Effective Tips for Memory Retention

Without doubt, exercise is one of the most effective ways to stay healthy - physically, mentally, and emotionally. Although exercise is directly equated to the physical aspect of an individual, emotional and mental benefits can likewise be derived from it.

While muscle mass is identified to physical exercise, memory retention is identified to mental exercise. This is made possible by answering crossword puzzles, memorizing quotes, poems or songs, playing cards, and trivial pursuits. All these fun games and reading materials are exercising tools for the mind. Although these things are primarily designed for fun, their secondary purpose is to enhance the mind’s memory retention. Another way of practicing memory retention is by remembering instead of putting in writing a day’s schedule of activities that need to be done. If this is done with ease, you can even stretch your schedule to several days.

Consider these other tips:

Relieve yourself from stress - When you are under stress, your body shows various symptoms. You become emotionally disturbed and your mind is preoccupied, so there is no room left to remember other things especially new ones. Therefore, you must unload the stress off your mind and unwind by utilizing relaxation techniques. Exercise is one of the best ways to get rid of your tensions. It also comes with a load of other health benefits.

Associate with things - The association technique is an old way of remembering things, persons, names, numbers, and others wherein you associate someone or something with the first thing that comes to your mind. It might not be the best technique but it still works because it seems to be inherent within us. Here’s a list of 10 items you can associate with numbers, one to ten:
One - me (one person)
Two - shoe (it comes in pairs)
Three - tree (it rhymes)
Four - table (it has four legs)
Five - fingers (one hand has 5 fingers)
Six - sticks (5,6 pick up sticks)
Seven - dwarfs (snow white and the seven dwarfs)
Eight – cell phone (when you flip it open, looks like a number 8)
Nine - playing cards (lucky 9)
Ten - Indians (10 little Indian boys)

Match names to pictures - When someone is introduced to you, do you find it difficult to remember his name? That may be a likely case. However, the person’s face is not easily forgotten. If you come across that person again, the first thing that you might remember is his face; but it’s likely that you won’t remember his name. You may also forget where you met the person before. Try this: When someone new is introduced to you, identify something on the person to make you remember him - something different or noticeable on the individual that you may use to remember the next time you meet each other. Examples may include a mole in the face, a large nose, or shaggy hair.

Call a person by name - The name is the sweetest sound to one’s ear. Repeating somebody’s name the first time you meet him is sub-consciously committing the person’s name to your memory. After your first meeting, recall his name once in a while. This strengthens the retention of the person’s name to your memory.

When trying to recall something you can’t remember but “it’s at the tip of your tongue,” try to be relaxed and you will recall it easier. Forcing yourself to recall something will put you under stress, thereby lessening your chances of retention success.