Your Memory – A Bio Computer

Your memory is the retention of information over a period of time. For something to be considered a memory, you have to take it in, remember it and then use the information in the future. Your memory is very complex and it can let you down sometimes, especially when you’re trying to remember something important.

Our brain is fantastic, and more powerful than a computer, but it does generally have its limits. It can’t pay attention consciously to everything all at once. Divided attention also has an impact on memory, which means that people try to pay attention to too many different things at once. When researchers measure divided attention they have participants to try and remember a list of materials, but they are then asked to perform an additional task at the same time. Participants that focus their attention on one single event as opposed to trying and remembering numerous tasks simultaneously, perform a lot better. However simply paying attention to something does not guarantee success with remembering it.

To make memories extremely powerful it is important to use mental imagery. An example of using mental imagery is remembering where you placed your remote control once you finished watching television last night. Some psychologists believed that using mental imagery is so powerful, because people will tend to remember images more than words. It has been proven that images can help individuals learn a foreign language. Storing that information and remembering it, depends on how well we ‘encoded’ it.

Storage refers to the ways that information stays in storage for a long period of time. We remember some information for years, and some we forget within a minute or possibly less. Sensory memory is a type of memory that holds information in a sensory form for an instant. It is extremely high in detail but the information is quickly lost. Think of the sounds you hear when you’re getting out of the car, or the sound of a bird singing. These are some common examples of sensory memory.

Next, short term memory is information that is usually contained in storage for 30 seconds, or less there are some other strategies used to keep it in storage longer. Some ways that you can improve short term memory is by chunking and rehearsal. We have all probably experienced rehearsal, which is the repetition of something. As children we did things over and over again, as if we were ‘rehearsing.’

If we have to remember a telephone number then an easy way to do this is to keep repeating the number. Likewise you can try and remember long numbers by chunking them. For example, look at this number and turn away and try to repeat it. The number is 7835677876. How did you do? Some people have no problem while others struggle.

If you chunked or grouped the numbers, for example like this, 783-567-7876 it is similar to a phone number. This is an example of how chunking can be used in helping individuals improve their memory.

Improve Your Memory With Memory Exercises

If your memory is not the best you can improve it with memory exercises. There are many times in our life when having a better memory retention would be an advantage. Studying for exams is one of those times.

Of course, each person must use whatever appeals to them. What works for one won’t necessarily work for another. This lesson has been demonstrated in the simple act of teaching a child to tie a shoe. His concentration may be thrown askew and result in frustration when asked to try a new way to learn. Maybe one parent teaches a different method, or the grandparents disagree on what is best.

Children with learning disabilities must learn constructive methods for improving their memories that are tailored to their own distinct capabilities. A child who struggles may need to associate certain things with the same colors daily to remember. Maybe they have certain shapes that help them remember, or smells. A child who has sight impairment may learn to associate by touch or scent. Grandma may wear the same perfume every day or Grandpa may wear the same cologne or after shave.

There are times when the teachers have a learning method that is different from the parents’. When the child asks the parent for help with homework, an argument may develop because the parent will use a different method to get the same result. Sometimes if the child is taught not to argue with the parent, this could result in a bad mark on the work that is turned in. This is where consistency and cooperation is successful in the parent/teacher relationship.

Have you ever made up a silly, but rude song about someone who offended you? This was a great memory exercise, even though it could be construed as mean. Music is a helpful tool, especially for teaching small children to improve their memories, although it is usually not used in a derogatory way. Comedians make jokes with rude songs, which often results in the audience remembering the comedian simply because the music acted as a tool to cement the person into memory. Maybe you don’t even recall the words, but simply the tune, the results are the same.

Rhyming games are a very helpful memory tool. An endless number of people have grown up enjoying the antics of the characters in Dr. Seuss stories! Many of the words don’t even make sense and mean nothing in reality. But they served to help a person remember the story because of the rhyming effect.

The key to memory exercises is repetition. You must teach yourself to perform the actions over and over. Like always putting your car keys in your purse so you won’t lose them. If you have trouble getting your children to school on time because they spend too much time finding their backpack or shoes, have them learn to place the items in the same place each evening. These little memory tricks are sure to make your boss happy if they get you to work on time each day!

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