Five Simple Ways to Become Smarter and Improve Your Memory

Want to get smarter? These 5 simple tricks will help you noticeably improve your memory and cognitive abilities. The site explains what these tricks are IncThe best part is that each of the techniques takes no more than a couple of minutes, and one requires no effort at all.

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Say it out loud

A study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that saying words out loud (or even silently mouthing them) helps people remember them better.

Although the exact mechanism is unknown, scientists speculate that saying something out loud separates and differentiates it from “just” thinking. You didn’t just think it. You heard it. This makes the information, idea, or plan you want to remember even more memorable.

When you need to remember something, say it out loud or say it to yourself. Your cerebral cortex will help you remember it for a long time.

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And then…

Repeat mentally for 40 seconds

Remembering a name is fairly simple. Remembering something more complex requires memory consolidation—the process of turning short-term memories into more stable, long-term ones. Although this process can be sped up, fully consolidating a memory takes time.

A good way to increase your chances is to mentally replay what you want to remember for 40 seconds. A 2015 study published in the Journal of Neuroscience found that a short period of mental rehearsal—replaying an event in your head, retelling what someone said in a meeting, mentally planning a sequence of steps, etc.—significantly increases the likelihood that you’ll remember it.

A short period of repetition has a huge impact on the ability to remember complex, realistic events over the course of one to two weeks. This effect is associated with activity in a specific part of the brain, the posterior cingulate cortex.

And then…

Make a prediction

While it sounds strange, a study published in the Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology found that simply asking yourself “will I remember this?” significantly increases the likelihood that you’ll remember it—in some cases, by as much as 50%.

This is especially true for so-called prospective memory—the ability to remember in the future when you need to perform a planned action. For example, calling a client back, checking the status of a supplier, or finding out the cause of a problem after it has been fixed.

Why this works is also not exactly clear. Perhaps the act of prediction itself is a kind of mini-test, and self-tests, as practice shows, very effectively accelerate learning.

Prediction helps the hippocampus better form and sort memories for later access.

Want to remember to do something in the future? Take a second to predict whether you will remember it. The act itself makes remembering it more likely.

And then…

Disconnect for two minutes

According to a study published in Nature Reviews Psychology, "Even a few minutes of rest with your eyes closed can improve memory—perhaps as much as a full night's sleep."

Psychologists call this "offline waking rest." In its purest form, it's just a couple of minutes of downtime, closing your eyes and disconnecting from the outside world. But you can dream, meditate, clear your mind, and think about something pleasant.

While this all sounds counterproductive (is it worth wasting time that could be used for learning?), this short break improves memory consolidation. That is, constantly switching between tasks prevents the brain from learning everything properly.

The key is to do it consciously. First, repeat to yourself what you want to remember for about 40 seconds. Then predict whether you will remember it. Then close your eyes, take a break, and give yourself a minute or two of quiet rest.

And finally ...

get enough sleep

Finally, a memory-improving exercise that requires no effort. According to a study published in Psychological Science, people who studied before bed, then slept, and did a short review the next morning spent less time studying and increased their long-term retention by 50%.

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Reprocessing new information during sleep is an important part of how memories are formed and consolidated.

That is, if you “sleep with a thought,” it helps the brain organize the acquired knowledge and makes it easier to use later.

This is true for long-term memory as well. Learning, then getting a good night's sleep, and then learning again is an extremely effective way to increase intelligence and improve learning skills.

Sleeping after studying is a good strategy. But sleeping between two classes is even better.

Let's say you're learning a new sales demo. After you've practiced it, say the main points of the presentation out loud. Then mentally replay the key points, and then predict whether you'll remember them all. Then take a few minutes off.

And finally, get some sleep, quickly review everything in the morning, and move on to the next portion of information. Repeat this cycle, and you will spend less time learning and remember much more.

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