Improving memory and study skills

Worry Not There is no reason to be anxious about memory loss as you age. Brain is like a muscle-use it or lose it, writes Dr Krishna Murthy

As people age, they engage in lesser and lesser learning.  Normally, people as soon as they complete their college or schooling, abstain from learning new information and get habituated to giving no room for memorization. 

It is obvious with adults as they rest on their laurels and achievements.  It is a fact that some jobs and hobbies do not drive them to learn new things. That would include, occupations such as that of security guards, computer data operators, front office desk operators and mainly the people work in call centres’ now a days. 

The brain gets into the ruts, when it is  not challenged with new learning, and without proper stimulation, the brain  function gradually can erode over a period of time, leading to decreased memory. Understanding this fact and harnessing the  brain through continuous learning will empower it in turn.

By the age of 40 or 50 many otherwise healthy individuals, begin to notice symptoms such as incomplete thoughts, faltering information recall, etc. Medical science has also confirmed that as we age, our memory function can decline by as much as 45 percent.  

However, memory loss is a concept that remains to be deeply explored; certain useful ways to abate, and possibly, halt memory loss have been developed. 

If you are already 40, do not despair.  What is the advice?  Your brain is like a muscle – use it or lose it. 

Clinical brain scans show that when people use their brains in unusual way, more blood flows into different neural regions and new connections form.

Some tips

n Interest:  The brain prioritizes by means of value and relevance. To have meaning,
you must understand what you are learning. In order to remember something thoroughly, you must be interested in it and think that it has value and relevance in your life.

n Intent to Remember:      Your attitude has much to do with whether you remember something or not. A key factor to remembering is having a positive attitude that you get it right the first time. Attention is not the same as learning, but little learning takes place without attention.

n Basic Background:    Your understanding of new materials depends on what you already know that you can connect it to. The more you increase your basic knowledge, the easier it is to build new knowledge on this background. One must determine what is most important and select those parts to begin the  process of studying and learning.  You can learn and remember better if you can  group ideas into some sort of meaningful categories or groups.

Strengthening neural connections

n Recitation:  Saying ideas aloud in your own words strengthens synaptic connections and gives you immediate feedback. The more feedback you get the faster and more accurate you’re learning.

n Visualization:   The brain’s quickest and probably the longest-lasting response is to images. By making a mental picture, you use an entirely different part of the brain than you did by reading or listening

n Association:    Memory is increased when facts to be learned are consciously associated with something familiar to you. Memory is essentially formed by making neural connections. Begin by asking, “What is this like that I already know and understand?”

(The author is a memory trainer)