Super charge your memory

TRICKS TO IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY -(MUMBAI MIRROR Jan 19th 2007)If you're anything like me, you'll be rushing around with a million things in your head. If I didn't have my lists I'd be completely lost. But here are a few cunning tricks to boost your powers of recall. Take a little time to learn them, and then practice one or two exercises every day to help keep your memory muscle fit. ASSOCIATION Find familiar words, images or phrases and associate them with some information you are trying to commit to memory. The association does not have to make sense, in fact, the odd or silly ones tend to stay best in your mind. For instance, you may remember the name Robert Green by picturing Robert playing golf (on the green), wearing green clothes or covered in green paint. Phone numbers can become silly jingles so 01423 622 401 becomes: Oh, one four to three. Six tutu. Four oh, one. Study the following names, addresses and phone numbers for five minutes and then use your powers of association to recall them: Graham Warren, 44 Barley Way, Kent. Tel: 01836 339 021. Rebecca Cartwright, 2 Shakespeare Avenue, Godalming. Tel: 01433 671 082. Does Rebecca do her cartwheels right? Can grey ham (Graham) be eaten with barley? The more bizarre and exaggerated you make the associations, the better it works. You will be able to remember any new piece of information if it is associated with something you already know. Do you know anyone with the same name? Does the name of the street conjure any familiar images? If you find you can work with this technique, you've mastered a memory tool that can be of enormous help to you. See if you can still remember the addresses in a week's time.
SINGING IT Remember how you learned your ABCs? Try making a list of four to six errands you need to do in the next day. Then pick a tune you like and set it to music. You'll be amazed at how this enhances your memory. Try setting the signs of the zodiac in their correct order to Happy Birthday or Jingle Bells: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces. Don't worry if the tune doesn't fit. The parts that don't scan are likely to be the ones you remember best. Now put the major bones in the human body to music: skull, maxilla, mandible, vertebrae, clavicle, scapula, humerus, ribs, wrist, carpal, metacarpal, phalanges, radius, ulna, p e l v i s , sacrum, femur, patella, tibia, fibula, tarsals and metatarsals. CHUNKING People can r e m e m b e r between five and nine things at one time, so a long number such as 08242216971 will be better remembered as 0824 2216 971. MNEMONICS Use sentences or phrases in which the letters spell out funny words. This helps you associate something complex with something more familiar and holds it in your memory. A R I T H M E T I C - A Rat In The House May Eat The Ice Cream. N E C E S S A R Y - Not Every Cat Eats Sardines (Some Are Really Yummy). B E C A U S E - Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants. Try creating mnemonics to help you remember these commonly misspelt words: M I N U S C U L E M I L L E N N I U M E M B A R R A S S M E N T O C C U R R E N C E A C C O M M O D A T E P E R S E V E R A N C E S U P E R S E D E N O T I C E A B L E VISUAL MEMORY AIDS If you need to remember, say, a shopping list, try creating a mental image, preferably a ridiculous one that sticks in your mind. If you need to remember bread, eggs, flour and orange juice, try picturing a loaf of bread breaking open with eggs and orange juice spilling out into a bowl of flour. The image is absurd, but helps you to remember the individual items. We normally gather information using all our senses so it is more effective if you can use them to help you remember, so add smells and sounds. Try writing up a 'to do' list and divide it into sections — things to do at home, at the shops, on the phone. Picture your home and assign one room to each section, then imagine going in to each room and placing a note about each task in a different place. When you need to remember your 'to do' list, imagine visiting each room and picking up the notes (putting them in an imaginary bin when you've dealt with them). Another method is to chose a road you know well, then imagine yourself posting your 'to do' prompts on a For Sale sign outside each house (one for phone calls, one for things you need to buy, etc). When you need to remember the information, take an imaginary walk down your street and read each sign and the information on it. READ IT AND SAY IT When trying to remember something, it often helps to say the words out loud, because hearing the information helps you retain it. Your right brain is used for visual memory and your left for verbal memory, so by both looking at and hearing the instructions, your whole brain is being used to remember them effectively. MEMORY-BOOSTING EXERCISES Ask someone to collect 12 different items for you. Observe them for a minute and then try to recall as many as you can. Try making up a story that includes them all (this involves both sides of the brain). Find a picture that is full of objects. Study it for a minute and then try to remember 12 or more items. Pick a pattern on your wallpaper or carpet. Study it for a few minutes and then draw it, first with your right hand and then with your left. Next draw it from memory. Choose a new poem, wise saying or meaningful statement from a book or newspaper and memorise it. Repeat the exercise every day. Your brain loves this kind of stimulation. Improve your memory by trying to recall. What you were thinking about five minutes ago. What you were doing this time yesterday. What you had for breakfast seven days ago. What you wore last weekend. Something you told yourself you would never forget. BE A HUMAN ENCYCLOPEDIA You are more likely to recall something if it intrigues you. Look at this list of unusual human facts for five minutes, then close the page and see how many of them you can recall. Women blink twice as many times as men do. There are about 550 hairs in one eyebrow. The strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue. The foot is the body part most commonly bitten by insects. The most common time for a wake-up call is supposed to be 7am Most dust particles are fragments of dead skin. Babies are born without kneecaps. They appear when the child is two to six years of age. Your body creates and destroys 15 million red blood cells every second. We produce 10,000 gallons of saliva in a lifetime. If you ate too many carrots, you would turn orange. The colder the room you sleep in, the higher the chances of having a bad dream. The nail on the middle finger grows faster than the other nails. A baby is born every seven seconds. You breathe ten million times a year. If you could recall only up to five facts from this list, you would benefit from awakening your curiosity by learning something new, such as signing up for an art or creative writing class TEST YOURSELF WITH THIS GAME Study this picture of a seating plan for five minutes. It shows the names of ten members of a book club and lists each of their favourite authors. (Tip: It helps to memorise the table one side at a time. Try to visualise the names and authors.) Now cover the picture and answer these: How many men were present? Who is Seema's favourite author? Who sat opposite Kajal? Who sat to the right of Chetan? Who sat on the left of the person who read Suketu Mehta? Who was the favourite author of the person who sat opposite Pranav? Who sat to the left of Leela? Who read R K Narayan? Who read Jhumpa Lahiri? Who sat to the right of Mihir? If you got at least seven correct: well done. Fewer than four: your powers of observation and memory need strengthening.