Game Time, Part 1: How to Improve Your Memory

If your goal is to improve your memory, you've come to the right place. There are a ton of techniques and tricks that you can use to commit information to your long-term memory, including several "mind games". Here we'll show you a few and explain why they work so, hopefully, you can implement them successfully.

Keep in mind that your brain retains meaning, value and relevance better than sequences or words, so it's important to attach significance to whatever it is you want to remember. In addition, you need to keep your mind strong and supple by using it daily, whether that means reading a good book or doing a crossword puzzle (more on mental acuity games in Part 2 of this series).

Tell a Story to Recall Important Information

One of the best ways to commit information to your long-term memory is to create a story which connects all the details you want to remember. This way, it will make each fact easier to recall because remembering the entire story is simpler than remembering one specific detail.

As you are doing this, make sure to capture the image in your mind. For instance, if you need to recall a group of unrelated items such as ice cream, stapler and carving knife, you might create this story:

It was a hot summer day and Mary was in the mood for strawberry ice cream. But when she went to the freezer she realized her husband had used a stapler to seal the carton shut! So she had to use a carving knife to carefully pry off the lid.

Keep Your Memory Strong by Creating Your Own Vocabulary

People create new words all the time; sometimes intentionally, other times by pure accident. Take "radar", for instance. Did you know it is actually an acronym coined in 1941 (World War II) which stands for Radio Detection And Ranging?

Or, how about the line: Every Good Boy Does Fine? For anyone who has every read sheet music, you understand this sentence. The notes on the lines of music are EGBDF corresponding with the first letter of each word in the sentence. On the other hand, the notes in the spaces spell out the word FACE.

Acronyms, acrostics, initialism, and abbreviations have caused controversy over the years regarding proper use and definition. Suffice to say that any time you can jog your memory using words, sentences, or a random series of letters (i.e. FBI, NFL) it makes sense to do it. So, if you want to commit something to memory, consider creating your own acronym or acrostic. Some of the more popular ones in use today include:

• LOL: Laughing out loud
• FYI: For your information
• DIY: Do it yourself

Incorporate the Information into a Song or Rhyme

Remember how you learned your ABCs? You probably sang them. Children learn through song all the time. So why shouldn't adults? If you want to remember something, you don't necessarily have to commit it to tune, but placing it in a rhyme may help.

Keep in mind that most experts will tell you this is one of the more difficult of the memory techniques because it requires the ability to quickly rhyme. However, if you need to remember information that you routinely use and do it in a specific order, you might be wise to take the time and create a little rhyme to help you.

Two of the better known rhymes learned in school include "i before e, except after c" and "in fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue."

Whatever techniques or games help you improve your memory, know there are benefits to keeping your mind active. That means challenging yourself on a daily basis. We've got more tricks on how to do this in Part 2, so keep your eye out.

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