Download Ways to Improve Your Memory

PSYCAPSTONE2016
Diego Crawford
Bea Villanueva
Nicole Lotter
Isabella Rogge.
FACULTY
Dr. Laurie Mazzuca
Waysto ImproveYour
Memory
Good Luck with Finals!
PSYCAPSTONE
2016
5
Stressedoutaboutstudyingandfindingithardtolearnallofthe
StudyTipstoImproveMemory
material?Therearewaysyoucanimproveyourmemory,notonlyshort‐term•
memorybutlong‐termmemoryaswell.Thereisnouseinmemorizing•
Readoutloudinsteadofsimplyreading.
Teachsomeoneelsewhatyouhavelearned.
somethingifyouwon'tbeabletorememberitlater.Examsareastressful•
Creatementalassociations.
timeforstudents,herearesomethingsyoucandotoimproveyourmemory.•
Drawdiagramsandusemindmaps.
WhatisMemory•
Createflashcardsforaquickmemorybuzz.
Memoryisourabilitytoencode,store,retainandrecallinformation•
Listentothecorrecttypeofmusic,somegenreselevateyour
andpastexperiencesinthehumanbrain.Itcanbethoughtofingeneralmoodincreasingproductivity.
termsastheuseofpastexperiencetoaffectorinfluenceourcurrent•
Practice,Practice,Practice!Reviewtheinformationatleast3
behavior.timestooptimizetherecallofinformationduringanexam.
Imageshowingincreasedbrainactivity
MemoryandtheBrain
Exercise
Anyactivitythat’saerobic,likebiking,swimming,orplayingtennis,can
reducestressbythereleaseofendorphinswhichservesasanatural
antidepressantandthereforeimprovesmemory.
HandeyeCoordinationexercisesuchasvolleyball,soccerandbasketball
improvesyourworkingmemorymoresothanmetabolicexercises.
Regularexercisehelpstokeepyourbrainyoungthroughtheproduction
ofnewbraincells.
Music
Studieshaveshownthatlisteningtomusicbeforestudyingorperforming
ataskcanbebeneficialasitimprovesattention,memory,andevenyour
abilitytodomentalmath.
StructuresoftheBrainrelatedtoMemory
Manyareasofthebrainareinvolvedinmemoryprocessesasyoucansee
inthediagram.Themainstructuredofthebrainrelatedtomemoryisthe
MedialTemporalLobeincludingtheHippocampusandtheCortex.
Theseareasareresponsibleforlongtermmemorywhichisquite
importantwhenitcomestorecallofinformationforexams.
Manyresearchers,aswellasstudents,whothinklisteningtomusichelps
memoryhavecalledthepracticethe“MozartEffect.”Thekindofmusic
thatismostbeneficialwhenstudyingdependsontheindividual.
4Gold,B.P.etal.(2013)Pleasurablemusicaffectsreinforcement
learningaccordingtothelistener.FrontiersinPsychology.Vol.4
1
Food
Chewinggum:Stimulatingaromaandcaffeineenhanceblood‐flowto
thebrain.Caffeineandherbalchewinggumcanimprovecognitive
function.Itimprovesconcentrationandmemory,bothshort‐term
memoryandlong‐termmemoryChewinggumhelpsinmasticatory
function,improvingworkingmemoryandconcentration.Chewing
gumhelpswithstressresistancebyloweringbloodpressure.3
Chocolate:Flavanol‐richchocolateisanantioxidantandanti‐
inflammatory.Itallowsnormalbloodflowandimprovescognitive
functionByloweringbloodpressure,workingmemoryperformanceis
improved.
Whentryingtoimproveyourmemoryitisbesttotryandavoidheavy
drinking.Itisassociatedwithlong‐termimpairmentinsustained
attentionandworkingmemory.
Cannabisalsocausessevereimpairmentstoyourshortandlongterm
memory.1
BenefitstoMemory
Sleep
Afullnightsleepresultsinbettermemoryconsolidationthenawhole
nightawakestudying
Anap(siesta)duringthedayresultsinbettermemoryconsolidationthena
wholedayofwakefulnessstudying.ANapshouldbearound30minutes.2
Chocolatealsohascaffeinewhichhelpswithalertness,helpinga
personbemoreawakeandconcentrateevenwhentheyaresleep
deprived.4
Brandstolookoutforinclude,Lindt,Godiva,Green&Blacks,Vivani
andPascha.
Avocados:haveVitaminB,whichhelpthebodytogetenergyfrom
foodimprovingconcentration.
Blueberries:ContainsVitaminCandVitaminKandfiber,whichhelps
thebrainfromdegenerationandstress.
Broccoli:ContainsVitaminKandCholine,whichhelpsimprove
memory.
Salmon:ContainsOmega3fattyacids,whichhelpsimprovememory
andimprovesfocus. 2
1.McClure,E.A.,Lydiard,J.B.,Goddard,S.D.,&Gray,K.M.(2014).ObjectiveandSubjectiveMemoryRatingsinCannabis‐DependentAdolescents.TheAmericanJournalonAddictionsGrassi,D.,Socci,V.,
Tempesta,D.,Ferri,C.,DeGennaro,L.,Desideri,G.,&Ferrara,M.Davidson,M.G.(2011).2Tripathi,S.,&Jha,S.K.(2016).ShortTermTotalSleepDeprivationaltersdelayconditionedmemoryintherat
beahavioralneuroscience,130(30,3253Herbal‐caffeinatedchewinggum,butnotbubblegum,improvesaspectsofmemory.Appetite,57(1),303‐307(2016).4Flavanol‐richchocolateacutelyimproves
arterialfunctionandworkingmemoryperformancecounteractingtheeffectsofsleepdeprivationinhealthyindividuals.Journalofhypertension,34(7),1298‐1308.
3
Food
Chewinggum:Stimulatingaromaandcaffeineenhanceblood‐flowto
thebrain.Caffeineandherbalchewinggumcanimprovecognitive
function.Itimprovesconcentrationandmemory,bothshort‐term
memoryandlong‐termmemoryChewinggumhelpsinmasticatory
function,improvingworkingmemoryandconcentration.Chewing
gumhelpswithstressresistancebyloweringbloodpressure.3
Chocolate:Flavanol‐richchocolateisanantioxidantandanti‐
inflammatory.Itallowsnormalbloodflowandimprovescognitive
functionByloweringbloodpressure,workingmemoryperformanceis
improved.
Whentryingtoimproveyourmemoryitisbesttotryandavoidheavy
drinking.Itisassociatedwithlong‐termimpairmentinsustained
attentionandworkingmemory.
Cannabisalsocausessevereimpairmentstoyourshortandlongterm
memory.1
BenefitstoMemory
Sleep
Afullnightsleepresultsinbettermemoryconsolidationthenawhole
nightawakestudying
Anap(siesta)duringthedayresultsinbettermemoryconsolidationthena
wholedayofwakefulnessstudying.ANapshouldbearound30minutes.2
Chocolatealsohascaffeinewhichhelpswithalertness,helpinga
personbemoreawakeandconcentrateevenwhentheyaresleep
deprived.4
Brandstolookoutforinclude,Lindt,Godiva,Green&Blacks,Vivani
andPascha.
Avocados:haveVitaminB,whichhelpthebodytogetenergyfrom
foodimprovingconcentration.
Blueberries:ContainsVitaminCandVitaminKandfiber,whichhelps
thebrainfromdegenerationandstress.
Broccoli:ContainsVitaminKandCholine,whichhelpsimprove
memory.
Salmon:ContainsOmega3fattyacids,whichhelpsimprovememory
andimprovesfocus. 2
1.McClure,E.A.,Lydiard,J.B.,Goddard,S.D.,&Gray,K.M.(2014).ObjectiveandSubjectiveMemoryRatingsinCannabis‐DependentAdolescents.TheAmericanJournalonAddictionsGrassi,D.,Socci,V.,
Tempesta,D.,Ferri,C.,DeGennaro,L.,Desideri,G.,&Ferrara,M.Davidson,M.G.(2011).2Tripathi,S.,&Jha,S.K.(2016).ShortTermTotalSleepDeprivationaltersdelayconditionedmemoryintherat
beahavioralneuroscience,130(30,3253Herbal‐caffeinatedchewinggum,butnotbubblegum,improvesaspectsofmemory.Appetite,57(1),303‐307(2016).4Flavanol‐richchocolateacutelyimproves
arterialfunctionandworkingmemoryperformancecounteractingtheeffectsofsleepdeprivationinhealthyindividuals.Journalofhypertension,34(7),1298‐1308.
3
Imageshowingincreasedbrainactivity
MemoryandtheBrain
Exercise
Anyactivitythat’saerobic,likebiking,swimming,orplayingtennis,can
reducestressbythereleaseofendorphinswhichservesasanatural
antidepressantandthereforeimprovesmemory.
HandeyeCoordinationexercisesuchasvolleyball,soccerandbasketball
improvesyourworkingmemorymoresothanmetabolicexercises.
Regularexercisehelpstokeepyourbrainyoungthroughtheproduction
ofnewbraincells.
Music
Studieshaveshownthatlisteningtomusicbeforestudyingorperforming
ataskcanbebeneficialasitimprovesattention,memory,andevenyour
abilitytodomentalmath.
StructuresoftheBrainrelatedtoMemory
Manyareasofthebrainareinvolvedinmemoryprocessesasyoucansee
inthediagram.Themainstructuredofthebrainrelatedtomemoryisthe
MedialTemporalLobeincludingtheHippocampusandtheCortex.
Theseareasareresponsibleforlongtermmemorywhichisquite
importantwhenitcomestorecallofinformationforexams.
Manyresearchers,aswellasstudents,whothinklisteningtomusichelps
memoryhavecalledthepracticethe“MozartEffect.”Thekindofmusic
thatismostbeneficialwhenstudyingdependsontheindividual.
4Gold,B.P.etal.(2013)Pleasurablemusicaffectsreinforcement
learningaccordingtothelistener.FrontiersinPsychology.Vol.4
1
5
Stressedoutaboutstudyingandfindingithardtolearnallofthe
StudyTipstoImproveMemory
material?Therearewaysyoucanimproveyourmemory,notonlyshort‐term•
memorybutlong‐termmemoryaswell.Thereisnouseinmemorizing•
Readoutloudinsteadofsimplyreading.
Teachsomeoneelsewhatyouhavelearned.
somethingifyouwon'tbeabletorememberitlater.Examsareastressful•
Creatementalassociations.
timeforstudents,herearesomethingsyoucandotoimproveyourmemory.•
Drawdiagramsandusemindmaps.
WhatisMemory•
Createflashcardsforaquickmemorybuzz.
Memoryisourabilitytoencode,store,retainandrecallinformation•
Listentothecorrecttypeofmusic,somegenreselevateyour
andpastexperiencesinthehumanbrain.Itcanbethoughtofingeneralmoodincreasingproductivity.
termsastheuseofpastexperiencetoaffectorinfluenceourcurrent•
Practice,Practice,Practice!Reviewtheinformationatleast3
behavior.timestooptimizetherecallofinformationduringanexam.
PSYCAPSTONE2016
Diego Crawford
Bea Villanueva
Nicole Lotter
Isabella Rogge.
FACULTY
Dr. Laurie Mazzuca
Waysto ImproveYour
Memory
Good Luck with Finals!
PSYCAPSTONE
2016