Rules and ways of developing memory

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

You don't have to take questionable self-help courses to develop your memory. There are simple and effective mnemonic techniques for developing memory, observation, logic and imagination that can be performed in between.

The first rule of memory development: Ensure adequate oxygenation of your blood on a regular basis. The blood must carry enough oxygen to ensure high activity and performance of the brain, and therefore a good memory. How to do it? At least one day a week should be outdoors. Mental work should be interrupted for small "oxygen" pauses, open the window for 1-2 minutes. You cannot mentally work in an unventilated or smoky room. And of course, move more and play sports, physical activity improves overall blood circulation and the brain as well.

The second rule of memory development: Do not smoke! Of course, a smoker who trains memory has more abilities in this regard than a nonsmoker who does not train it. However, if we take people under all equal conditions, then it should be recognized that tobacco impairs memory. This has been confirmed by numerous studies by scientists. So the desire to develop memory is a good reason to quit smoking.

The third rule of memory development: Get enough sleep. This ensures the normal functioning of the brain. During sleep, processes take place with the participation of an important neurotransmitter (a substance with which a nerve impulse is transmitted between neurons). Without normal sleep, memory at the chemical level is unable to work at full capacity. In addition, the human brain is tuned to the biological rhythms of the change of day and night, so you need to sleep at night - it is in the dark that the brain cells are completely restored. An adult should sleep 7-8 hours a day, a teenager - 9.

The fourth rule of memory development: Avoid alcohol! If you want to keep all the flexibility of your mind, alcohol should be avoided. It is undeniable that alcohol consumption leads to a weakening of memory. The more alcohol is consumed, the less fixation. Everyone knows that it is very difficult to restore in the head the events that took place in a state of intoxication. A simple lunch, "flavored" with wine, reduces the ability to memorize for several hours. You should avoid drinking any alcohol, even wine and beer, if you need to study, attend a class, or participate in a conference.

The fifth rule of memory development: Eat right. Numerous experiments have made it possible to determine that chemical activity is accompanied by the loss of phosphoric acid and calcium salts. These losses should be compensated for: cheese (special fermenting masses, Swiss, Dutch and Chester), eggs, grain sprouts, almonds, nuts carry the necessary balance of phosphorus-calcium into the body.

During intense mental efforts, it is necessary to eat food: rich in protein (meat, eggs, liver, fish), well digestible (grilled meat, boiled vegetables for steam or water), avoiding fatty, flour, sweet foods. One should eat a little at a time, a full stomach relaxes the mental faculties.

A healthy lifestyle that includes nutrition for memory, rejection of bad habits, healthy sleep and physical activity are the most natural rules for maintaining memory for many years.

Ways to develop memory

1. Wanting to remember something, focus on the memorization process. 2. Listen, ponder, draw parallels with your own life or with already acquired knowledge. The more your own thoughts and feelings “hook” on the information flow, the more chances you will remember what is really important.

3. If you have forgotten something: the number from the report, the meaning of the word, the name of the singer, the phone of the parents, - before you immediately go into the necessary folder, dictionary, Internet or phone book, for a few minutes try to remember what you have forgotten yourself.

4. If you need to remember something important, create in your mind some image in connection with this, perhaps funny or amusing. It is much easier for the brain to remember something unusual. You can even draw the resulting image.

5. When memorizing numbers, it is most convenient to either memorize them, breaking them into small groups, or try to build some associations in the mind. For example, let's take the number 2467.2 + 4 = 6 the six is followed by the seven - this method of memorizing numbers turned out to be the most effective.

6. Continue to actively familiarize yourself with other methods of developing memory and attention - the project "mental engineering" will help you. You never know what you will catch on and it will become "your" method for life.

7. A good way to remember something better and faster is to try to explain to another person what you need to remember or understand for yourself. The brain will remember information better if you speak it out.

8. Free time (for example, if you are standing in line) devote to solving the simplest arithmetic problems in your head. 9. Daily replaying of all the events of the past day in your mind will help you to develop your memory. Remember them to the smallest detail and smallest detail. In addition, you should evaluate your own actions committed that day, asking yourself the following questions: “What have I done today? What did you fail to do? What actions deserve condemnation and require rocking? How should you rejoice?

10. Read books - it's useful! Reading, the brain concentrates, involuntarily remembers the details.

11. Learn poetry. At school, they are tortured not just out of harm. The method is reliable and time-tested. But it's better to teach what you like. For example, the lyrics of your favorite song. The best thing to remember is the material that we already partially know. New materials must go through a process of awareness.

12. Remember - memorizing without understanding, without seeing images before your eyes, without retelling the text in your own words, is unprofitable. Cramming will not go further than RAM. In the same way, it is unprofitable to teach "for tomorrow" or "before the exam", etc. If you put the arrow on “forever” while memorizing, you win.

13. Repetition is the mother of learning. It couldn't be better. Only it is better to repeat it not five times in a row immediately after reading, but within five days one time at a time. And better for the night.

14. Suppose someone tells you their name. Try to associate this name with something that is already familiar and be sure to add something from yourself: “Ksenia. Like Ksenia Sobchak, only a brunette, married and does not lead Dom-2. And the nose looks like”. Believe me, this new acquaintance Ksenia will be remembered for a long time.

15. Do something with your own hands. Women: weave baubles, cross-stitch. Men: Drive a nail, change plumbing without the help of a professional - all these actions activate the brain and memory.

16. Psychologists have proven that learning foreign languages is the best way to prevent senile marasmus, and therefore to improve memory.

17. Our emotional state is also connected with the development of memory. Happiness leads to improved memory and a fuller and deeper perception of information. For every new joy in life, your memory will thank you.

18. Don't be lazy. A lazy person, both in thoughts and actions, does not shine a good memory.

19. Think about what prospects a good memory opens before us, what you can achieve thanks to it. This will spur you on to develop it.

20. Neurobics will help maintain and develop your memory.

Read relevant literature. A lot of practical and, most importantly, memorable tips for developing memory can be gleaned from books.

1. Robert Houdin's method

A place for training: street showcases, supermarket shelves.

Robert Houdin is the famous French magician and idol of Harry Houdini. In his youth, he trained his observation daily. Passing the store, Robert cast a hasty glance at the window, turned away and after a few steps tried to remember exactly each product: color, size, shape. With each passing day, this exercise succeeded more and more quickly. He soon became so proficient that he could describe the contents of the counters on the run.

2. The method of London pickpockets

A place to train: Anywhere, the classic is Portobello Road.

In London and Parisian street gangs of the 19th century, there were entire schools where experienced robbers passed the secrets of their craft to the young. An old thief like Fagin from Oliver Twist was holding some petty trick in his palm - two buttons, fivepence, a wedding ring. The professor showed this to the boys for a few seconds, asked them to quickly describe each item, then discreetly removed one of the things - and it was necessary to immediately name what was missing.

3. Gianni Rodari's method

A place to train: imagination.

In The Grammar of Fantasy, Gianni Rodari explains how to develop your imagination and learn how to make up stories. One exercise is to come up with hilarious hypotheses. “What would happen if the buttons of Sicily were torn off and lost? What would happen if a crocodile knocked on your door and asked to lend him some rosemary? Another task is to add unexpected prefixes to words, to create and imagine vice dogs, locks and microhippos. And also: play burime, compose limericks, compose stories from newspaper clippings.

4. Aivazovsky's method

A place for training: a view from the window, from the balcony or from the roof.

Many artists have excellent visual memory. It can be developed by considering the view outside the window or passengers in the subway. Fix your gaze on a person or thing for a few seconds. Try to remember the object in detail, then close your eyes and imagine it. Look at the subject again, refresh the image, and continue with the exercise. You can make sketches of the faces and figures of passers-by, memorize pictures in the museum. Or practice with matches: throw 4-6 matches on the table and remember how they were laid down. The number of matches must be increased over and over again.

5. Method of Italian boys

Place for training: queues.

William Atkinson writes that he saw this picture in Chicago: Italian newspapermen, standing at the door of the printing house, waiting for a fresh issue, playing Morra. One shows the other his fist and shouts "Morra!" unclenches a few fingers. The second player quickly names the number of outstretched fingers, and if he hesitates or makes a mistake, he gets hit on the head with a bundle of newspapers. Morra is like Rock-Paper-Scissors. This simple game must still be played by the boys in the Neapolitan courtyards.

6. Cicero's method

Place for training: own room.

Walk around the room, examine and memorize every corner, starting with the door. Of course, this space is already familiar to you. Now mentally place what you need to remember in different parts of the room. These can be German verbs, talk pillars, or friends' birthdays. If it is difficult, write down what you need on pieces of paper, hang it on the walls and again carefully inspect the room. It should work! The method of spatial associations is attributed to either Cicero or Simonides. The first used it in preparation for speeches, the second applied the same line of thought under very sad circumstances. Simonides was a guest at a symposium. Suddenly, the roof collapsed on the feasting. Only Simonides got out alive from the rubble. Then he helped relatives identify the deceased, remembering who was sitting where.

7. Yogi method

A place to train: Anywhere.

Elements of vipassana can be borrowed from yogis who have certainly succeeded in self-development. Mindfulness meditation can be practiced in any setting: cycling, showering, sitting in a lecture, but it is best to do it in private. The essence of the method is to be aware of every moment of life, to be receptive to the signals of your body. Even measured walking from corner to corner can be considered meditation, if at this moment your attention is concentrated on movement. Take 5-10 slow steps in a straight line. Move in a relaxed manner (imagine that you are filming at Tarkovsky's). Watch how the foot rises, how the weight is transferred from one leg to the other. During the day, pay attention to what you are used to doing in passing. At regular intervals - for example, every 4 hours - record what position you are in.