Short Term Memory : Memory Improvement Techniques

Article by Patrick Perkins

There are countless memory improvement techniques that are used by many individuals. What works and what doesn’t work? Is the Loci system better than the link system? First lets get a little background on memory.

Websters dictionary defines memory as: the power or process of reproducing or recalling what has been learned and retained especially through associative mechanisms. In other words it’s your ability to remember what you learned earlier. Memory is divided to both cerebral hemispheres of the brain as they process the same data. Therefore memories can’t be considered left or right brained.

There are three types of memory – sensory, short-termed, and long term. Sensory memory is the initial memory upon observing an item. Sensory memory can hold 10+ items of information but the information can be forgotten within seconds. For example, you see a box with writing on it for only one second, but you can still recall the size, color, and placement of the box if asked. However, you can’t remember what was written on the box. Information in sensory memory will be moved to short-term memory after continued observation.

Short-term memory can store info for multiple items but the duration may last from a few seconds to a few minutes. Information stored in short-term memory can become long-term memories through repetition. For example, you may not remember someone’s name after first meeting them, but you can remember the name if you hear the name over and over again. Long-term memory can store information for a lifetime. Repetition will turn short-term memories into long term memories with the more repetition a memory receives the more likely you will have that memory for a very long time.

So what are some memory improvement techniques that work? Here you go:

Repetition is the best way to remember any kind of information. However, you must remind yourself to be repetitious or you will forget repeat the information altogether, make sense?

The loci method uses a system of item and location cross-referencing in which you take familiar locations and associate them with the items to be remembered. For example your house can be the location and maybe you need to remember a list of guests to invite to a party. You can then visualize certain people with different rooms of the house like Sally in the living room, Doug in the kitchen, and Rich on the porch. Then to remember the names just take a mental tour of your house.

The link system helps you memorize lists in the same order they appear. Maybe you need to memorize the following list in order: phone, tv, screwdriver, red paint, carpet, and muffler. You would link the items together to make an outrageous statement such as “The phone next to the TV dipped a screwdriver in red paint and laid carpet on the muffler.” Sounds goofy but it works.

There are countless other memory improvement techniques. Which ones will work for you? It all depends on the individual. Visit my blog at http://memoryimprovementtechniques.blogspot.com for more information.

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