75 Ways to Transform Your Memory from Amnesic to Elephantic

SURVEY: WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE ON BETTER MEMORY? SHARE IT WITH US

Many people expect increasing memory loss as they age, but this memory loss can be reduced or stalled with some simple memorization techniques, physical exercise, and a reduction of stress. In fact, impaired memory has more to do with chemicals that are released in the brain when an individual suffers from chronic stress.

But you can reduce the obstacles and increase your memory capacity with the 75 tips and resources listed below. In fact, you can go from amnesic to elephantic within a few short weeks.

Some of the tips you may already know, but we’ve repeated them because they may have slipped your mind. Other tips are from recent news stories that contained information you may not have heard. The links will take you to those news items and to other resources that you can use to increase your capacity to remember anything you deem important.

Be in the Moment

1. You can’t remember something if you’ve never learned it, so focus on learning.

2. You don’t need to enroll in a college to learn — you can learn something from educational television programs, from online courses, from books, or from other individuals.

3. It only takes about eight seconds to process data through your hippocampus into the appropriate memory center, so it doesn’t take long to absorb information.

4. You need to pay attention to your environment so that you can encode this information into your brain.

5. To learn how to stay in the moment, don’t focus on the past or worry about the future while you’re learning.

6. Don’t multitask, as you create a “brain drain” when you focus on more than one activity.

Create a Learning Environment

7. Note the environments that make it easier for you to concentrate and try to replicate those environments for learning. You may be accustomed to background noise (like traffic), or you may need complete silence, depending upon the task and your learning habits.

8. To that end, it would help if you understood your learning style. Once you understand what works for you, you can create an environment that stimulates your strengths.

9. Create a learning environment at home. This is crucial for adult learners who will be taking online courses, while balancing work, family, and other factors.

10. If you plan to learn online, know which computer systems will be required before you can begin this task successfully.