How Consistent Practice Can Help You Improve Your Memory
Researchers have known for a long time that learning a skill in set intervals is the best way to master it. Instead of teaching someone a large number of things at once, they learn better when the information is split apart in sections.
Despite this, there are a number of people that try to learn things by collecting a large amount of information at one time. Many of the people who use this method of memorization are unhappy with the method.
As an example, if you are learning a foreign language, there are two basic ways you can approach it. You can repeat each word numerous times within a short period of time, or you can space out the number of times you use the word. The latter is generally the best method, but there is another technique you can use. The name of this technique is calle generation. With this method, you will enhance your memory by generating the word for yourself, and a stronger connection will be made. It is much more likely that you will be able to remember the word because you generated it yourself instead of having it produced for you.
Distributed practice is an important method for improving your memory. When it is used in a set unit, people tend to recall the information much more readily. The biggest disadvantage of this method is that while it works for people who are looking to learn a skill in the short term, it is not as effective over the long term. One problem with using the distribution method to learn a skill is that people often don’t know how well they understand the skill. Because of this, the information that they have absorbed will quickly be lost. To truly memorize a skill you’ve learned, you will need to distribute the skill and apply it to a wide variety of different situations.
To give an analogy of the information above, imagine if you were learning how to type. Typing the same key combination sixty times would not allow you to learn as well as you would if you typed multiple key combinations. When you begin altering the different combinations you use, your mind will be much more likely to retain the information. The reason why this method works is because it requires you to pull up information that you have previously stored in your brain about the different aspects of the task. Because you are consistently retrieving it, your brain will consider it to be important, and will commit it to long term memory.
Practice makes perfect. It is something your parents probably told you a lot when you were younger. They were absolutely right, and practice is crucial for the enhancement of your memory. Your brain will not hold onto to information it doesn’t consider to be important. So if you decide to learn a language, mixing up the words you learn in a wide variety of different sentences will allow you to constantly pull up information from your short term memory, and your brain will see that it is important. Once this occurs, the brain will commit it to long term memory. To improve your memory, you must first be able to understand your brain. You may often hear people talk about the importance of knowing how to use a computer. Well, your brain is a highly advanced computer, and you will need to understand how to use it as well.
The brain is a very efficient tool, and this is a understatement. It is more powerful that any supercomputer in the world, and it will be many years before scientists can replicate it in a lab. If you don’t speak a language each day, you will eventually find that you may forget some words. The reason why this happens is because your brain is getting rid of data that it doesn’t consider to be important, just as you might remove software programs from your computer that you rarely use. No matter what skill you are interested in mastering, you will need to practice it, and you will want to space out the lessons. Anything that you learn should be applied to a number of different situations. This will allow you to constantly retrieve information in your brain that you have previously stored.
