Tips for improving memory

Memory is important to all of us. It's something most of us take for granted. And as important as it is in our lives, relatively few of us ever take any kind of memory training.

Hopefully this information will provide you with a range of strategies so that you can get more out of your memory. The information includes a range of tips for improving memory many of which have been demonstrated and shared at the Epilepsy Foundation of Victoria Memory Workshops. The strategies can be used daily by anyone concerned about their ability to remember. These tips are designed to help with both short term and long term memory.

In order to improve memory, daily practice is needed. This does not have to be onerous, nor does it need to take a great deal of time. But it does need to happen if you really want to establish good habits.

Memory is actually quite a slippery term. It refers to the ability of our brains to retain the things we have learned. We all have times when we cannot think of or recall things which we know we have learned. We sometimes talk about our memory failing us, when really it is our ability to recall that is giving us trouble.

It can be useful to talk about short term memory and long term memory.

Short term memory is our ability to store about 5 to 9 items for a short time, e.g., remembering someone's telephone number for a minute or so while we dial it. If we do not do something to ensure that we commit that telephone number to memory, that is to ensure that we have learned it, we will be unlikely to be able to remember it again.

Long term memory, on the other hand, involves memories that are enduring. In long term memory are the things we have learned and retained. For retention to take place, newly learned material needs to be left undisturbed for a short while so that the synaptic changes in the brain can consolidate. This consolidation period is thought to be between 15 minutes to an hour.

Probably some of the strategies in this information will appeal to you more than others. However, be adventurous and have a go with some of the more unusual ones. You may be surprised at the results!

"It's about learning to accept that I have to rely on certain strategies such as writing information in notes, diaries etc. I've been reminded that anxiety makes remembering things more difficult."
Isaac Bergman, EFV Memory Workshop participant

"I now recognise that there is an element of panic which compounds the word finding problems, so I have learned to relax and ride over it, even if it means that I am a bit incomprehensible. Riding over it is probably less painful for the listerner, too". Adair also comments "that many people don't believe I have a memory problem, not realising the tricks I use to help myself, tricks that are now quite automatic."
Adair Bunnett, EFV Memory Workshop participant

Tips for Improving Memory

1. Twenty quick ideas that many people use very successfully each day

• alarm watches
• beeping key chains where a lost key can be summoned by whistling or clapping hands
• calendars
• coloured stickers
• daily action plans
• diaries
• organisers [such as the Day Runnes or Filofax systems]
• telephone reminder / wakeup calls
• electronic calculators and organizers
• fridge reminders
• lists
• note pads or jotters
• post-it notes
• pin boards and wall charts
• putting items like keys in places that are familiar and which you have to walk past
• putting reminders in places where you will have to see them as a part of your routine such as on the shaving mirror
• switching ring fingers
• telephone answering machines
• electronic timers that turn on lights, TV's and other appliances at particular times
• elastic on wrists

Even jotting down memory lapses can be useful by showing that the memory lapse is often not as bad as is imagined. Jotting it down can pinpoint the troublesome situations. Anything that assists in reducing anxiety, yet improves alertness and arousal is worth considering.

Physical fitness, good diet, stimulation, regular patterns of sleep and daytime activity, as well as not getting too stressed all have a role to play in remembering.

2. Help with remembering words, names, images, items,lists, etc

Before starting you might ask yourself "Can I see this word, list or name properly? Am I hearing it pronounced right? Am I really listening and concentrating, not thinking about what I have to cook for the evening meal or prepare for the next day's work? Do I need to remember this for a certain reason?"

Now look and listen carefully. After taking a few deep, slow breaths, say what you want to remember a few times, aloud and to yourself and then......

• say the word slowly
• say the word quickly
• say the word in a different accent
• say the word in an exaggerated way
• say the word with a different emphasis, putting stresses on different letters and in different tones [altered intonation]
• say the word softly
• say the word loudly
• say the word after a long pause
• repeat the word aloud and with your eyes shut, visualize the word by saying it silently several times to yourself.
• Link the word to an image, a picture or an action.
• Think of yourself taking a photograph so that you focus on the subject, look very carefully, blink your eyes and after setting up the picture, click away to record the name/word which is in your mind's eye. As you say the word, as you do the action of taking a photograph, say the word again, tilt your head slightly and imagine the person's name splashed in writing over their forehead.
• Look for a feature that is unusual, then link that unusual feature with the word you want to remember. Connect them.
  Try hard to see it in your mind's eye. Don't stop. Just let the names flow if you are trying to remember somebody's name. Think of other people with the same name, similar features, recalling something striking or different about the appearance or name [even how it sounds]. As you are concentrating on this, you can assist the memory process.

For example: What was the name of the actor with the heavy rimmed glasses? He looked like....? The glasses seemed as heavy as wood......Woody Allen. This will probably trigger the name of his previous wife whose name rhymed with a bird.......sparrow...Mia Farrow.

• Another similar strategy is to link the word with another word in the sentence and see the letters you want to remember in another word. Use letters that are the same. This is particularly helpful when trying to spell correctly.

  For example:	[a]	I would like a piece of pie
  	[b]	There is no tragedy with age
  	[c]	Desserts are delicious. They come as the second half of the meal and are even better when they are in doubles
  	[d]	All lines aren't parallel

Substitute/associate/link a word, thought or phrase.

Be curious, be a bit crazy and ask yourself what does it mean or how could you describe it? Mentally connect names and pictures.

Some examples:	[a]	pere (trying to remember what it means)...sounds like pear which is a fruit resembling a person with a baby rocking in its arms .....who rocks babies? A proud father likes to hold his baby and pere is the French word for father.>
	[b]	what was that person's name? It sounded like cancel. What did some people want to cancel? It was something big and grand. Oh yes, the Grand Prix.....car race....racing car driver....cancel sounds like Mansell, held somewhere beginning with M.....Melbourne.... and that person's name was Nigel Mansell. Talk to yourself, let the words come out without stopping. By letting your thoughts, words and images just come out uninterrupted, you will quite often remember, saying the word spontaneously. You are forming associations between old and new knowledge. You are putting the OAR principle into practice ie you are Observing, Associating and Remembering.

use first letter memory aids so that by recalling the first letter you will remember the complete word.

Some examples:	[a]	Pa mend v trams. This strange sentence lists the verbs of motion in the French language ie partir, aller, mourir etc
	[b]	Dr ABC which is a way of remembering the key points of first aid which are danger, response, airway, breathing and circulation. These are known as acronyms.

• use letters that sound the same
  For example: I am Jenny and I like gelati. This is known as alliteration and is very helpful with consonants. The same sounds are aids to the memory process. Combined with something that you like such as - food - or equally something you detest - can also be a help for remembering.

This is a popular strategy for remembering the names of people recently introduced to you. Try to keep the statement/image short and unusual. Experiment with letters and images yourself. You don't have to communicate this to anyone else, so you can really be as crazy as you like!

• search the alphabet by going through the letters to find the initial letter of the name/word you can't recall.
• reminder principle - associating the name or item you want to remember with the last thing you do.

These techniques of self-cueing, where you retrace your steps visually and cue memory by returning to the last location or action, work well for many people. Actually picturing yourself doing an action such as switching on the video controls before leaving the house will force your mind to be present whilst doing it, thereby helping you to remember whether you did it or not. Many people worry about forgetting whether they have locked the door, turned off the gas or the heater.

• use rhymes in a sing song and exaggerated way, emphasizing certain syllables.

  Example	30 days hath September April, June and November All the rest have 31 Excepting February alone Which hath but 28 days clear And 29 in each leap year
  Example: In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue

3. Help for remembering numbers

• group digits rhythmically and in chunks or sections [twos or threes]
• link numbers to pictures
• turn numbers into letters [quite helpful for remembering telephone numbers]

Anything that rhymes, is in pairs, consisting of short verses or phrases of consonants is called mnemonics [pronounced nim-on-iks]. This sort of help is particularly useful for technical details, for remembering information that has been committed purposefully to memory first.

4. Other memory strategies worth trying include

• storing information in an orderly and systematic way
• processing incoming information according to meaning
• categorizing information into columns, tables etc. [helpful with lists]
• highlighting information with different colours
• singing or playing drums [don’t have to be real] as you repeat the words/numbers in a sing-song way
• being more selective, realizing that you don’t need to remember everything. Try to select/extract one key point from a talk or article. Don’t be in awe of information.
  Much of it is not going to be used by you, nor is it essential to you and others!
• using your smell memory which is incredibly powerful and reliable as a jog to memory
  For example: Think of a smell and you will be amazed at your recollection of mood, thoughts, events from some time back. As one of our most primitive senses, smell can provide associations with key events and emotions.
• thinking of some major event, something unique, absurd or violent. This memory strategy will cause a flood of memories. Try it out for yourself.
• [1] What can you remember about the time man made the first steps on the moon?
  What were you doing? Where were you?
  Who told you about this?
• [2] What memories do you have when the Los Angeles freeway collapsed?
  What else was happening in Melbourne/in the world at that time?
• making up a story which connects items to be remembered in the correct order
• strategies which I find useful and which have not been mentioned such as...

Reference Committee: Dr David Andrewes, Isaac Bergman, Adair Bunnett, Dr Lindsay vowels, Leanne McGain, Margot Boyle, Russell Pollard

Published by the Epilepsy Foundation of Victoria

The handbook "Memory Techniques and Stategies" By David Andrewes and a range of worksheets from different authors are all available to participants in EFV Memory Workshops. These resources can also be purchased from the Epilepsy Foundation of Victoria if you cannot attend the workshops.

Remember that there are all sorts of resources available from our members’ library, including videos, tapes, audio tapes, and books.