The Sandy Block: July 2006

I ran across this on wikihow.com and decided to share it. This article contains some helpful tips on improving your memory. Maybe it'll help me memorize my lines for my next play or memorize a date in history class! A very interesting read.

http://www.wikihow.com/Improve-Your-Memory

Wouldn’t it be nice to just look at a page and never forget what was on there? What if you could never again forget a friend’s birthday? The bad news is, almost all scientific experts agree that photographic memory—the ability to recall facts, images, and events perfectly—simply doesn’t exist. The good news, however, is that everyone can take steps to improve their memory, and with time and practice most people can gain the ability to memorize seemingly impossible amounts of information. Whether you want to win the World Memory Championships, ace your history test, or simply remember where you put your keys, this article can get you started.
Steps

1. Keep your brain active. The brain is not a muscle, but regularly “exercising" the brain actually does keep it growing and spurs the development of new nerve connections that can help improve memory. By developing new mental skills—especially complex ones such as learning a new language or learning to play a new musical instrument—and challenging your brain with puzzles and games you can keep your brain active and improve its physiological functioning.

2. Exercise daily. Regular aerobic exercise improves circulation and efficiency throughout the body, including in the brain, and can help ward off the memory loss that comes with aging. Exercise also makes you more alert and relaxed, and can thereby improve your memory uptake, allowing you to take better mental “pictures."

3. Reduce stress. Chronic stress, althought it does not physically damage the brain, can make remembering much more difficult. Even temporary stresses can make it more difficult to effectively focus on concepts and observe things. Try to relax, regularly practice yoga or other stretching exercises, and see a doctor if you have severe chronic stress.

4. Eat well and eat right. There are a lot of herbal supplements on the market that claim to improve memory, but none have yet been shown to be effective in clinical tests (although small studies have shown some promising results for ginkgo biloba and phosphatidylserine). A healthy diet, however, contributes to a healthy brain, and foods containing antioxidants—broccoli, spinach, and berries, for example—and Omega-3 fatty acids appear to promote healthy brain functioning. Grazing, eating 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 large meals, also seems to improve mental functioning (including memory) by limiting dips in blood sugar, which may negatively affect the brain.

5. Take better pictures. Often we forget things not because our memory is bad, but rather because our observational skills need work. One common situation where this occurs (and which almost everyone can relate to) is meeting new people. Often we don’t really learn people’s names at first because we aren’t really concentrating on remembering them. You’ll find that if you make a conscious effort to remember such things, you’ll do much better. One way to train yourself to be more observant is to look at an unfamiliar photograph for a few seconds and then turn the photograph over and describe or write down as many details as you can about the photograph. Try closing your eyes and picturing the photo in your mind. Use a new photograph each time you try this exercise, and with regular practice you will find you’re able to remember more details with even shorter glimpses of the photos.

6. Give yourself time to form a memory. Memories are very fragile in the short-term, and distractions can make you quickly forget something as simple as a phone number. The key to avoid losing memories before you can even form them is to be able to focus on the thing to be remembered for a while without thinking about other things, so when you’re trying to remember something, avoid distractions and complicated tasks for a few minutes.

7. Repeat things you need to learn. The more times you hear, see, or think about something, the more surely you’ll remember it, right? It’s a no-brainer. When you want to remember something, be it your new coworker’s name or the date of the Battle of Hastings, repeat it, either out loud or silently. Try writing it down; think about it.

8. Group things you need to remember. Random lists of things (a shopping list, for example) can be especially difficult to remember. To make it easier, try categorizing the individual things from the list. If you can remember that, among other things, you wanted to buy four different kinds of vegetables, you’ll find it easier to remember all four.

9. Use mnemonics. Mnemonics, also called “mnemonic devices" are memory aids. There are a wide variety of mnemonics suitable for different tasks. Some are very simple, such as “first-letter" mnemonics: the nonsense name Roy G. Biv, for example, uses the first letters of each of the colors of the spectrum in order. Mnemonics of increasing complexity, such as creating a story which includes things you need to remember, or creating a sentence the words of which correspond to a series of digits (the number of letters in each word is the next number in the series) can be used to remember longer or more complex ideas. One of the most powerful mnemonics is the “memory palace," a mental journey that can be used to remember almost anything.

10. Organize your life. Keep items that you frequently need, such as keys and eyeglasses, in the same place every time. Use an electronic organizer or daily planner to keep track of appointments, due dates for bills, and other tasks. Keep phone numbers and addresses in an address book or enter them into your computer or cell phone. Improved organization can help free up your powers of concentration so that you can remember less routine things. Even if being organized doesn’t improve your memory, you’ll receive a lot of the same benefits (i.e. you won’t have to search for your keys anymore).

Tips

* Most people’s brains are not very good at remembering abstract information, such as numbers. The key to being able to recall such things is to build associations and links that evoke the memory. This is why almost anybody with normal brain functioning can dramatically improve their ability to recall things using mnemonics. While building a memory palace, for example, actually requires that you "remember" more, by associating the thing to be remembered with other things (emotions, other memories, images, etc.) you build more mental "links" to the memory, thus making it easier to access.

* A large number of memory improvement products are available (a search on the internet will produce hundreds of such products). Most of these products actually teach you mnemonic strategies, and while some are no doubt bunk, some are legitimate.
* One easy method to help you remember people’s names is to look at the person when you are introduced and say the person’s name: "Nice to meet you, Bill."

* Try memorizing the order of a deck of playing cards. Although this may seem like a pointless task, it will allow you to discover memorization techniques that work best for you.

* Put black ink at the end of your palm to remember any important thing for the next day or for that day itself. Whenever you see the black dot, you'll remember what to do.

* Visualize whatever you have to do as part of something you see every day. For example, if you have to give your dog some medicine, visualize your dog in your fridge every time you walk past it or look inside. This will keep your dog fresh in your mind.

* Write the event or task down immedietely. If you don't have a pen, one thing you can do is change the time on your watch; later on you will remember why it is set at the wrong time. You could also wear your watch upside down.

* Write in a diary or journal every day without fail. Even small issues should be written down -- this is a good way to make sure you don't miss anything.

* Leave yourself a telephone message reminding yourself of important "to do" tasks.

* Memorize your favorite song or poem until you can say it to yourself without any help. Try to do this often.

* Stop smoking marijuana. It decreases your short term memory.

Warnings

* If you notice a severe or sudden deterioration of memory, talk to your doctor immediately. Sometimes "senior moments" can be precursors to Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

* While improving your ability to recall things can make a lot of tasks easier, it does not guarantee any sort of success in life.

* Exercise due diligence when purchasing a memory improvement product. Find out as much as you can about how the program works, and do your own research to determine if it will work for you. Some of these products are simply scams. Be especially wary of products that promise to improve your memory instantly or with little or no effort: effective strategies to improve recall take time and practice.

* While some herbal supplements that claim to improve memory may in fact work, there is no conclusive evidence that any of these are effective. Most are harmless, however, and may be worth a try, but exercise caution: some supplements can have harmful effects, and not all contain what they say they contain.

I'm back home. The trip was wonderful. After visiting Choate, we got to Boston and saw Emerson and Boston U. I really liked both of them, maybe Emerson a little bit more. The facilities at Emerson are so modern it's almost like working in a professional setting. The fine arts building at BU was a little lacking (namely ceiling panels missing, etc.). The building used to be a used car dealership and was converted for classroom use. Both of them have great BFA programs for acting and musical theater. Actually, BU only has acting - but I think I still want to consider it for now.

A rather strange thing happened on the Emerson tour. We had the info session and then they broke us up into groups of two for the tours. The kid I ended up with with had introduced himself as being "from Paris" and named Jordan. My mom asked them where in Paris they lived (since we had lived there also). The woman said they live in the 16th Arrondissement. That's where we lived! In Square Lamartine! It gets stranger. Then, out of curiosity, I asked the boy where he goes to school. He said, "Ecole Active Bilingue Jeannine Manuel." That's where I went to school! So, it turns out that he knows lots of people that I was in school with along with my teachers. I asked him to say hi to them for me :-).

And tonight I saw "Miami Vice" with Avi. I was really excited about this movie. Michael Mann directed it - the one who directed Collateral which I love. And let me say, "Miami Vice" totally lived up to expectations. It was awesome.

Me in the car