The Secrets Of Memory Retention

improving your memory

There are many ways of classifying the human mind and its ability to retain information. One of the most often used classifications is based on the duration of memory retention, specifically the sensory, short term and long term memory. Referring to recent memory, short term memory is usually only held for a very short period of time. Think back to when you were flitting around from person to person at a party, being introduced to one person after another; were you able to remember every person's name by the end of the night? Long term memory, on the other hand, involves a databank of sorts in your mind, where all the information that you have learned is kept. Sensory memory is conveyed through your senses of sight and sound, where you keep these "images" in your mind.

Sleep
You may not realize this, but sleep is a very important necessity to improving your memory. Studies have shown that the sensory memory is able to be more firmly ingrained into the long term memory when there is adequate sleep. It has also been documented that facts and other information are also able to be retained and recalled with greater ease when paired with sleep. This has been attributed to the fact that sleep strengthens the memories and causes them to be less vulnerable to environmental interference.

Emotions
Emotions also play a big part in memory retention. The more emotional resonance a specific image, word, or event has on an individual, the deeper that particular information is embedded into the recesses of the mind. This is as the amygdale, the portion of the mind that is related to emotion, is an important factor in adapting memories according to importance, based on the intensity of the emotions. This is regardless of the nature of the emotion.

Memory Retention Tools
The human mind is a very intricate element of our cognitive abilities, and memories can be either verbal or non-verbal. There are many techniques for retaining information. These include organization of information through meaning, where associations between new information is received and linked with information already stored in the long term memory. Other forms of such memory retention techniques include visual organization, which involves linking information to visual images, and organizing through similarities, where similar concepts or objects are grouped together based on certain characteristics.

Mnemonic devices are another often employed tool in memory retention. The use of acronyms is common, especially in branding, where a sequence of words is easily recalled based on the first letter of each word in the list being used to form a single, new word. Acrostics are commonly used as well, when the list of words is required to be learnt in a specific order. Rhymes or songs that are catchy are used, putting new words into a familiar jingle in order to better capture and retain information.