Welcome to our new post! In this article, I will introduce you to some techniques to improve your memory. In this video we will address the following topics: techniques to have a better memory, clinical studies and the impact of technology on memory. Get ready to learn amazing things about how to improve memory and surprise your friends with these interesting facts.
Physical activity
Physical exercise increases blood flow in the brain and throughout the body. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, it is recommended to do moderate aerobic activity for at least 150 minutes a week or vigorous aerobic activity for 75 minutes a week. It is better if these exercises are diluted between several days, but if there is no time you can also do it as your routine allows.
Exercise the brain
You can exercise your brain in various ways: games, crosswords, sudoku, reading, playing musical instruments, among others. In addition to the trivia videos we also have some interactive games to exercise the brain, I'll leave them on the card on the top right so you can take a look. Always innovating in your routine forces you to learn other things and observe different things.
Social interactions
The talks exercise your brain to remember topics related to the subject and you also learn new information from the other person. On top of that, spending time in the company of other people can help prevent stress and depression, two factors that cause memory loss. If you want to exercise your brain even more, you can look to have these conversations in other languages.
Organization
The organization has a significant impact, especially when it comes to executing various tasks, because if they are out of order, it is more likely that you will forget. In addition to putting them all together, you can also read them aloud, as this helps with memorization. It is also important to mark the completed tasks, because at the end of the day when you see everything you have done, you will motivate yourself to continue doing it.
If your problem is forgetting your belongings, try leaving them all together in a backpack or bag. Sometimes it is preferable to focus on one task at a time, since carrying out several tasks at the same time requires more time to execute each one, since you are constantly changing your concentration. In the study by Watson and Strayer (2010) it was shown that only 2.5% of people can multitask effectively. The rest of the people did better when running one task at a time. Multitasking can impair your memory, once the stress level increases.
Give it context
If you have to remember something, in addition to putting concentration on it, you can also associate this information with music, an image, a rhyme or acronyms. Reading aloud and writing also help consolidate this information in the brain. Memory is associated with the senses of vision, smell, and hearing.
Dream
It is very important to sleep, because that is when the brain is going to rest and regenerate. Lack of sleep has a negative impact on memory. 7 to 9 hours of sleep are recommended.
Eat Healthy
Having a good diet helps to have a better memory. As for example: vegetables, fruits, grains and foods with low fat. Alcohol decreases neurons. In adolescents it can affect function and structure.
When you drink too much alcohol, you can suffer from mental blackouts, because alcohol prevents short-term memory from becoming long-term memory. This gap can occur in two ways: fragmented (specific flashbacks) and block (total loss of memory for this period).
Proactivity
Lack of proactivity can negatively affect your brain. When a person is not proactive and is too dependent on others, they do not exercise their brain to learn new things, only to ask for help.
To make conclusions
Think of your own conclusions and different applications of the things you are learning. If you are told that something works one way, ask yourself: why does it work that way? How can you apply this knowledge in different contexts and daily tasks? Many educational systems currently focus too much on mass memorization of content without question. This does not convert short-term memory to long-term and does not train the brain to think. Just memorize, take a test and forget.
Do not watch series and movies straight away, but try to create possible theories about the plot. The same goes for books.
Repose
Sometimes your memorization difficulty is due precisely to information overload. Some people have better results with methods like the Pomodoro. This method consists of focusing on a task for 25 minutes. Now mark your first pomodoro cycle as complete and rest for 5 minutes. Repeat this same cycle until you have completed 4 pomodoros and take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes.
For the application of the pomodoro method, it is recommended to break down long tasks and combine small tasks so that you can complete the entire cycle working. The method cannot be interrupted, the other tasks that arise in the course of a cycle must be recorded for the next one.
Many people have an easy time remembering information learned just before sleeping, this is because during sleep the brain increases communication between the hippocampus (short-term memory) and the cerebral cortex (long-term memory), which allows a better consolidation of this information. It is also believed that the same thing happens at rest.
For better learning, constant practice is recommended, rather than studying all the exam topics one day before.
Clinical studies
In the study by Müller and Pilzecker (1900) they concluded that newly learned memory is fragile and that if it is overloaded with more information it can be corrupted. The people who had a rest time between the two learnings obtained much better results.
The environment
Having a pleasant environment is essential for better memory and learning. Did you know that older people have more difficulty studying when they are in a place where they are pressured that because of their age they will have difficulties learning?
Technology and its negative impact on memory
There are studies that analyze the impact of text communication, since it does not work on language skills or spelling rules, once the spell checkers say the correct spelling. On the other hand, the spell checker can help in learning new languages, since it will correct you when writing. For this you have to pay close attention, otherwise you will not learn from your mistake.
Activities such as watching a lot of entertainment content without stimulation, that is, only rest, has a negative impact on working memory. This memory is responsible for manipulating the information obtained to solve problems. However, some applications and resources that exercise interaction between users and allow access to new information can help work memory.
Keeping all information online in applications and not exercising memory can make it difficult to retain data. It is very important to try to remember things and try to find solutions only before resorting to digital tools to heal our problems. Knowing that we have tools at our disposal that can heal our needs, many choose not to try and simply press a button, this behavior can have a negative impact on your memory in the long run.
A very common example of digital memory loss is grandmothers who always remember all birthdays, but even with digital notifications we sometimes forget a date.
Not everything is bad in technology when it comes to the brain, as it facilitates access to information and if used properly it can help exercise your brain and improve your memory.
Conclusion
New technologies and artificial intelligence are tools that help us increase our efficiency and optimize our time, however, one must always be careful to use this time saved by the tools to progress.
It is important to always be aware of the health of your brain and in case you suspect pathological memory loss, you should seek a health professional.
Constantly exercising the brain is essential to have a good memory.
📚 Data source:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/es-es/healthy-lifestyle/healthy-aging/in-depth/memory-loss/art-20046518
https://www.solvyhernandez.com/blog/no-es-recomendable-ser-una-persona-multitasking
https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/PBR.17.4.479
https://blog.hubspot.es/sales/tecnica-pomodoro
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/vert-fut-43127240
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/ciencia_tecnologia/2009/09/090907_memoria_tecnologia_men
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