How to memorize new information: 8 easy ways

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Our brains are constantly learning new things as we study, work, and even relax. You can memorize foreign words, learn to play the guitar, or figure out how to use a CRM system. Mastering new skills is not always easy and enjoyable, but there are ways to speed up the process.

How you can improve your memory

To learn effectively, you don't need to read books 24 hours a day. On the contrary, it is important to maintain a balance between work and play. Sleep and regular exercise are important not only for physical health, but also for brain function, including memory.

Get enough sleep

An adult needs to sleep The Importance of Sleep from 7 to 9 hours a day. Adequate sleep is important for all organs and systems of the body, including the brain.

Neurologist and scientist Matthew Walker, in his book Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreaming, says that a night's sleep before study renews the brain's ability to create new memories, and after study - reinforces the knowledge gained. Compared to the same waking time, sleep enhances a person's ability to memorize information by 20–40%. Moreover, early night sleep is more important for preserving memories. So if you study a lot, it's best not to stay up late.

Exercise

Exercise is good for the brain. During exercise, cells receive more oxygen. Exercise increases Insulin-like growth factor I interfaces with brain-derived neurotrophic factor-mediated synaptic plasticity to modulate aspects of exercise-induced cognitive function synaptic plasticity and stimulates the production of nerve growth factors, which helps the brain build new neural connections.

If you want to memorize information faster, choose high-intensity aerobic exercise - scientists suggest The effects of aerobic exercise intensity on memory in older adults that they affect memory better than moderate exercise.

Learn at the right time

Since childhood, we get used to learning from the early morning - in many countries, school lessons begin at eight. But some researchers believe that it is necessary to sit down to textbooks later. For example, scientists from the University of Nevada in the US and the Open University in the UK concluded Identifying the Best Times for Cognitive Functioning Using New Methods: Matching University Times to Undergraduate Chronotypes that university classes should start at 11-12 hours.

Clinical psychologist Michael Breus, in his book "Always on Time", when choosing the optimal time for study, suggests taking into account the chronotype - an individual feature of the body's circadian rhythms. Some people remember new data better from 10:00 to 14:00, while others - from 16:00 to 22:00. Breus does not recommend spending the night studying: from 4:00 to 7:00 in the morning, information is absorbed the worst of all.

Observe yourself and try to find a time in which it is easier for you to perceive something new.

How to memorize information faster

Take notes

The letter helps to highlight important information, as well as encourages you to start looking for new ones. When we write, various cognitive mechanisms are involved: repetition, reinforcement, and critical reflection on new material.

There is no consensus among scientists as to how best to take notes - on paper or on a laptop. American psychologists Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer consider The pen is mightier than the keyboard: advantages of longhand over laptop note taking that it is better to write by hand. They conducted a study and found that students who typed on a laptop tried to record the lecture verbatim. And those who used a notebook and pen were forced to reformulate the information in their own words, which did them good. A few years later, scientists at Kent State University repeated the experiment and concluded How Much Mightier Is the Pen than the Keyboard for Note-Taking? A Replication and Extension of Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014) that the benefits of handwriting are negligible.

If you are used to working on a laptop, you may not want to give it up. The main thing is to analyze the information and capture the main ideas and concepts in notes, and not just retype a lecture or video lesson.

Use spaced repetition method

In the late 1880s, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus began studying memory and developed Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology. Hermann Ebbinghaus (1885) a pattern that is now called the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve. He found that a day after training a person forgets more than half of the information received, and a week later remembers only 20%. That is, to remember something, you need to repeat it. You probably noticed this yourself when you memorized historical dates or foreign words.

One of the well-known algorithms based on the principle of spaced repetitions was invented by Piotr Wozniak. It's called SuperMemo. The technique is pretty, but in general terms it can be represented as follows:

The first repetition is every other day.

The second repetition is a week later.

The third repetition is after 16 days.

The fourth repetition is after 35 days.

Flash cards work on a similar principle. On one side, you need to write the date, word or term that you need to remember, and on the other, an explanation for them. Cards can be made on paper or in applications on the phone.

Explain to others

Knowledge sharing is an effective way to remember new things. When you speak what you have learned in your own words, the brain understands the information better and organizes it. And to make the process interesting, you can use different methods - for example, give lectures, come up with tests and games, make presentations.

Exchange of information not only helps to remember it better, but also allows you to take a fresh look at the subject and establish contact with like-minded people. People who are interested in teaching and learning are united by the Russian society "Knowledge". The public organization conducts free lectures, exhibitions and webinars, teaches computer literacy to older people, and supports teachers and students.

Now "Knowledge" holds an annual competition "Best Lecturer", which will allow specialists to prove themselves and get access to a new audience. The first stage has already been completed - according to its results, 50 talented contestants from different parts of Russia were selected. In the fall, they will compete for the title of the best lecturer.

Stay away from multitasking

A modern person often picks up a smartphone to reply to a message or just check the feed of social networks while working on a task. In some situations, the ability to do several things at the same time can be useful, but we are talking about mastering a new skill or memorizing information - it is better to focus on one thing.

Multitasking undermines efficiency, especially when it comes to complex or unfamiliar things. It takes a person extra time to switch between tasks each time. Some researchers believe Media multitasking and memory: Differences in working memory and long-term memory that multitasking negatively affects both working memory and long-term memory.

Use mnemonic techniques

Mnemonic techniques help you remember information better by creating associations. You have definitely come across such techniques. “Every hunter wants to know where the pheasant is sitting” is a famous mnemonic phrase that helps children learn the colors of the rainbow.

Poems sometimes help to learn a rule or a term (another example from school is “a bisector is a rat that runs in corners and divides the angle in half”). And to memorize words, you can come up with associations. For example, if you want to learn the word servant, imagine a sideboard with a servant standing next to it with a tray. The associations can be absurd or funny - the brighter the image, the easier it will be to remember.