![]() In the average adult, this part of your brain shrinks over time. One such study from PNAS, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, showed that exercise actually increased the size of the hippocampus. ¬¨ÔøΩ Exercise: Several studies have shown that exercise improves our spatial memory. ![]() Studies have shown that mediation improves memory recall after 2 months of practice. This improves your concentration and extends the maximum capacity of your working memory, which typically holds no more than 7 memories at a time. ¬¨ÔøΩ Meditation: During meditation, the brain stops processing information as quickly. Here are some additional tips that can help: Additionally, healthy lifestyle choices can positively impact the brain and our ability to recall memories. What we are suggesting is that the brain is a muscle that can be strengthened with constant activity. Other ways to improve memoryīut this evidence is not provided to suggest memory conditions or illnesses are reversible, or that they aren't to be taken seriously. Just as athletes must train their bodies consistently to perform at peak levels, we must do the same with our brains. These mental exercises seem to keep the brain agile and ready to form memories. Simple repetition, in increments of five over the course of several weeks, also works. Similarly, linking items on a list to a route or path you walk daily helps. Creating a story that links each item together makes the list easier to remember. As you squeeze the grape, the ring falls into a glass of Sherry," writes Liat Clark. Inside one of the Grapes you see a Ring sparkling with diamonds. "For instance, with Torch, Grapes, Ring, Sherry, imagine shining a Torch on a bunch of Grapes. The Link Method, as reported by Wired, involves creating a link between multiple items on a list. WMC competitors employ a host of learning methods to create memories, such as creating acronyms and using mental pictures. (And the WMC may call to mind the premise of Joshua Foer's Moonwalking with Einstein, in which he investigated the championship's mentalists to improve his own memory.) It's an astonishing feat that signals what our brains are capable of if we maximize memory creation and retrieval. ![]() In the Hour Cards category, WMC Champion Alex Mullen memorized 1,626 cards, the equivalent of 31 decks, in an hour. The person who recalls the most information most accurately wins. ![]() They're tasked with memorizing names, faces, words, and digits during competition periods lasting anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. Competitors from over 30 countries compete in 10 disciplines over the course of 3 days. Originally founded in 1991, the WMC positions the act of remembering under time constraints as a sport. The World Memory Championships (WMC) offer proof that, with effective techniques, our memories can become stronger and more agile. Thus, the question still remains: can memory be improved? There is strong anecdotal evidence to suggest yes. But many of these resources are little more than clickbait seeking to take your money and aren't based in research or backed by science. There's no shortage of listicles outlining the many supplements, foods, and activities that supposedly increase your ability to form and recall memories. ![]() The problem with memory improvement, of both the short- and long-term varieties, is figuring out what works. And in cases less severe than dementia, poor memory still makes for a difficult and frustrating life. Due to unmitigated lifestyle risks like obesity, imbalanced diets, tobacco use, and alcohol abuse, more and more people are affected by memory-related illnesses every day. This is more than double the current number of dementia patients in the U.S. By the year 2050, an estimated 115 million people will have dementia, as reported by Harvard Health Publications. There's great cause to focus on memory improvement, even if we don't fully understand all of the processes that affect memory storage. But one aspect we've yet to tackle is how to improve it. Throughout this series, we've covered memory from several angles: the basics of how memories are formed and stored, the mysteries surrounding encoding and retrieval, and the many ways our memories affect, and are affected by, our daily lives. Read the previous posts in the Memory series: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. ![]()
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