Improving Your Memory - Tips to Help You Study More Efficiently

Improve Your Memory and Pass That Exam! Learning methods to sharpen your brain power is not rocket science.

Many of us humans tend to over-complicate things-especially when it comes to matters of human existence.

To survive in a highly competitive world, one must rely on one's innate intelligence. But much depends on your goals and the extremes you are willing to go to in order to fill them.
The human mind serves as a vast reservoir of knowledge. Some of what the mind is storing is useful information-some of it is not.
The ideas behind improving your memory are based on your personal needs and what sort of information needs to be stored for future use? Many of the people who read this page are students who are facing what may seem like a daunting task-passing an exam.
So I'll be giving you content to help you work on improving your memory so that taking that exam will seem like any other normal activity you get involved in day after day.

No doubt you are aware of what neuroscience tells us about how the brain works, but it's worth reviewing.
The brain is much like the hard drive on your computer.
You create a message by typing information, and then you hit "CTRL S" or you select "SAVE AS" and hit "ENTER.
" The information is then recorded on the drive.
Instead of a physical keyboard, the input to your brain's hard drive comes via your five physical senses: sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch. This sensory information is first received by an area of temporary storage known as the short-term memory. As the name implies this area is much like your computer's Random Access Memory (RAM). As you know, unless you take another step with what is in your computer's RAM, when you turn off the computer's power, RAM is lost forever.

Comparing this to brain function, what you have stored in short-term memory will vanish just as quickly as your RAM data unless it is sent along to your long-term memory.
Your computer hard drive offers Read Only Memory (ROM). ROM is readily accessible whenever you need to access it.

Long-term memory is similar.

The information is stored in your brain just like what is on your hard drive.
But you need a method to find it so that you can use it, and this is where the problems arise. As for computer memory, you must remember what key words you used to save it and what file folder you put it in.
The information stored in your brain requires some effort on your part to pull it back.
This ability begins with pre-conditioning.
The idea is to keep your brain healthy and full of vitality.

Regardless of your circumstances-you may be a student facing exams, you have a professional career and desire to stay mentally sharp.

or like me, you are a "seasoned citizen" hoping to preserve what you know as age creeps into the picture.

Here are some things you can do to improve retention and enhance mental performance: • Get plenty of sleep as well as exercise • Vary your mental exercises with periods of relaxation and spend time with friends and having fun • Work out physically as well as mentally. Don't limit study to one particular subject. Read and comprehend different subjects • Use mnemonic devices (covered in another article) and memorization.
Try memorizing songs or poems At the risk of sounding trite, you can indeed teach an old dog new tricks.

This old dog has spent a lifetime learning new subjects. In a way I believe it keeps me young.
The human brain has a special ability to adapt and change-even in my advanced years. Neuroscientists call this property neuroplasticity. When sufficiently stimulated your brain begins to form new neural pathways while altering old connections. The brain has the ability to react and adapt in an ever-changing manner.

This incredible ability for the brain to realign itself is especially true when it comes to learning new information and remembering it.

Work on the steps listed above.
This mysterious power of neuroplasticity will increase your cognitive abilities. It will pep up your ability to learn new and exciting subjects; and best of all-it will work miracles toward improving your memory and your grades.