Powerful Ways To Sharpen Your Memory: Fill & Download for Free

Today, I’ll keep my brain sharp by answering this question. These are the 7 things I came up with:Highlighting. Whatever I read, I go back through and highlight what’s important (or go back after I’m done to do it). It’s exercise for your brain’s filtering mechanism, which is super important in today’s information-cluttered world. Today I highlighted things in “Trust Me, I’m Lying” by Ryan HolidayTurning every statement into a question. James Altucher says he replaces every full stop with a question mark. No matter how briefly, reflecting critically on every “fact” makes sure you think for yourself.(Source)Solving crossword puzzles. For the last 5–6 years or so, I have watched my Dad solve the crossword puzzle in the newspaper every single morning. I have no doubt he’ll stay sharp as a knife for a very long time.(Source)Writing. It’s the perfect combination of research, analysis, thesis, antithesis and synthesis. The more I do it, the faster I can think. I’m doing it right now.(where the magic happens)Advising friends. I love when friends ask me for advice. Not because it makes me feel smart or I can tell them what to do, but because I get to say: “How would I solve this problem?” Then I tell them what I would do and why and say: “It might not work for you.”Studying vastly different things. Next to me is a law script. Yesterday I listened to a talk about social media. Later I’ll learn something about the history of the modern home. More topics means more neural connections in different areas of the brain.Giving yourself feedback. I do this by editing my writing, for example. It’s like coaching yourself. You look at what you’ve done, tell yourself what’s good and what’s bad and then change for the better.(Source)These are really random. The truth is you can do almost anything in a way that makes your brain sharper or number.The trick is to remember to keep asking:“How can I do this in my own, creative way?”I write more here.

Using sleep effectively. Psychologists have studied sleep a lot in the past decades, and recently some discoveries have been made in REM sleep. This is the phase where we usually dream and it is required to feel rested. But the reason why this was needed has always eluded us.Recently it has been discovered that during REM sleep we transfer information from our short-term memory in our long-term memory. More studies have then shown that when we study right before we sleep or take a nap, we tend to remember the information better and longer!That being said, one great strategy is to take a nap (1–2 hours, so you can get into REM sleep) after you had a long study session. The sooner the better! Also, studying right before going to bed helps as well… as long as you do not go to the computer or TV in between trying to fall asleep and studying.Chunking. Chunking means taking pieces of information together so that you have to remember less overall. Our mind is able to remember 7 (+/- 2) things at any given time. So when I tell you to remember the numbers 4 2 9 7 3 9 1, you will probably be able to do it.But as soon as I add some numbers it becomes quite difficult: 4 2 9 7 3 9 1 8 4 7 2 9. When you chunk it you add the numbers together to remember them better: 42 97 39 18 47 29. And suddenly you have 6 pieces instead of 12.Doing this may only work with certain facts but it definitely makes it easier on your brain to handle all the information.Memory games. There are apps, video games and even board games made to test your memory (one is even called “Memory”). Playing these games more often forces you to practice your memory. Everything gets better through training, especially our mind.Use the tools available to you, and have fun while doing it!More often, smaller amounts. Instead of having one 10 hour study session every day for a week before the exam it would be better to have 2 hour sessions for 5 weeks before the exam. The reason smaller is better in this case is because your mind has to reactivate the areas of your brain regarding the studied material.This causes the pathways and neurons to strengthen faster and secures the information in your brain. Not only that, but you also tend to waste less time during shorter sessions.Connect it to other events, emotions or places. If you can connect what you study to an event from your own life, you will be more likely to remember it. That event, emotion or place is already lodged in your long-term memory; it’s not going anywhere any time soon. Use that to your advantage!Imagine every new piece of information like a spider spinning a new web. When the information first comes in, the spider has no strings to make a web. But as you connect the information to more places, emotions and events, the web will grow bigger and stronger. Time will not be able to get rid of it that easily anymore and it becomes stuck in your mind.

I answered the original question a long time ago( 2.5 years from now). Things have changed a lot, I have grown old, learned a lot of new techniques. Some of them worked, some didn’t. But that’s fine. Many a time memory techniques turned out to be a lifesaver!I am answering this because you may relate to my experience. I had a very bad memory. At least I labeled myself as such. My short term memory was a real shit.I had problems recalling the name of my friends, people I have just met. or Where I left the key off? blah blah blahHowever, I do have an amazing long term memory. I can recall incidents from my childhood when I was one and a half year old. But this shouldn’t make you feel like I am much better than you are. In fact, I am not. The “problem with my memory” was originally created by Albert Einstein!I was a big fan of him. He was one of the very few people who had an influence on me in many ways. He was that evergreen superstar to all of the new generation physicists. He didn’t use to remember his colleague's phone number because he could get it written down on his notebook, So why waste brain capacity. I must say I disagree on that remark. With due respect, I should say this misunderstanding of his led us to go astray.I was inspired by Dominic O'Brien( 8 times world memory champion). He had problems pretty much as I had. With hard work and perseverance, he had overcome successfully.Harry Lorayne, an American magician also known as “The Yoda of Memory Training”, “The World's Foremost Memory-Training Specialist” “Father Of Modern Mnemonics” showed me the way.To improve memory power you must know a few things. These areThere is absolutely no limitation to the possibilities your brain can adjust. This means you can learn anything and everything. Take the example of Kim Peek, if you read all your life and remember everything, every day of your life your brain will still be healthy.The brain is actually like a muscle, the more you practice, the more you put an effort on the better it gets.You can have an ageless memory. Lot of us have this misconception that this is not for us. Our brain can’t take it. This is rubbish. Have a look at Harry Lorayne’s life. 93-year-old Lorayne memorizes much faster than I do.Everything is weird in the field of mnemonics. So if you find it bizarre at first. Let me say it is weirdest, that’s how it is. The stranger the method gets the easier it becomes to recall. Mnemonics is based on relating unknown stuff to the known one in the weirdest way possible.Practice! practice!! practice!!!There's no short cut to excellence. You get what you put on. But hey, there is a term called efficiency. If you throw a ball direct upward (90 degrees) You can't take it anywhere. If your effort is put on in the right direction, you can do almost anything.I would recommend you to read at least one book “The memory book" by Harry Lorayne and Jerry Lucas. And work on it. The Rest will be in history.Note: I was very desperate and had started working on a memory system even before I had known Harry Lorayne. Then, I customized a method that works for me based on my own experience and findings of Harry Lorayne and Dominic O'Brien, Ron White. I have overcome my struggles. Now I can memorize a whole deck of cards, random numbers, and almost anything.It was my lifelong dream to have such an amazing memory. I would spend millions to get there.In the last 2.5 years, I have learned new languages using a very popular memory technique called “Memory Palace”.I learn new languages to get over OCD and depression. But overuse has side effects too! It could potentially lead to OCD. People who suffered from a stroke or another kind of brain injury, this will help them retrain their brain muscle and get back to normal life.From professional life to everyday life there is no alternative to memory techniques!Sayem Md Nasrotullah Sarkar's answer to If I practice enough can I get a good memory without mnemonics?If you like it, please upvote and Follow the question and be with Quora. It doesn't cost any, Does it!