Try taking a class. See if there are any interesting offerings at a local community college, or sign up for an online skills course. [2] X Trustworthy Source Alzheimer’s Association Nonprofit organizaton focused on supporting those affected by Alzheimer’s and promoting research on the disease Go to source Get in the habit of trying out different mental exercises. Do a daily or weekly crossword puzzle or sudoku. Pick up some more challenging reading material. Thinking about complex ideas and learning new vocabulary can help keep your mental skills sharp.
Try taking more naps, or getting to bed at an earlier time. Get better quality sleep by reducing light and noise pollution in your bedroom.
Spend time engaging with people who like to have interesting conversations. Try meeting up with people regularly for meals, or scheduling phone conversations with friends you want to keep in touch with. [4] X Research source Find people who have things in common with you by looking for new local communities to join. See if there are volunteer opportunities with organizations you care about, or use social media to seek out local groups or clubs. [5] X Trustworthy Source Alzheimer’s Association Nonprofit organizaton focused on supporting those affected by Alzheimer’s and promoting research on the disease Go to source If you can’t find any groups that appeal to you, start your own! You could try gathering some friends and starting a book club or a walking group.
Munch on lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. In particular, strawberries, blueberries, and leafy greens are thought to help keep your brain sharp as you age. [6] X Research source Eat more unsaturated fats, and fewer saturated fats. For example, cooking with olive or canola oil is healthier than cooking with butter. Make sure your diet is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are present in high quantities in fish. Try to eat red beans as they tend to favour memory development.
Exercising boosts the amount of blood flowing to your brain, and it spurs your brain to release a chemical that helps fix damaged brain cells.
Minimize distractions by turning off the TV, switching off music, and putting your phone somewhere you can’t see it. Limiting the number of things competing for your attention helps new information move from your short-term to your long-term memory. [10] X Expert Source Ronitte Libedinsky, MSAcademic Tutor Expert Interview. 26 May 2020. Try asking your roommate or family to give you some quiet time. If you have kids, see if someone else can watch them for a while so you can have an uninterrupted study session.
Taking a nap after a study session can help you remember it later! Research has shown that when mice go to sleep after learning a new task, new neural connections are formed in their brains. [12] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U. S. National Institutes of Health Go to source
For example, if you’re trying to remember a list of items to buy at the grocery store, group them into categories like “produce” and “dairy products,” and try to memorize each category separately. Rearrange your study material into related categories. Try typing up an outline, highlighting similar ideas with the same color highlighter, or copying information onto index cards and making a different pile for each of the concepts. [16] X Research source Occasionally mix up all the information from your different sections, and study the material out of order. This can help you notice new connections between more distantly related topics. [17] X Trustworthy Source American Psychological Association Leading scientific and professional organization of licensed psychologists Go to source
Each time you review something, you will remember it better, so when first memorizing something repeat it often, and over time you can review it with less frequency. For example, when learning a new fact, first repeat it five seconds later, then thirty seconds later, then two minutes later, and so on. [18] X Research source Even if you only have a little bit of time to study, it helps to space out your material as much as possible within one study session. For example, don’t review the same few items over and over again, and then move on to the next few. Instead, go over each item once, and after you’ve covered all of the information go back and review everything again. [19] X Trustworthy Source American Psychological Association Leading scientific and professional organization of licensed psychologists Go to source
Form a picture in your mind that includes the new fact. For example, if you’re meeting someone named Peggy, picture them with a pirate hat, eye patch, and peg leg. [22] X Research source Try making an acronym or acrostic to learn multiple pieces of information in order. Invent a sentence where the first letter of each word stands for a word you’re trying to remember. A popular example is used by music students learning the order of notes on a treble clef staff, where the phrase “Every Good Boy Does Fine” represents the notes “EGBDF. ”[23] X Research source “PEMDAS” and “FANBOY” are other popular examples of mnemonics. [24] X Expert Source Ted Coopersmith, MBAAcademic Tutor Expert Interview. 10 July 2020. Come up with a rhyme that contains the information you need to remember. For example, “In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. ”[25] X Research source It’s helpful to come up with an association early on, when you’re first learning the information. The more associations you can create, the more likely it is that the new fact will stick in your memory. [26] X Research source
Pay attention to any pictures or graphs that accompany the information you’re trying to learn. Alternatively, draw your own simple diagram to summarize the idea. [28] X Research source Listen to an audio version of a book, or read text out loud. Notice which methods seem to work best for you, and try to incorporate those learning styles into your future learning endeavors.
For example, if you’re trying to remember the definition of a new word, read it several times to yourself. Then speak the definition out loud a couple times, and try writing it down once or twice. It helps to repeat the information over a spaced-out period of time. For example, if you want to remember someone’s name, say it out loud immediately after they introduce themselves, and again at the end of the conversation. Repeat it in your head a couple minutes later, and again at the end of the night.
If you’re working out of a textbook with quizzes at the end of each chapter, go through and answer several of the questions. You can also try asking yourself questions about the material, and looking up the answers you come up with in order to double-check yourself. [31] X Trustworthy Source American Psychological Association Leading scientific and professional organization of licensed psychologists Go to source Many people don’t like tests because they feel frustrated when they realize they’ve forgotten something they’ve just tried to learn, but going through the process of forgetting and re-learning new things helps better cement memories in your mind. Be sure to immediately check your answers to make sure you’ve gotten them right. If you answer something wrong, you will be more likely to remember it incorrectly in the future as well, so immediately correct yourself and repeat the right answer a few more times. [32] X Research source
