5. Method of Loci
Likely first developed by the Romans, the Method of Loci involves you walking through a familiar space or route that you know well, and storing information in specific locations there. When you need the information again you simply walk through that area mentally and retrieve the right information.
4. Chunking
Research shows that your working memory is only able to hold between five and nine items at a time. In order to cut down on the information we try to store in our working memory we use chunks of information. An example of this is a phone number: while a phone number is 10 numbers long we divide them into three “chunks” to maximize memory storage space.
3. Setting
Isn’t it crazy how you can be looking for something and the second you step foot into the room you last had it in you suddenly remember exactly what happened to it? This is due to context-dependent memory phenomenon. Scientists confirm that if you can reconstruct cues and circumstances when you lost or learned something you have a better chance of completely recalling all of the information.
2. Music
This isn’t a new tactic by any means, a 1950s math teacher used setting the periodic table to song to teach his class. While long strings of text and information are difficult to remember, putting them to music effectively boosts your memory ability. Another example that we all learned as children is the alphabet song.
1. Smell
Considered the most powerful memory retrieval device, smell is an important key to deep memories. This is because smell is the only sense that skips the rest of the brain and travels straight to the memory center. Use this to your advantage by learning with a strong perfume or lip balm and repeating that scent during an exam.
There are a myriad of ways to boost your memory, but these 10 are pretty certain.
