Some Tips For Improving Short Term Memory

You can improve short term memory with certain habits and exercises. Sleep, eat healthy, use all of your senses, and do mental games to improve your ability to remember.

Forgot what you meant? Can’t remember why you went to the kitchen or what to buy at the market? If you forget things like that, find out how to improve short-term memory.

Missing important dates or activities? Maybe your brain is saturated with information and is rebelling.

The good news is that you can improve your short-term memory with certain habits and exercises.

We tell you more in the following article.

Tips for Better Short-Term Memory

There are two types of memory: short and medium term. The former is used to store immediate data, such as the name of a person we just met.

Its capacity is limited. The second is useful for tasks that require more concentration or effort, like an exam or something we do every day.

If you want to have more effective short-term memory, because you’ve noticed that you can’t remember the things you just said, pay attention to the following tips:

1. Pay attention

The important thing is that you focus on one thing at a time. In recent years, a philosophy called “multitasking” has emerged in which we are made to believe that we can do a thousand things at once.

But this is not true. While it is true that we can move from one task to another or take advantage of one activity to accomplish another, we do not have the capacity to pay the same attention to two or more things.

Why? Because there will always be some activity that “steals” attention, and we may not end up doing anything right. The brain works best when it only pays attention to what is in front of it.

2. Take advantage of mental games to improve short-term memory

Short-term memory can be stimulated in a thousand possible ways. The brain can respond to stimuli and exercise in the same way as the arm muscles.

When you learn something new, the mind generates additional neural pathways forming more connections (as if it were a subway network, for example).

Therefore, it is essential to donate material to build rails that connect between thoughts. This will especially be the case with memory games, puzzles, and other similar hobbies.

3. Use all your senses

Memories aren’t just created through what our eyes see.

You probably remember an aroma from your childhood, like bread freshly baked by your grandmother, or a song your mother used to sing when you were afraid.

V ou can also enjoy your sense adulthood !

If you have trouble remembering a person’s name, repeat it several times out loud, so that hearing is involved in the formation of the memory. If you want to remember a cooking recipe, consciously taste its preparation.

4. Use mnemonic devices to improve short-term memory

This technique of combining words, pictures or sentences can help you have better short-term memory. Rhymes are also very useful.

For example, to remember months that have 30 days, there is a mnemonic rule: “30 days have September, April, June and November”.

You can even use your own rules based on personal information that is easy to remember, like the initials of last names or people important to you. Use the easiest formulas to repeat.

5. Segment and organize

When we need to remember a 10 digit phone number, it is easy to forget it if we try to remember it as a set.

However, when we separate two to two or three blocks of three, four and three digits, it will be easier to remember next time. Repeat the sequence several times until it is fixed in your mind.

Another technique that can help you is to segment.

When you went to school, you made a synoptic image or underlined the main ideas of a text. Do the same with the information you need to remember!

Data and concrete images are great friends of the mind.

6. Eat better

Of course, there is a relationship between daily diet and brain activity.

A diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids (included in salmon, nuts and avocados, for example) and plant proteins (fruits and vegetables) prevents premature aging and mental or cognitive diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.

7. Sleep well to improve short-term memory

Have you noticed that it is more difficult to remember certain information when the day ends?

Or that you can’t remember something simple or if you only slept 3 or 4 hours? This is because the brain needs to rest in order to work, just like any muscle.

Try to maintain a healthy sleep routine: get 7-8 hours of sleep.

Go to bed and get up at the same times, and take a half-hour nap in the afternoon whenever possible. Do not watch TV in bed, do not eat a lot to avoid insomnia.

8. Exercise

Having a workout routine can be helpful in improving short-term memory. During  exercise, the body is oxygenated and this “clean air” also reaches the mind.

This way, you have more ability to remember the information you learn during the day. You can do cardio (cycling, running, etc.) to boost your brain functions.