间专心去记，效果会很好。
- 重复。重复得越多，记得越牢。可以心里默念，也可以写下来，找各种方法重复需要记住的内容。
- 将你需要记住的东西归类。杂乱无章的东西很难记住，给它们分类，往往记住一个就能联想起一组。
- 运用一些记忆法。学习一些记忆法来帮助你记忆。比如首字母记忆法，把要记忆的一组东西编成一个小故事，或者找出数字间的规律等等。使用记忆法可以帮助你记住一些复杂的东西。
- 有条理的生活。用过的东西放回原处，使用备忘录或者计划手册来记住每天的安排，把电话号码和地址存在固定的地方。井井有条的生活可以让你的大脑有更多空余部分来记住更重要的东西，而不是被琐事困扰。
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