As human beings, we are bound to be forgetful from time to time. With numerous day to day activities that we are all involved in, it is natural for us to forget some of the things that we deem minute and insignificant. This is why we usually employ different devices as a reminder system to remember some essential activities and when we need to attend to them.
It is not uncommon to have people utilizing reminders on their phones to help them remember necessary appointments. Another popular reminder system is the utilization of online calendars and the creation of to-do lists.
However, while these reminder systems work, there comes a time when you need to have important information hard-wired into your long term memory. For instance, the reminder systems used above cannot help you when it comes to studying for your exam. Here, you have to get all the information directly from your brain.
That being said, what happens when you keep forgetting what you read? Are there ways in which you can boost your long term memory capacity? The answer is yes. There are several tricks that all students can employ to improve their memory. Let us take a look at some of the ways of memory improvement. These include;
Minimize Sugar Intake
As college student, it is fair to say that most of us have got a sweet tooth. There is no way to resist the numerous types of sugary foods available at the cafeteria. However, it is essential to remember that sugar intake has been known to directly connect to lots of health issues such as cognitive decline. This means that excessive intake of sugar might be the reason why you forget things after a while.
Therefore, it is advisable to cut down on the amount of sugar that you intake. Understand that this will not only help improve your memory; it will also help improve your overall health.
Refrain from Cramming
Cramming is the go-to studying technique for many students. However, understand that this is not the most effective technique, especially where you are looking to cement almost all the information you ingest onto your long term memory.
The main reason why most students like cramming is the need for short cuts. This also explains the need to hire an essay helper to do your assignment. However, understanding that studying material repeatedly enables you to retain more information and a more extended period than cramming. Therefore, go over your notes over several sessions, and you will find it relatively easier to remember what you read during the exam time.
Get Enough Sleep
One of the greatest mistakes we make while in college is to wait until the exams are right around the corner to start studying for them. This means that we do not have enough time to review all the material we have. Therefore, to create more time, we cut down on our sleeping time and dedicate every waking moment to studying for the upcoming exams.
It is essential to understand that lack of enough sleep has been scientifically linked with poor memory. It would be best if you realized that it is during sleep time that short term memory is converted to long term memory. Therefore, getting enough sleep after studying gives your brain time to convert all this information into long term memory. Therefore, make sure you have enough time for studying and sleep to get the best result in memory retention.
Use Mnemonic Devices
Mnemonic devices are techniques that help aid in information retention and retrieval with regards to the human brain. For instance, as a college student, you can associate some given information that you have read with something that you are very familiar with. This will help you quickly retrieve information about what you read by merely thinking about the familiar object you associated the data with.
Avoid Excessive Intake of Alcohol
Excessive consumption of alcohol harms your body. Apart from leading to poor health, excessive alcohol intake significantly affects your memory. This is because alcohol not only impacts the growth of new brain cells; it also plays a great role in damaging the already existing ones. Therefore, one of the simplest tricks in improving one’s information retrieval and retention is avoiding alcoholic beverages.
Even though we all start getting more forgetful as we grow older, it does not mean that there is nothing we can d about it. The above techniques will surely help you improve your memory and retain more information as you continue with your studies.
