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How to improve your Memory By Umar Zada Sumbal Gul Javeria elahi Department of Psychology First Batch 2016 M.Sc. 4th semester AWKUM

How to improve your memory

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Page 1: How to improve your memory

How to improve your Memory

By Umar Zada Sumbal Gul Javeria elahi

Department of Psychology First Batch 2016M.Sc. 4th semester AWKUM

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Memory

In psychology, memory is an organism's mental ability to store, retain and recall information. (Wikipedia)

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Memory is the retention of, and ability to recall, information,

personal experiences, and procedures (skills and habits). (Skeptic’ Dictionary)

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Brain Areas responsible in Memory

The hippocampus, a primitive structure deep in the brain, plays the single largest role in processing information as memory.The amygdala, an almond-shaped area near the hippocampus, processes emotion and helps imprint memories that involve emotion.The cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain, stores most long-term memory in different zones, depending on what kind of processing the information involves: language, sensory input, problem-solving, and so forth.In addition, memory involves communication among the brain’s network of neurons, millions of cells activated by brain chemicals called neurotransmitters.

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Types Of Memory

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Sensory MemorySensory memory is the ability to retain impressions of sensory information after the original stimulus has ceased. It refers to items detected by the sensory receptors which are retained temporarily in the sensory registers and which have a large capacity for unprocessed information but are only able to hold accurate images of sensory information momentarily. The two types of sensory memory that have been most explored are iconic memory and echoic memory.

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Short term MemoryShort-term memory—closely related to “working” memory—is the very short time that you keep something in mind before either dismissing it or transferring it to long-term memory. Short-term memory is shorter than you might think, lasting less than a minute. It’s what allows you to remember the first half of a sentence you hear or read long enough to make sense of the end of the sentence. But in order to store that sentence (or thought, fact, idea, word, impression, sight, or whatever else) for longer than a minute or so, it has to be transferred to long-term memory.

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Long term Memorylong-term memory is anything you remember that happened more than a few minutes ago. Long-term memories aren’t all of equal strength. Stronger memories enable you to recall an event, procedure, or fact on demand—for example, that Paris is the capital of France. Weaker memories often come to mind only through prompting or reminding.

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Declarative MemoryDeclarative memory is the aspect of human memory that stores facts. It is so called because it refers to memories that can be consciously discussed, or declared. It applies to standard textbook learning and knowledge, as well as memories that can be 'travelled back to' in one's 'mind's eye'.

*divided into two types -episodic memory -semantic memory

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Procedural memory Procedural memory is the long-term memory of skills and procedures, or "how to" knowledge (procedural knowledge). It is considered a form of implicit memory.

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Models of Memory

The Atkinson-Shiffrin model (also known as the Multi-store model, Multi-memory model and the Modal model) is a psychological model proposed in 1968 by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin as a proposal for the structure of memory. It proposed that human memory involves a sequence of three stages:Sensory memory (SM) Short-term memory (STM) Long-term memory (LTM)

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Memory SpanMemory span: The number of items, usually words or numbers, that a person can retain and recall. Memory span is a test of working memory (short-term memory). In a typical test of memory span, an examiner reads a list of random numbers aloud at about the rate of one number per second. At the end of a sequence, the person being tested is asked to recall the items in order. The average span for normal adults is seven to nine.

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Memory ProcessHuman memory, like memory in a computer, allows us to store information

for later use. In order to do this, however, both the computer and we need to master three processes involved in memory.

Encoding: The process we use to transform information so that it can be stores. Storage: It simply means holding onto the information. Retrieval: It is bringing the memory out of storage and reversing the process of encoding. In other words, return the information to a form similar to what we stored.

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Methods of Improving MemoryForgetting things ?Do you want to improve your memory without any medication. Improving your memory is easier by following below tips.

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RECALLThis involves digging into the memory and bringing back information on a

stimulus/response basis, e.g., "What is the capital of pakistan?" Answer: “Islamabad". Recall often needs prompting with cues to help us retrieve what we are looking for. It is not a reliable form of memory and many of us experience the feeling that we know the answer but simply can't dig the information out. This is the technique we use to remember people's names, hence we often forget them. There are three types of recall:

1. Free recall: when no cues are given to assist retrieval 2. Serial recall: when items are recalled in a particular order 3. Cued recall: when some cues are given to assist retrieval

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Recognition (re+cognition) is a process that occurs in thinking when some event, process, pattern, or object recurs. Coming from the base cognition; cognition has various uses in different fields of study and has generally accepted to be used for the process of awareness or thought.

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RELEARNING:Another means of remembering is through relearning. Relearned information may return quickly, even if it hasn't been used for many years.

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Tips for memory improvements

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Paying attention through your sensesYou can’t remember something if you never learned it, and you can’t learn something — that is, encode it into your brain — if you don’t pay enough attention to it. Make your habit of attention through varies senses i-e byEye contactAuditoryTacticalSmell test

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Rehearsal-preserve information in STM-To be remembered twice at least

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Over learning-best insurance against going blank-study is continued beyond bare mastery

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Space practice-Superior to massed practice20 minutes study session vs one hrs. continues study

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Organize information.

While preparing for learning a learner needs to organize the material in some form. Such an organization may help by creating a natural context and provide relevant cues while retrieving the learned material. If the material lacks natural organization, an artificial organization may be created by the learner.

Make sequence in encoding to easily Rehearse information focus in your thoughts and speech fluency

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Whole vs. part methodIt is better to practice whole packages of information rather than smaller parts

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Chunking MemoryChunking involves creating something more meaningful and therefore memorable from seemingly random bits of information. One example is if you need to remember a list of things such as buying figs, lettuce, oranges, apples, and tomatoes you can create a word out of the first letters (e.g., "FLOAT"), which is easier to remember than the individual items. If you've ever tried to remember a phone number by making a word (or words) out of the letters on the phone's dial pad, you've used chunking.

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CHUNKING

• the items to be memorized are divided into small and easily memorable chunks or groups.

• This method works best when the order of the items is not important.

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Knowledge of resultsPositive feedback improves our motivation for learning

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Minimize interferenceStudy schedule should include ample breaks between subjects

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Brain exercisesMemory, like muscular strength, is a “use it or lose it” proposition. The more you work out your brain, the better you’ll be able to process and remember information.

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Aerobic exerciseThe best way to improve our memories seems to be to increase the supply of oxygen to the brain, which we can do by aerobic exercising.  Walking for three hours each week suffices, as does swimming or bicycle riding.  It gets the heart pumping more blood to the brain, which appears to reverse cellular deterioration associated with aging.

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Eat right & drink a right wayYour brain needs a lot of fuel, mainly the omega-3 fatty acids and drink six to eight glasses of water a day.

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Make notesWhen you find it difficult to remember, just write it down

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Be Socially activeHealthy relationship stimulate our brain cells. So keep maintaining good relationships and happy to improve your memory.

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LaughIt activates brain areas vital to learning and creativity.

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Keep everything in its placeIf you keep important things like Keys in the same place.

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Involve in your hobbyWhatever you like to do as your hobby try to involve in that.

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Relate information to what you already know. Relate your new information with the past experiences to improve your memory.

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Understand and be able to interpret complex material.Be calm and relax during listening,Avoid prejudging, interruptionInterpret, analyze by thinking the unknowing material

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Be motivated and keep a positive attitude. Participate in environment, and response through positive attitude.

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To preserve a memory, link it to a scentSome scents related to the event can preserve memory and retrieve easily by again smelling this

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Listening to certain music can affect yourlong-term memory-Events in the music-Music according to your skill and profession

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MeditationMeditation improves focus, concentration, creativity, learning and reasoning skills .it is believed to encourage connections between neurons which increase mental sharpness.

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Think positiveAttempt and understand negative musings and try to supplant them with positive ones.

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Massages can make you smarterHelps in avoiding. -emotional stability -mood swings -incompatibility and tightness

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The Scent of Rosemary and Basil

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Nature can improve your memoryNatural environment can give us chance to think, and pleased our internal states of emotions

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Healthy habits to improve memoryRegular exerciseReduces the risk for disorders that lead to memory loss, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Increases oxygen to your brain. May enhance the effects of helpful brain chemicals and protect brain cells.

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WAYS OF ENHANCING MEMORY

It is a common experience that forgetting is usually a source of trouble for people. Everyday conversation, class room participation, performance in examination, interview, presentation and communication in meetings often put demands on us to remember information. Failure in doing so has negative consequences which all of us experience to different degrees in our lives. As a result most of us are interested in improving our memory. The study of memory aids and related techniques is called mnemonics. Some of the techniques used in improving memory are listed

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RecodingWhile dealing with non-meaningful material one may recode the items to be remembered in a more meaningful manner. Recoding may take many forms. For example people may use the first letter of all the items and make a sentence. This kind of narrative structure works as a cue. Acronyms (e.g., U.N.O., TV, CBI, WHO) are also used for the purpose in which all the first letters are used. Using elaboration one may add more information which makes the material distinctive. Chunking is a good example of recoding. If a large serial of numbers is presented it becomes difficult to remember. The same, however, may be divided in two or three chunks in some meaningful way using ingenuity. Using elaborative coding one may put many items in astory form and recall the same easily

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Use of schema The efficiency of memory recall can be increased to some extent by making inferences from our personal stockpile of world knowledge, and by schemata.. A schema is an organized mental structure or framework of pre-conceived ideas about the world and how it works, which we can use to make realistic inferences and assumptions about how to interpret and process information. Thus, our everyday communication consists not just of words and their meanings, but also of what is left out and mutually understood. Such schemata are also applied to recalled memories, so that we can often flesh out details of a memory from just a skeleton memory of a central event or object. However, the use of schemata may also lead to memory errors as assumed or expected associated events are added that did not actually occur.

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Concentration

One of the main reasons of forgetting is inadequate allocation attention resources to the material while processing the same. As a result the material is not stored and we fail to recall when we need it. Thus by focusing attention on the material while processing we can increase the probability of storage and recall.

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Mnemonic Strategies

In the same way, associating words with visual imaginary is another commonly used mnemonic device providing two alternative methods of remembering, and creating additional associations in the mind. Taking this to a higher level, another method of improving memory encoding and consolidation is the use of a so-called memory palace (also known as the method mention above as of loci), a mnemonic techniques that relies on memorized spatial relationships to establish, order and recollect other memories. Many top memorizers today use the memory palace method to a greater or lesser degree. Similar techniques involve placing the items at different landmarks on a favorite hike or trip (known as the journey method), or weaving them into a story

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Method of loci/memory palace

As the name implies, this technique uses associations with place or task. The visualization of the same provides cues for recalling the task. By choosing any action properly one can use memory at any point in the day. Use of such mnemonic codes allows one to have vivid and distinctive associations between new information and prior knowledge. Being related to context the cues become very effective. For instance one may have a clear visual image of a building, its rooms, furniture and other details. These may be linked to different ideas and using these linkages, memory of those ideas can be enhanced.

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SURVEY Glance over the heading in the chapter to see the few major points which will be developed. This survey should not take more than a minute and will show the three to six central ideas within the chapter. This survey helps you to organize the ideas as you read them later.

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Managing stress

1.Cortisol, the stress hormone, can damage the hippocampus if the stress is unrelieved. 2.Stress makes it difficult to concentrate.

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Good sleep habits

1.Sleep is necessary for memory consolidation. 2.Sleep disorders like insomnia and sleep apnea leave you tired and unable to concentrate during the day.

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Not smoking

1.Smoking heightens the risk of vascular disorders that can cause stroke and constrict arteries that deliver oxygen to the brain.

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Forgetting (retention loss) refers to apparent loss of information already encoded and stored in an individual's long term memory. It is a spontaneous or gradual process in which old memories are unable to be recalled from memory storage.

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Memory and aging Several factors cause aging brains to experience changes in the ability to retain and retrieve memories:The hippocampus is especially vulnerable to age-related deterioration, and that can affect how well you retain information. There’s a relative loss of neurons with age, which can affect the activity of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters and their receptors. An older person often experiences decreased blood flow to the brain and processes nutrients that enhance brain activity less efficiently than a younger person.

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AMNESIA“Amnesia is loss of ability to memorize information or to recall information stored in memory.CAUSES AMNESIA?Amnesia is most commonly associated with either brain damage through injury or degeneration of brain cells in dementia.

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FORMS OF AMNESIA1. ANTEROGRADE AMNESIA:

In Anterograde amnesia patient cannot retain any new memory.

2. RETROGRADE AMNESIA: In Retrograde amnesia the patient cannot

recall the past events.

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FORMS OF AMNESIA

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Any Question?THANK YOU

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Reference,Mostly from Psychological and subjects related to memory,Also from zoology brain anatomy and physiology