Everyone has moments of forgetfulness (健忘) from time to time, especially when life gets busy., having a poor memory can be frustrating. However, research has shown that there are ways to improve your memory.
Get enough sleep
Sleeping well helps make episodic memories stronger., especially about learning motor skills, such as learning to play a musical instrument or ride a bike. Having a full night's sleep soon after gaining a new skill helps strengthen the processes involved.
Believe to remember
Positive thinking appears to improve memory performance. Researchers found they could improve the performance of people aged 60 and above in memory tests by presenting them with positive agerelated words such as "wise", and "sharpwitted".
. Brain scans have shown differences in activity levels in brain regions, according to whether individuals believe they have good recall abilities or not.
Memories can be weakened if the brain doesn't have enough downtime to strengthen them. More than a century ago, German scientists showed that people performed almost twice as well in memory tests if they took breaks.
Stay social
. US scientists who asked people in their 50s and 60s to do memory tests every other year found there is a slower decline in recall abilities of the most sociable persons. Having good friends, volunteering and other forms of social engagement also protect memory.
A. Take a break
B. Stay mentally active
C. Having an active social life delays memory loss as we age
D. Poor sleep is thought to have a significant effect on memory
E. Giving others words such as "forgettable" and "confused" weakened their performance
F. While this can be a completely normal phenomenon
G. There is evidence that sleep plays an important role in strengthening memories
