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How Memory Works Think of your memory as a giant database, in which information has to be received, organized, and stored before it can be retrieved. When a problem happens during one of these stages, memories can become hard to dredge up (see WhyYou Forget, right). Here are some of the most common memory problems, with soiutions from the experts on how to remember better.
WhyYou Forget Some information isn't meant to be remembered.
Data-
a phone number, for instance-is held in short-term memory for just a minute or so. But when you reinforce information (say, by dialing that phone number every day),
•
a long-term forms .
memory
When you have trouble remembering something, it's often for one of these reasons.
• Insufficient attention: The information never made it into your memory bank. This typically
PROBLEM: You tend to forget appointments, addresses, PINs, and passwords. Take heart-the brain wasn't designed to store such data, called declarative memories, for a long time
unless you make a concerted effort to do so. This type of information, which by nature isn't special or exciting, has a short shelf life. Other declarative memories include historical dates, and birthdays. The only way to make essentially boring data part of your long-term memory is to store it properly so you can retrieve it later on. "If you don't make a conscious effort to learn your PIN, your short-term memory will flush it out immediately," says Zaldy S. Tan, M.D., director of the Memory Clinic at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, in Boston. Attach some sort of meaning to it. For an important date, like your niece's birthday, SOLUTION:
give it an emotional connection (eight days after the Fourth of July). For less important information, like a dentist's appointment, don't even try to remember. "This is exactly why God invented the PDAand the date book," Nelson says. "The onus isn't on your brain to do the heavy lifting."
148
PROBLEM: You forgot why you walked into another room. You were probably distracted en route, or the
item you wanted to remember wasn't noteworthy enough to be registered completely in your brain, says Tan, who is the author of Age-Proof Your Mind (Warner, $25). Visualize what you want or need before you start walking into a room, says Tan. He also recommends linking items you want to remember with something familiar. If you want to get your summer clothes out of the basement, before you set out, think of yourself on the beach or beside a pool in your swimsuit. This system makes the items more vivid and therefore more memorable. When you forget to visualize what you want and find yourselfthinking, Why am I in this room? SOLUTION:
retrace your steps mentally and, if that doesn't work, physically. "Ask yourself what you wanted before you left, whom you were with, or how you were feeling," says Elizabeth Edgerly, Ph.D., chief program officer for the Alzheimer's Association in Northern California and Northern Nevada.
happens if you're distracted at the time an event takes place (you're thinking about what to make for dinner when you put your gloves on the counter). "You can't recall something that never actually made it into your memory system in the first place," says neuropsychologist Aaron P. Nelson.
• Interference: Th is occurs when old and new memories For example,
overlap. you're
trying to remember Meryl Streep's last movie, but all that comes to mind is
Sophie's Choice. • Fading: If you don't revisit certain information, such as dates, . names, and appointments, it tends to vanish.
IlrllJ/~
PROBLEM:
A word, a movie or book title, or
your keys, wallet, or train pass.
a long-lost
friend's
This is typically an attention
tongue, but you can't come up with it.
PROBLEM:
You can't remember where you put issue. You toss your
keys down when you walk through the door while
This is a universal problem, and it happens more
preoccupied with something
as we age, Edgerly says. It also becomes harder to
else. A few hours
later, you can't remember where you put them. The
recall basic information
act of putting them down also goes unnoticed
are holding too many thoughts in your head at once.
because keys are mundane items-you
SOLUTION:
wouldn't
probably
forget where you put a $100 bill. "If you
don't perceive an event as important,"
Nelson
says, "your memory will cast it off quickly." SOLUTION:
Pay attention when you're putting
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when you feel stressed or
First, cut yourself some slack-it
happens to everyone. Then take a deep breath to clear your head. "An enemy of memory is multitasking,"
says Gary Small, M.D., director of the
UCLA Center on Aging. Then say aloud what you
things down, and tell yourself, silently or out loud,
think the name of the book or movie might be: "It's
what you're doing: "I am putting my keys in my coat
something
like water"
or "It begins with an S."
IIII!I
,
Iii
When there's something important to remember-a date, the.
name of someone you've just met-make a quick written note.
pocket," for instance. Consistency is an even better
Naming the actors in the movie or the characters in
strategy. "If you put your keys in the same dish
the book may also help jog your memory. If you're
The note serves as a reminder, and the very
still stuck, then "substitute
act of writing down the
every day, you'll always, without
'0
name is on the tip of your
fail, know where
a word that will fit
they are," says Edgerly. "Having a good memory
for the time being," Edgerly says, "and chances
often has to do with developing
are the actual word will surface later."
good habits."
information
will rein-
force it in your memory, says neuropsychologist Aaron P. Nelson.
Sharpen Your Memory Healthy habits will help your mind and memory function better. If you're prone to forgetfulness, be sure to ...
• Get enough sleep. Connections between neurons (nerve cells that make up the brain) strengthen while you sleep, solidifying memories.
• Exercise regularly. Physical activity helps neurons function better and keeps the blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to the brain healthy.
• Ward off stress. When you're under significant stress, the brain releases cortisol, a hormone that, over PROBLEM:
You have a hard time remembering
PROBLEM:
time, can damage the brain cells in the hippocampus, the
You can't remember whether you've
people's names.
turned off the stove, the coffeepot, or the iron.
You're not alone. "When I teach preventive
When you perform an automatic task, like switching
memory
memory classes to healthy adults, 90 to 95 percent
off the stove, you're using procedural memory.
• Challenge yourself.
of participants
This type of long-term memory is used for actions
say they're not good at recalling
names," says Edgerly. The problem may be storage
like riding a bike, typing, or putting a key into a
(you weren't paying attention when you met the
keyhole. Because the act is more mechanical than
person), retrieval (you can't call up the name), or a
conscious, you're not fully aware of the action
combination
while you're performing it.
SOLUTION:
of both. Most people are visual learners,
SOLUTION:
off the stove, the coffeepot,
and the iron. But if
you find yourself frequently
guessing or some-
someone new" take a good look at the person,
times truly forgetting,
repeat her name to yourself at least three times,
of the critical moment when you flip the switch.
For instance, if you
You can also try to link the name with a distin-
neural connections in your brain, says neuroscientist Daniel Amen, the author of Making
Say out loud, "Oven is off," "Iron is unplugged." you still find yourself forgetting,
If
invest in products
with automatic shut-offs and leave a reminder by the front door. A Post-it on the front door with a checklist of what needs to be on, off, open, or shut
$26). So if you're introduced to a Mrs. Chambers
is a good remedy.
cheekbones, think "cheekbones-
$24). "This
helps you encode and
make an effort to be mindful
author of The Memory Prescription (Hyperion,
Chambers."
(Harmony,
store information with increasing efficiency."
guishing feature, suggests Small, who is also the
with prominent
center.
learning new things also strengthens the
Most of the time you probably do turn
Edgerly says, which explains why you rarely forget
meet a Mary, ask, "So,~Mary, where do you live?"
short-term-
a Good Brain Great
faces but often forget names. So when you meet
then use it in conversation.
brain's
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The Italian
word for comfort is
Natuzzi.
Total Recall
How Do They Do It? Most of us have trouble remembering
what we ate
an excellent memory keep up? Real Simple
interviewed
for recall, with lots of
for breakfast.
How do people whose jobs demand a soap-opera
actor who memorizes
20 pages of lines a day, a waiter who has to recite daily specials, and a CEO who keeps hundreds
of
names in his head. Here are their tricks. Ilene Kristen, a two-time
Emmy-award winner and
an actor on One Life to Live: trouble memorizing lines, I write out the script as if I am writing a letter to myself. The material becomes
Erin Matson, a waiter at Jean Georges Restaurant, in New York City:
loud several times. For me, once I get to the table, it all clicks, because I make associations-the
guy
in the green shirt wants chicken, or the woman in the glasses wants beef." Norman Anderson, Ph.D., CEO of the American Psychological
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Association:
"I'm really good at remembering
faces, which
helps when I interact with our 150,000 at different times and in different
members
places. Maybe
I acquired this skill from being a preacher's
kid in
a large church. I focus on people when they are
Italian passion for design is legendary. But what about comfort? Shouldn't finely crafted Italian leather furniture
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the
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NAT
zzr
It's how you lve"
and the
Never Remember and Women Never Forget researchers agree that 50 percent of recall capacity is determined
Intelligence plays a role, too. "Intelligence refers to a person's capacity to acquire and apply knowledge," says neuroscientist Zaldy S. Tan. "And good memory is a vital component of intelligence." People with high IQs tend to store information efficiently.
more
But some experts believe total recall can be learned. Take Arthur Bornstein. When faced with possible expulsion from college for poor grades, he developed techniques to remember vast amounts of academic information, and in 1952 he founded his own memory sc-hool. Now 80, Bornstein
created his first piece in 1959. And our improved comfort system, featuring
talking to me and try to store an image of them in my brain."
University
author of Why Men
by genes, and thatthis skill fades with age.
is key to memorizing the specials.
I roll them over in my head, and I try to say them out
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to mathematical or musical ability," says Marianne Legato, M.D., a professor of clinical
(Rodale, $25). Most
more personal and easier to recall later."
"Repetition
storage space for details. "It's a gift, akin
medicine at Columbia
"It's like a muscle that you train. When I am having
Find out more at
Some people's memories rival those of computers-they have a remarkable ability
appears on programs like Late Show With David Letterman to exhibit his unique ability to, say, remember the names of 40 to 50 people in an hour or less. His secret: "It's all technique."