Here we propose you 10 Exercises to improve your memory In the short and long term that can be practiced by children, adolescents, adults and elderly people.
Notice that your memory is worse than before? Do you sometimes have oversights or forget about things? Would you like to recover the memory capacity you had before?
Well, do not stand idly by, Memory can work Favoring stimulation and cognitive maintenance.
How can we improve memory?
Our brain is not a rigid structure, but has a high potential for modifiability and adaptation to different situations.
What happens when certain neurons disappear? Are the functions dependent on them irreparably depleted?
The answer to these questions is No!: Certain neurons have the ability to perform a large number of functions, so if they lose a function, We can get them to perform another type of function, and in this way keep our neuron active.
In addition, in Brain function , The most important thing is not the number of neurons that our brain contains, but the connections that establish with Other neurons, that is, their activity.
So, if one thing is clear is that to work the memory, we will have to make work Our neurons , And not only with an exercise, but With several, because in this way we will work different types of activities, and the improvement of our cognitive functioning will be more complete.
Keeping a good memory in adulthood involves 3 fundamental points:
Mens sana in corpore sano: To have a good cognitive functioning, we must also have good physical health (food, exercise, etc.).
Social and emotional functioning: The activities we do daily, the moments we have to have fun and have fun, our friendships... All these factors are Important for our cognitive functioning.
Cognitive functioning: The amount, type, and quality of cognitive work we do throughout the day will be vital in predicting the state of our memory.
As we have said before, in this article I will propose 10 exercises to work on this last point, that of cognitive functioning. However, Before we go to make a brief reflection on how we should work this function.
How should we work the memory?
The memory of the human being is not housed in a single region of the brain , The fact of remembering or not remembering things, is not Established by a single function of our brain.
Rather, memory Is the result of the functioning of multiple structures and brain functions.
In the image below you can see what are the"stores"or types of memory that we have.
So, if we want to improve our mnesic function, we should not only perform one type of exercise, since, as is clear, Functions of our memory are multiple, and each of them must be worked in a different way.
Let's go and see what these 10 exercises we should do to improve and / or maintain our memory.
10 Exercises to improve your memory
1-Short-term memory exercises
The biggest drawback of short-term memory problems is that we can forget about something recent that we were going to do.
So, if you have these types of short-term memory problems, the best exercise is that apart from working and improving your Short-term memory, can help prevent this type of forgetting in everyday life.
Therefore, the exercise that we propose to improve this sphere of your mnesic function is the following:
Write down in a daily self-registration the moment you have one of the following:
Forget what he was going to say.
Forget someone's name.
Forget where it was stored or where an object is.
Forget to take any prescribed medication.
Forget about an appointment.
Forget something you should have or planned to do.
Other types of forgetfulness you may have.
In the self-register, note at the right time when it appears: the type of forgetfulness, the corresponding day in which the oblivion happened, and some type of Information about how it has been.
2-Memory Exercises: Grouping
An effective technique that makes our brain to be able to remember with greater facility large amounts of objects and information, is to group the Words in different categories.
If we improve our ability to memorize clustering, we will greatly improve our memory, we will have more facility to store new Information and therefore have greater learning, and we will have more resources to prevent forgetting.
One exercise we can do is the following:
1. Read this list of words carefully:
-Gallet cat architect car olives boat firefighter lion crocodile helicopter medical banana fish dog apple nurse madalena motorcycle teacher bike-
Try to remember as many words as possible.
Now organize the previous words in these four categories
-Food, Animals, Transport, professions-
4. Try to remember the previous words organized in the 4 categories.
3-Visual Memory Exercises
Improving visual memory is very important, since many times what we remember are things that we have seen previously.
To improve this aspect of our memory we can perform a very simple exercise that consists of observing a geometric figure, and Then try to reproduce it as accurately as possible without looking at it.
4-Spatial Memory Exercises
Space memory is a very important type of memory, since it is the one that allows us to mentally reconstruct forms, spaces and silhouettes.
To work this type of memory, an exercise I recommend is as follows:
Take a blank sheet, and draw"Bird's eye view", your neighborhood or the place you best remember the city or town in which you live, noting the name Of the streets you remember, the place where you live, the place where your friends and family live and the places to which you usually go or get to know.
5-Long-term memory exercises
The Long-term memory Is one that contains information about past events, and which has long been part of our knowledge, makes Time that information is stored in our brain.
Stimulating these memories allows them to be strengthened, thus reducing the chances of forgetting that information.
Similarly, stimulating memories powers our neural networks where we have stored this information, and improves our memory long term.
To work this aspect of memory an appropriate exercise would be the following:
Remember and explain as accurately as possible, providing all the information you remember about:
A relevant event of the 1940s.
A relevant event of the 1950s.
A relevant event of the 1960s.
A relevant event of the 1970s.
A relevant event of the 1980s.
A relevant event of the 1990s.
The most relevant event of your personal life.
6-Exercises of maintained attention
Being able to maintain attention is practically more important than knowing how to memorize to possess a good memory.
If we are not able to keep attention , The recording and storage of new information is very difficult, and therefore learning as well.
So if we want to work the memory, we also have to train the attention, since the attention is the one that allows us to register the information and
Store it properly so that it can be remembered.
In order to work the maintained attention we can carry out the following exercise:
Look closely at this list of words and identify those that repeat.
| First name | Metamorphosis | Picture |
| Father | Tie | Computer |
| Boy | Glasses | Lion |
| Game | Pillow | Woman |
| Man | Judgment | Sneakers |
| Disability | Sofa | Mussel |
| Computer | Cup | Water |
| Car | Shirt | Cube |
7-Verbal Fluency Exercises
One of the main functions of memory is the language: When we have some mnesic alteration, sometimes we have difficulty accessing the information Necessary to find the word we want to say at any given time.
For this to not happen, we must work the language directly. In this way, our verbal fluency will increase and our long-term memory Will also benefit.
To work the verbal fluency can be performed a very simple exercise, but at the same time very useful. It is the following:
Write words in the singular and chained by the last syllable. For example:
-Perso In the , In the you Ra , Ra S Car , letter , Ta Bure tea , tea Read do not , do not Che... -
8-Reading Comprehension Exercises
We all know what reading comprehension consists of, and perhaps now you think that this does not have much to do with memory.
But this is not so! Understanding what we read is a cognitive function, relative to language, of vital importance to our memory, because if not We have a misunderstanding of what we read, the storage of that information will be impossible, and therefore that information will not come to form
Part of our memory.
The exercise I most recommend to work this function is:
Take a book, read it, and at the end of it make a summary of what has been read, and what are the key ideas contained in the book
9-Creativity Exercises
Finally, to complete memory training, I would recommend an exercise in creativity .
Demanding our mind to perform activities that require our own ideas and original thoughts, is perfect to stimulate our memory of form global.
An exercise that I especially like is the following:
Write a two page story that continues the following story:
Last Tuesday I woke up very happy because it was a special day. I got up and went quickly to the bathroom, when suddenly...
10-Association Memory Exercises
Association exercises help us to properly store the new information that is presented to us, so that learning is greater, and the probability that we forget is diminished.
Association exercises consist of joining information already stored in our brain that we remember easily, with new information.
In this way, by associating the new information with well-established information in our neurons, it will be easier that this also be well stored.
One type of exercise we can do to improve this function is as follows:
Write below the numbers some fact, event or situation with which you can associate. For example:
17: My birthday day.
39: End of the Spanish Civil War.
45: End of the Second World War.
65: Retirement age in Spain.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100.
After about 5 minutes of performing the previous action, where you have recorded a minimum of 15 events or events related to different numbers, you will pick up the list of numbers (without what you have noted above) and write below each number what Remember
If you want to know more association exercises, Visit this article on photographic memory.
Why is memory lost?
It is evident that age is an important factor in explaining the deterioration of memory. However, memory loss is not an exclusive fact Of aging, there are other personal and environmental variables that play an important role.
Environmental factors such as retirement, decreased activity and Of cognitive stimulation , The use of tools like the calculator or the agendas, Make us gradually adjust our brains, and we will require less and less the use of our memory.
Likewise, stress, anxiety, depression or apathy are also very relevant factors that hinder a good functioning of our memory.
This leaves us one thing clear: there are many factors beyond the ones uncontrollable by oneself (like the age) that take part in our operation Mnesic Therefore, we can work to improve it and / or maintain it.
And what exercises do you know to improve memory? Let me know; That way I can increase the list and other readers will know more ways. Thanks!
References
- Frieri, L (2010). Critical Review: Effectiveness of cognitive stimulation therapy groups for individuals with dementia. University of Western Ontario: School of Communication Sciences and Disorders.
- Maroto, M, A. The memory, program of stimulation and congestive maintenance. Institute of Public Health. Madrid.
- Martí, P., Mercadal, M., Cardona, J., Ruiz, I., Sagristá, M., Mañós, Q. (2004). Non-pharmacological intervention in dementias and Alzheimer's disease: miscellaneous. In J, Deví., J, God, Dementias and Alzheimer's disease: a practical and interdisciplinary approach (559-587). Barcelona: Higher Institute of Psychological Studies.