How to train your brain to remember all the information you want?

You want to be successful, you must have knowledge. Because knowledge is what gives you the opportunity and helps you make decisions. The right decision will help you get closer to the goals of your life.

But in order to make the right decision, you need a lot of knowledge. And to have knowledge, you must learn. The irony is that we cannot remember much of the knowledge we have learned.

Research shows that if you load new information without using it, within the first hour, they will fall in half. After 24 hours, the amount of information lost will increase to 70%. The number after 1 week is 90%, meaning that most of the information you learn is gone from memory.

To improve knowledge acquisition and retention, new information needs to be consolidated and securely stored in your long-term memory.

Picture 1 of How to train your brain to remember all the information you want?
The irony is that we cannot remember much of the knowledge we have learned.

Dr. Elizabeth Bjork is a professor of cognitive psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Together with Piotr Wozniak, a Polish researcher known for the SuperMemo work (a repetitive learning system), Dr. Bjork studied a theory called the theory of forgetting .

Accordingly, our long-term memory is built from two characteristics: access intensity and information storage intensity. Dr. Bjork also coined concepts such as: Remembrance power is a measure of the ability for you to recall something instantly, that is, information is near or far from the surface of the mind. friend. Storage power measures the extent to which information is memorized.

According to Dr. Bjork's theory, if we want to study and memorize knowledge effectively, we cannot just aim to read one book a week or passively listen to an audio book or a podcast.

Instead, reread the chapters you didn't understand the first time you read them, write down or practice what you learned last week, before continuing to read a new chapter or listening to the next lesson. Or you can take notes during or after school, if you feel it works for you.

If you're struggling to remember something, read it often. By forcing yourself to remember past information, you're reinforcing new knowledge in your mind.

Picture 2 of How to train your brain to remember all the information you want?
Research shows that when a memory is first recorded in the brain, especially in the hippocampus, it is still very fragile and easily forgotten.

Our brains constantly record information temporarily to separate important information from the mess. Confusing information is the dialogue you hear on your way to work, the things you see, the clothes the person in front of you is wearing, discussions at work, etc.

To make room for new information, your brain has to clean up all the old information that hasn't been repeated by you. If you want to remember or use new information in the future, you must actively store it in your long-term memory.

This process is called coding or printing information into the brain . If you do not create a proper encryption process, you will not be able to store information and any attempt to retrieve that information will fail.

In the late 19th century, psychologist Herman Ebbinghaus became the first to systematically solve memory analyzes. The oblivious curve described by Ebbinghaus explains the decline in memory retention over time. The curves that record how the brain stores information have contributed a lot to the field of memory research.

Ebbinghaus once said: ' Any significant number of repetitions creates a consistent distribution of information over a period of time, and it is far more beneficial than creating a large block of information together. at'.

Picture 3 of How to train your brain to remember all the information you want?
Forgetting curves: Most of the information we learn is forgotten over time.

In a report from the University of Waterloo looking at how we forget everything, the authors also argued that: When you deliberately remember something you learned or seen not too long ago, you sends a strong signal to the brain to make it retain that information.

' When something is repeated many times, your brain will say:' Oh - it is repeated again, I should keep it. ' When you come across an information that has been repeated over and over, it will take less time to 'activate' that information in your long-term memory, and retrieving that information as needed will become should be easier, 'the scientists write.

We often say that learning is a lifelong task. But when we get out of school, most of what we learn comes from reading and listening. So, by using many different techniques to put new knowledge into memory, you will also consolidate new information faster and deeper:

Repeat the information after a period of time

Picture 4 of How to train your brain to remember all the information you want?

As the name implies, this method simply requires you to reload the new information you want to store deep into the brain after a certain amount of time.

For example, when you finish reading a book and really like it. Instead of putting the book on the bottom floor of the bookshelf, leave it in a visible position to read it again after 1 month, then again after 3 months, once after 6 months and once after 1 year.

Repeat information over a period of time taking advantage of the spacing effect, an effect that shows our brains learn better as we decompose information over time. That's because repetitions help strengthen new neural connections.

Rule 50/50

Picture 5 of How to train your brain to remember all the information you want?
The 50/50 rule is a great way to learn, process, store and remember information.

Set aside 50% of your time to learn anything new, and the remaining 50% to share or explain what you have learned to others.

Research shows that when you explain a concept to others, it's the best way for you to learn it.The 50/50 rule is a great way to learn, process, store and remember information.

For example, instead of reading from the beginning to the end of a book, try reading only half of the book, then recalling, sharing or writing down the main ideas you read before reading the other half.

You can even apply the 50/50 rule to individual chapters instead of the entire book. This method of learning works really well if you set a goal to retain most of what you are learning.

The final test for your knowledge is your ability to pass on this knowledge to others.

' The best way to learn something is to teach it to others - explaining a new knowledge not only helps you understand it, but also helps you remember it more closely, ' says Adam Grant.

Presentation

Picture 6 of How to train your brain to remember all the information you want?
A presentation allows you to see how things work.

Another very useful method is to make the most of the presentations you have to understand a topic from the inside out. Not simply reading, listening or explaining to others, a presentation allows you to see how things work, helping you visualize every concept.

Go to sleep

Picture 7 of How to train your brain to remember all the information you want?
A new sleep before learning new knowledge allows your brain to become more lucid.

Finally, use sleep as a powerful help between sessions. Scientists say, while sleeping, we will consolidate what we have just learned during the day into long-term memory. Meanwhile, a new pre-study sleep allows your brain to become more lucid.

Evidence shows that even long naps (more than 60 minutes) help reinforce what you have learned.

  1. You can learn to possess superpower memory: remember 500 words in 5 minutes