In this article I will explain how to improve your memory quickly with techniques and tricks based on Psychology. Having a fast and high-capacity memory is not only useful, desirable and admired in our society, but in recent years it has become so popular that it is on its way to becoming just another sport..
You may think that I am exaggerating but, the truth is that, throughout the world there are many memory championships every year, both by countries and internationally..
I'll give you two incredible examples: 1-The world record for memorizing random words is 300 in 15 minutes. 2-The world record for memorizing random numbers is 1014 in 15 minutes.
Why can more numbers than words be memorized at the same time? In this article I will give you the answer to this and much more. Memory is comparable to magic because, in both disciplines, there are tricks.
There are two fundamental keys to developing a good memory:
In the same way that we will not be able to use a computer well if we do not know how it works, we will not be able to use our memory well if we do not know how it works..
Just as it produces a titanic effort to speak in a second language learned the first times we do it, it will be very expensive to memorize a lot of information or very fast the first times we do it.
We will begin by clarifying What is memory? "It is one of the most intriguing complex functions of the brain, consisting of the ability to store
information and to remember much of it at will "two.
The other side of the same coin is learning: "process by which new information is acquired by the nervous system and can be translated into an observable result through changes in behavior"two.
From the above definitions we can conclude that memory (memorization) and learning always go hand in hand.
As you can see, while the definition of memory talks about the brain, the definition of learning talks about the nervous system. What is the difference?
The nervous system, in addition to many other things like the brain, includes the peripheral sensory systems: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Sensory perception of information is the first step to memorization and learning.
What is the best of them to memorize?
First of all, you should know which is the sensory modality by which it is easier and faster for you to memorize the information you receive. On the other hand, even if you have a “favorite” sensory modality, on some occasions you will have to use another due to the nature of the task or stimulus presented..
Human beings instinctively use the sense of sight for almost everything, this being the most developed sensory modality in our brain (it occupies the entire occipital lobe!).
The view is so fast and detailed that we can visually perceive a stimulus in less than 100 milliseconds!!3. Also, according to Grill-Spector and Kanwisher, as soon as you know there is something there, you know what it is. "3.
However, is sight the best sensory modality for memorizing??
Although sight gives us more and more detailed information, hearing is much faster. It takes between 15 and 30 milliseconds to perceive an auditory stimulus!!4
Let's reflect on why the decision is controversial:
How long does it take to memorize the lyrics of a song? How long does it take to memorize a written poem? Which of these two tasks requires more effort?
It is not my intention to marginalize the other senses but, let's face it, we will not use them frequently to memorize because it is very rare that the
information is presented to us in the form of smells, tastes or textures.
However, have you ever forgotten what it tastes like? And what does something smell like? Have you ever forgotten what the texture, temperature, etc. is? of some material?
Evaluate what is your "favorite" sense and, let's train!!
If we stay at the level of perceived information without doing anything else about it, the information would be stored in the "sensory memory".
This information store is specific to the sensory modality, it does not require attention to the source of information for its storage, it has an almost unlimited capacity but only lasts for about 500 milliseconds..
Let's move on to the next level, what do we need to do to store the perceived information?
What did you eat yesterday? What web pages did you visit today? When was the last time it rained?
Try to answer these questions. Surely this is information that you once knew but quickly forgot. Why? Because it is routine information, that you do not need to remember and that you care very little.
Equally fascinating and important as our ability to memorize and learn is our ability to forget.two.
If we did not systematically forget all the irrelevant information prioritizing what is important, our memory would be a chaos of inaccessible, noisy and unusable information.
How was your first kiss? How does betadine smell? What does the chorus of your favorite song say?
Try to answer these questions. As you remember this information, associated emotions will surely resurface..
These are memories that are very difficult to forget because they have left a very powerful mark on your memory thanks to their emotionality and importance..
We see, therefore, that the other side of the coin of memory is oblivion.
What should we do to make sure we will remember something? Perceive it and try to store it as if our lives were running out of it.
In our brain there is a set of interconnected and interrelated structures that is called the limbic system. Two fundamental brain structures for memory are part of this system: the hippocampus and the amygdala.
The key to the operation of this strategy is the function of the amygdala to "help" the hippocampus..
In emotional situations, the amygdala and hippocampus interact in subtle but important ways5. Through this interaction, the amygdala has the power to modulate both the encoding and storage of information by the hippocampus.5.
Vulgarly speaking, if the amygdala does not want to, the hippocampus will not store the information and, therefore, you will forget it without being able to do anything about it..
Your role in memorization is to tell your amygdala: "what I am learning at this very moment is of the utmost importance and I have to remember it at all costs".
As I always say, we must not forget that we are animals and, for an animal, what is important always has an emotional content. Did you ever feel like it's more
easy to learn what you like and are attracted to?
Once the information has reached the hands of the amygdala, the security guard, we are about to archive the information in a warehouse of a higher level than the previous one. This is called "short-term memory".
Short-term memory is the most functionally sophisticated memory store available to humans..
However, it is not yet the definitive warehouse because it has two weak points: it has a capacity of 7 +/- 2 items and is only temporarily available for certain information (minutes).
It is in this warehouse where everything happens. Once the amygdala has let the information through the door, everything else is in our hands.
The human ability to recall relatively meaningless information is surprisingly limited (eg a list of 7 to 9 random numbers). This ability, however, can be dramatically increased.two.
As you will remember, at the beginning of the article I promised you that I would reveal the magic secret of memory. Well then, the time has come. The secret is the association.
The dramatic increase I'm talking about is going from memorizing a list of 7 to 9 random numbers to memorizing a list of 1014 random numbers in 15 minutes (or more, who dares to beat the record?).
The secret of association is to give meaning to information and form groups with it. How to group and provide information to numbers?
My favorite strategy is dates, although a lower level strategy could be, for example, ages. You could also use math operations.
Something that we must never forget and what I already talked about, is that human short-term memory has an average store of 5 to 9 elements (the magic number 7 +/- 2) although training, we could reach a range of 12 13 items.
Numbers is the most complex example of memorization given their highly abstract nature. However with words it would be much easier.
With words, it is tremendously easy to form stories, it all depends on our creativity and imagination. I recommend you learn about the Loci method or other mnemonic strategies.
In 2008, the work of Karpicke and Roediger had a great impact on the scientific community. They evaluated the two most widely used learning strategies at the world level: the repetition of information in the form of rereading and the memory of it repeatedly6.
Both are forms of repetition but their biological nature is completely different. The results were overwhelming and, best of all, it makes sense.
The repetition of information in the form of rereading is totally useless while the repetition of it in the form of memory improves learning qualitatively and quantitatively (by qualitative I mean that it lasts longer in memory)6.
Why?
To fully understand it I must introduce the concept of habituation.
Do you remember the amygdala? This our friend, does not like the irrelevant. It is a very VIP guard that will only let important information pass. If we reread the same information over and over again, we will be asking the amygdala to tell the hippocampus the same thing a thousand times. What will happen? Will bar you from entry.
I'm being very metaphorical but this is exactly what happens. I am going to give a very familiar example.
The first day we carry our mobile (or cell phone) in our pocket, it bothers us and we know at all times that it is there. After two or three days carrying it in the same pocket, we will not realize that we are carrying it and we will even wonder incessantly, did I drop it??
The same goes for the watch, glasses, rings, etc. This is the phenomenon of habituation. The amygdala will stop telling the hippocampus that it is important.
In fact, he can even tell you the opposite: "don't pay any attention because this is not important, forget about it." The hippocampus blindly trusts the amygdala, it already has enough work.
What is effective then? Repetition through memory!
I suppose you are wondering what does the hippocampus do then? Is it just the amygdala that decides?
The hippocampus takes care of long-term potentiation (PLP) and long-term depression among many other fascinating things..
This year I had the pleasure of meeting Kenneth Myer, the current world leader of PLP, who worked in Oslo in Terje Lomo's laboratory at the time of its discovery in 19667. It is my pleasure to convey what Myer told you.
PLP is the way in which the mammalian brain stores information.
Although the exact way in which this miracle is achieved and where the information goes is still unknown, it is known that the hippocampus manages, through the rhythmicity of its electrochemical pattern, to create a momentary synchronization that will convert, to the information transmitted synaptically, into something unforgettable.
This is only achieved if, in some way, we have the necessary concentration.
This is why it is said that to memorize you have to be at a moderate level of activation, that is, neither very anxious nor very relaxed..
Why then does the repetition of the memory work?
It is information with open doors. So, make the effort to get it back from where it is and make the amygdala and hippocampus empower it again through your unerring teamwork..
And what other ways do you know to improve your memory?
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