Need some Baby Boomer
Memory Boosters?

It’s hard to imagine a life

without memory.

From the moment you were

born, your brain started to

file away huge amounts of

information.

Facts, names, faces, sounds,

smells, events and the emotions

that are tied to them.

Every second of your waking

life, you rely upon this ability of your brain to remember your

past, dictate the present and shape your future.

As human beings, our brains have the ability to retain, process and

recall information, personal experiences, skills or habits.

Trouble is it gets more difficult to remember as we get older.

In other words, our memory may not be as sharp as when you were

younger – unless you take some active steps to keep it sharp!

Remember, remember, remember....

Basically, your brain is a collection of millions upon millions

of nerve cells, or neurons.

The ability to remember seems to involve the strengthening of,

or making of new neural connections within the Neocortex of your

brain. This ability to remember is thought to be processed and

stored away in different areas of the Cerebral Cortex of your

brain.

Scientists believe that 2 types of memory exist: short term (or

working) and long term.

So it seems that if you want to improve your brain power, the trick

is to move information from your short term into your long term

memory.

And that’s because the former seems to last only a few seconds:

whereas the latter lasts from a minute or so to weeks or even

years.

Turning Short-Term Into Long-Term memory

I want you to do something here. I want you to recall one of

your most vivid and exciting experiences.

It can be anything, so long as the experience is vivid

in your mind.

Is the experience enthralling, passionate, or thrilling?

Is the experience creating sparks in your mind?

Can you feel your spine tingling and the butterflies in your

stomach, as you play the experience in your mind over

and over?

One way to etch an experience more permanently in your brain

involves attaching strong emotions to the experience.

When emotion is attached, remembering the experience is more

powerful. And when emotions are involved, the Limbic System

comes into force. Your emotions cause Norepinephrine to be

released, which fixes the experience strongly in your brain.

You are then more likely to remember your experiences and be

able to recall them more vividly for a longer period of time.

So, any technique which incorporates emotion is good

for improving memory.

Another method for

making the ability

to remember more

permanent is to use

strong visual imagery.

The trick here is to

think of concrete visual

symbols to represent

abstract numbers and

letters. For example, a

sticky bun might be associated with the number “one”.

Then, you “place” all your symbols on a physical route, or a

journey you know well. When you need to recall the numbers or

words, just take a mental stroll through the location where you

placed your symbols and see each of the images.

This method of recall is known as the Journey Method and is the

basis for most of the mnemonic methods used by the Grandmasters

we love to admire. Consolidation

Consolidation is the term Scientists use to describe the

movement of information from the short term, to long term memory.

Two major brain chemicals involved are Kinases and Phosphatases.

When Kinases in your brain are involved in chemical reactions,

the Consolidation process is boosted. But when Phosphatases in

your brain become involved, Consolidation is inhibited.

So, the secret is this……..

If you want to memorize something, review it before falling

asleep because most Consolidation happens during sleep.

Current research supports the idea that new information learned

last thing at night before sleeping, is retained much better

than new information learned first thing in the morning.

But learning new information on top of new information

encourages the build up of Phosphatases which hinder

Consolidation.

So, you must know the techniques you can practice to

Speed up the process of Consolidation, Improve your memory and Boost your brain power!