Strategies to Create a Better Memory

         This is the first blog in a series that will focus on the strategies to create a better memory, and why it is vital to keep overlapping and linking memories for Better Brain health. I have found the most practical and beneficial memory techniques for daily life involve better techniques to remember names, lists and numbers.

          Creating a memory is the process in which information is received, stored, and retrieved. Encoding allows the information that is received from the outside world to reach our senses in the forms of chemical and physical stimuli. In this first stage we must change the information received so that we may put the memory into an encoding process.

          Storage is the second memory stage or process. This is vital for the maintenance of information over a period of time. Nerves that fire together are wired together so the more we repetitively link how we see, hear, feel, and move will improve how to retrieve the information for longer storage potential.

          Finally the third process is the retrieval of information that we have stored. We must locate it and return it to our consciousness. Some retrieval attempts may be effortless due to the type of information.

          Sensory memory holds sensory information for a few seconds or less after an item is perceived. The ability to look at an item, and remember what it looked like with just a second of observation, or memorization, is an example of sensory memory. It is out of cognitive control and is an automatic response. With very short presentations, participants often report that they seem to "see" more than they can actually report.

          Short-term memory of lists or numbers allows recall for a period of several seconds to a minute without rehearsal. Its capacity is also very limited: George A. Miller (1956), while working at Bell Laboratories, conducted experiments showing that the storage of short-term memories are best remembered if limited to 4–5 items, however, memory capacity can be increased through a process called chunking.

          This experiment is why phone numbers are broken down into smaller subgroups. For example, in recalling a ten-digit telephone number, a person could chunk the digits into three groups: first, the area code (such as 123), then a three-digit chunk (456) and lastly a four-digit chunk (7890). This method of remembering telephone numbers is far more effective than attempting to remember a string of 10 digits; this is because we are able to chunk the information into meaningful groups of numbers.

          Implementing daily memorization techniques is a great way to continual exercise the brains storage capacity.

WATCH the video below for the list memorization strategy and start applying today!!!