By Dolph Larsson
Photo: missbrain.com
The brain only keeps the information present on things it reckons it needs often. Since we only use around 10% of our brain, it will lack the potential to remember each and every detail in your life. For autistic people this may not be the case but that is because the connections in the brain are wired differently, at the expense of facial emotion recognition for example. It is possible however for us to develop the power of your memory by doing recollection exercises that stimulate our long-term and short-term memory. Here are four to get you started.
Memory Palace
The way a memory palace works is that you create a route through a location that you are very familiar with. The more you know the ins and outs of it, the better. You then pick objects along that route which will be your anchor points. This is something you have to do some time before you want to use it. it is necessary that your route, the objects and their order are firmly in place in your mind. The fact that it is a place you are very familiar with makes this more easy. Once you have solidified your route in your mind, you can start associating different elements to each object along the way. The more outrageous the association, the more likely it is that you will remember it later on. The idea is to create a story of events that happen throughout your route.
Summarize Books
You can read as much as you want, it wont do you any good if you can't remember what you've read. The easiest way to increase the amount of what sinks in is to formulate it again in our own words. An even better result is achieved if we do a mind map of the book we are reading as this requires a more thorough understanding and complex idea association practice. A little tip, don't try to read the entire book before doing your summary or mind map. Add to your summary every time you put down the book, or even the next day to let the ideas sink in properly.
Remember Childhood
We usually get flashes of past events from time to time when they are sparked through a conversation or some other triggering event. In order to really push our brain to limits we can determine a certain age or age range and attempt to remember as much as we can about experiences we lived in that time frame. They essence of this exercise is not to make a list of things we can come up with. What we are aiming for is to visualize the moment we remember and try to recall as many facts and details about it through visualization.
Help a Child with Homework
I have found that whenever I have to help out my youngest sister who is still going to school with her homework that I really have to rack my brains to remember how to do all the exercises. The matter of what is taught doesn't really change much throughout the years but naturally our brain has left aside the knowledge it didn't need since school. well, now you have the chance to give your memory a run for its money. It might take a while and it is possible that you have to read through the explanation of the exercises but after a few goes (and some desperate attempts to save face in front of a youngster) you will slowly feel the facts and methodologies come back to you as the rusty neural connections are reformed to help you overcome this challenge.
Photo: missbrain.com
The brain only keeps the information present on things it reckons it needs often. Since we only use around 10% of our brain, it will lack the potential to remember each and every detail in your life. For autistic people this may not be the case but that is because the connections in the brain are wired differently, at the expense of facial emotion recognition for example. It is possible however for us to develop the power of your memory by doing recollection exercises that stimulate our long-term and short-term memory. Here are four to get you started.
Memory Palace
The way a memory palace works is that you create a route through a location that you are very familiar with. The more you know the ins and outs of it, the better. You then pick objects along that route which will be your anchor points. This is something you have to do some time before you want to use it. it is necessary that your route, the objects and their order are firmly in place in your mind. The fact that it is a place you are very familiar with makes this more easy. Once you have solidified your route in your mind, you can start associating different elements to each object along the way. The more outrageous the association, the more likely it is that you will remember it later on. The idea is to create a story of events that happen throughout your route.
Summarize Books
You can read as much as you want, it wont do you any good if you can't remember what you've read. The easiest way to increase the amount of what sinks in is to formulate it again in our own words. An even better result is achieved if we do a mind map of the book we are reading as this requires a more thorough understanding and complex idea association practice. A little tip, don't try to read the entire book before doing your summary or mind map. Add to your summary every time you put down the book, or even the next day to let the ideas sink in properly.
Remember Childhood
We usually get flashes of past events from time to time when they are sparked through a conversation or some other triggering event. In order to really push our brain to limits we can determine a certain age or age range and attempt to remember as much as we can about experiences we lived in that time frame. They essence of this exercise is not to make a list of things we can come up with. What we are aiming for is to visualize the moment we remember and try to recall as many facts and details about it through visualization.
Help a Child with Homework
I have found that whenever I have to help out my youngest sister who is still going to school with her homework that I really have to rack my brains to remember how to do all the exercises. The matter of what is taught doesn't really change much throughout the years but naturally our brain has left aside the knowledge it didn't need since school. well, now you have the chance to give your memory a run for its money. It might take a while and it is possible that you have to read through the explanation of the exercises but after a few goes (and some desperate attempts to save face in front of a youngster) you will slowly feel the facts and methodologies come back to you as the rusty neural connections are reformed to help you overcome this challenge.
Dolph Larsson is a writer focusing on the prevention of mental deterioration such as Alzheimer and dementia. To see some of the latest publications you can visit howtoimprovebrainpower.com where you can read up on articles such as Power Up Your Brain, How to Increase Mind Power, etc.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dolph_Larsson 
i've been having trouble remembering things lately. i'm starting to panic and to fear it might be an early symptom of alzheimer's disease.. :D
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