Science-backed Tips To Boost Your Memory

By Author: Rohit Sinha
Total Articles: 2
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1. Recall before Forgetting
Things that we see, hear, or experience gets committed to our short-term memories immediately. But we forget about 80% of this information in the next few days. To remember something, you need to recall it several times. Start by revisiting the content the very next day. Repeat this exercise frequently for the next few weeks, and you’ll find an improvement. You should be able to recall the information quickly.

2. Focus on the Task at Hand
People who take up online courses might have several things on their plate. But it’s crucial to focus on only one task at a time. If you try multi-tasking while studying, you are likely to make three times more mistakes. Concentrating on each class will help you remember the information much better later on.

3. Combine Your Senses
Often, we use only one sense at a time to learn. For example, we may listen to a lecture or read a chapter in a book. You can increase your ability to remember something by combining two or more senses. Try different combinations of visual, kinetic, auditory, and tactile stimuli to see what works best ...
... for you. It’s also vital to remember that every individual learns in a different way. So, figure out your learning style and include that in your strategy. If you’re an auditory learner, using visual and tactile stimuli to commit things to memory might not work.

4. Find an Emotional Connect
Our emotions strongly influence our brain and memory. Try and create an emotional connection with the topic you’re learning. These emotional connections could help you remember up to twice as much information!

5. Break It Up
Your short-term memory can hold up to seven chunks of information. So, putting together related information in big blocks will allow you to remember more. For example, while committing a phone number to memory, we often group three or four digits together. You can follow the same technique with the content you learn through online courses.

6. Take Breaks
It may sound counter-intuitive, but you also need to take a break while learning. Give yourself 10 minutes to unwind between topics or subjects. According to psychologists at the University of Edinburgh, a 10-minute break can increase your retention power by 20%! If you neglect taking breaks, you may not be able to remember as much as you would like to.

People are still trying to understand how the brain and our memories work. But these tried and tested techniques will surely boost retention. You can use these tips to commit vital information to your memory and fair better in your online courses.