Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 3: Exercise Your Brain
• Method 2 of 3: Concentration and Association
• Method 3 of 3: Lifestyle

Do you find it difficult to remember a person's name ten seconds after you meet? Sometimes you forget why you entered the room? Regular episodes of this may be symptomatic of a medical problem, but simple training and exercise that improve short-term memory will most likely help you. In this case, start with this article!

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Exercise Your Brain

1. 1 Understand how short-term memory works. You can think of memory as a "reservoir" that is used by the brain to temporarily store information while searching for an answer to the question of whether to filter out (and forget) a fact or move it into long-term memory.
   • It is often said that short-term memory can simultaneously store up to seven units of information for about 10-15 seconds (or even up to a minute).
   • Often people compare problems with short-term memory and amnesia, which often happens in soap opera characters, but usually it is a matter of perceiving new facts and effectively determining the need to remember them for a long time.
2. 2 Find out the limitations of ways to compensate for poor short-term memory. Handwritten and dictaphone recordings or nodules and crosses on your hands will help with your daily activities, but will not improve your short-term memory in any way.
   • The only way to improve short-term memory is to exercise the brain, as well as increase your concentration and associative skills.
3. 3 Keep your brain active. As with any part of the body, inactivity of the brain leads to a weakening and loss of ability. An active brain is a healthy brain, and a healthy brain is the key to good short-term memory.
   • Interact with people. Simple conversation will help keep your brain active. Playing chess, puzzles and other challenging tasks will be even more rewarding.
   • Stimulate your brain in moments of loneliness. Don't just stare at the TV. Read, or better yet, write a book.
4. 4 Find brain exercises. There are many games and tests out there that, with the simplest things and accessories, can do a healthy (and fun) exercise for the brain. Use puzzles or other exercises twice a day to save memory resources from stagnation.
   • Use flash cards. They are useful not only in school.Special card games to strengthen memory are great, but even a simple attempt to memorize the sequence of cards will be beneficial.
   • Check yourself. For example, lay out everyday items on a tray and cover it with a cloth, then try to remember the entire contents. Add new things gradually.
   • There are many games and books with exercises for the brain on sale, as well as convenient services on the Internet. Experiment and choose the best option for yourself.

Method 2 of 3: Concentration and Association

1. 1 Focus on what you need to remember. Often people think they have problems with short-term memory, but in fact they have problems with concentration. Do you constantly forget the name of the waiter because you never pay attention to it?
   • Theorists suggest that it is necessary to concentrate on information for at least 8 seconds - this is the minimum time it takes for information to move into long-term memory.
   • Do not be distructed. If you want to remember the name of the waiter, then postpone the menu, do not listen to the music and conversations of others, take a look at the waiter and listen to his words.
2. 2 Use all your senses. You've probably come across a smell or sound that brings up long-standing memories. Engage your senses in recording information in short-term memory to increase concentration and create associations that will become a marker of future memories.
   • If you want to remember the person's name when meeting, then try to activate all your senses. Listen carefully and look directly at the person when they say their name. Repeat the name immediately, shake hands, and pay attention to the handshake. Try to smell perfume or cologne. The more sensory associations, the more securely the information will be encrypted.
   • Repeat a name or other fact aloud to help the information stick in your memory. Just listen to how you pronounce a word or phrase, and use this technique regularly.
3. 3 Use mnemonics. Remember the phrase: "Every hunter wants to know where the pheasant is sitting", with which it is easy to remember the colors of the rainbow? This is one of the mnemonic devices that create visual or verbal associations with information.
   • Create vivid and even silly images that can better encrypt short-term memory. For example, you can imagine a pile of rubbish falling on your head when the clock strikes six to take out the trash in the evenings.
   • You can use different mnemonic songs as sound prompts. More examples of mnemonic tricks with numbers, colors and other associations can be found in this article.
4. 4 Use the "block" method. This technique, close to mnemonics, suggests splitting the data chain into more convenient fragments. One of the most famous examples is dash breaking a phone number into blocks, since three short groups of numbers are easier to remember than six or seven digits at once.
   • Memorizing a shopping list is not easy, but it can be divided into convenient groups by category - dairy, vegetables, groceries, meat. Several small lists are easier to remember than one large list.
5. 5 Place memory lures. If you need to enter a large amount of information into short-term memory, then focus on individual elements of the whole to build a foundation in the mind, and then add new information.
   • For example, if you need to remember the main battles of the Great Patriotic War in order, then first select and remember a few of the most important battles. When they are firmly embedded in memory, additional information can “cling” to existing knowledge (you can follow the bait into the depths of your own memory).

Method 3 of 3: Lifestyle

1. 1 Eat foods that are good for your brain. In general, a balanced diet of healthy foods that promotes overall health will also be beneficial for brain health so that it can better encrypt information. Start eating as many fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains as possible, and cut back on saturated fat, sodium, and sugar.
   • Foods high in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids like salmon, tuna, soybeans and walnuts are extremely beneficial for the brain and good memory.
   • There are omega-3 supplements and other dietary supplements that are recommended as beneficial for the brain and memory. This is one option, but it is always best to get your vitamins and nutrients from regular foods.
   • Also drink plenty of water. Dehydration negatively affects the functioning of the brain and the entire body.
2. 2 Monitor your overall health. If a healthy body promotes brain health and improves memory, then illness can impair short-term memory.
   • Any circulatory problem that affects blood flow to the brain (such as high blood pressure) can negatively affect short-term memory. Problems with other diseases such as diabetes, thyroid disease or cancer are also possible.
   • Depression negatively affects memory capacity primarily due to a decrease in the ability to concentrate.
   • Sometimes problems with short-term memory can be among the side effects of different medications. In this case, you need to talk to your doctor.
   • Almost all people with a deterioration in short-term memory begin to worry about Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia. Short-term memory loss is indeed one of the first symptoms of Alzheimer's, but most people with short-term memory problems do not.
   • Even if, unfortunately, you have discovered one of the forms of dementia, care and training of the brain and the whole body, as well as the optimal course of drug treatment, will help you to delay the onset of the disease as long as possible.
3. 3 Maintain healthy sleep patterns. Sleeping 7-9 hours every night will help your brain and body have time to rest and recover.
   • There is an opinion that you need to "sleep with" information (focus on information before bedtime) in order to better remember. The brain continues to work even during sleep.
4. 4 Exercise to increase blood flow to your brain. Regular exercise, even walking, improves blood flow to the brain, which allows it to saturate it with oxygen and nutrients that are essential for health and reliable performance, as well as good short-term memory.
   • Walking is a great activity to improve memory, as during this time you can focus on information and at the same time increase blood flow to the brain.