How to make memory work: 4 exercises

Подготовка к экзаменам и тестам подразумевает запоминание большого объема информации. Как активизировать мозг и улучшить работу памяти?

We have selected the most effective mnemonics techniques and other methods of fast memorization, which will be useful not only for schoolchildren and students, but also for those whose work is related to memorization.

First of all, the mode

A large flow of information and new tasks every day – it’s quite difficult to learn everything.

“In order to use memory at full capacity and at the same time not bring ourselves to nervous exhaustion, it is important to understand the limits of our mental performance,” says Mariana Bezrukikh, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Director of the Institute of Developmental Physiology of the Russian Academy of Education.

According to physiologists, the secret of a good memory is in the correct daily routine.

• Our brain is able to withstand continuous mental stress for only 40-45 minutes. Having worked out tightly during this time, be sure to take a 10-15-minute break.

Перерыв предназначен не для того, чтобы играть в компьютерные игры или проверять, что нового в социальных сетях. Эти 10–15 минут — время отдыха и релаксации. Можно сделать упражнения для отдыха глаз. Марьяна Безруких рекомендует лечь на коврик или диван, расслабить руки и ноги, свободно подышать. Можно поставить любимую музыку, но только спокойную.

• After 3-3,5 hours of work with breaks (that is, three to four intellectual load cycles of 45 minutes), it is important to take a long break, have lunch and go for a walk for at least an hour and a half.

“If you save on a walk, you will steal this time from yourself,” explains Maryana Bezrukikh. “Without a walk, all further work will be ineffective.”

• Вернувшись с прогулки, можно снова сесть заниматься — еще один такой же блок из трех-четырех циклов подготовки с перерывами, после которого Марьяна Безруких советует закончить.

At six or seven in the evening you can have dinner, once again go for a walk for an hour, and then disconnect from study, relax.

• In practice, most often this is followed by the third block of classes. This is not scary (unless, of course, you do not forget about breaks and rest). But it must be finished no later than midnight.

“After this time, it’s useless to practice,” states Maryana Bezrukikh. “You can sit at least until the morning, but only what was learned in the first half of the day will really stick in your memory.”

• Подготовку к экзамену важно распланировать. Если у вас есть три дня, материал надо распределить равномерно.

At the same time, physiologists have long known that the second day of work will be more successful than the first (since at the first stage, work is being done), but the last day will not be as fruitful as the second. Knowing this, distribute the material, remembering to leave time for repetition on the last day.

• On the evening before exams, physiologists advise to rest. Do not have a noisy party and do not walk until the morning, but relax, meet friends, get enough sleep.

“A sleepless night before the exam does not give any effect,” this is the verdict of Maryana Bezrukikh. “After it, it is very difficult to get together, you can forget what you knew.”

Sleep contributes to a better assimilation of the information received during the day. Moreover, the quality of the reproduction of information depends on a sufficient amount of sleep between training (memorization) and the test. It is in a dream that memory is consolidated – fixing the information received and transferring it from short-term to long-term storage.

The longer the brain remembers something new, the more time it needs to consolidate. Therefore, sleepless nights before exams do not contribute to either the success of the exams or the improvement of memory in general.

How to remember better

So, you have correctly built the regime, do not forget about breaks, walks and sleep. But what is the best way to work with information in order to remember it better?

“Simply reading a textbook does not give anything,” says Maryana Bezrukikh. – You need to read and take notes, while highlighting the main ideas. Why is it often said that a cheat sheet is a very useful thing? Because when making a cheat sheet, the student draws up a brief summary, highlighting the main thing. Also, to remember, be sure to repeat. But do not re-read all the material, but go through your extracts, diagrams again.

В усвоении большого объема информации могут помочь приемы мнемотехники. Мнемотехника, или мнемоника, — это набор методов для ускоренного запоминания.

“Often mnemonics is surrounded by an aura of mystery and is presented as esoteric knowledge, accessible only to the elite. This is not true. Everyone can master the basic techniques of mnemonics!” says Nikita Petrov, teacher of mnemonics and speed reading.

Приемы мнемотехники: техника быстрого запоминания

1. Создание искусственных ассоциаций

One of the main methods of mnemonics is the creation of artificial associations (chains of associations, associative links). The bottom line is to establish a connection between two words or objects – “attach” the unfamiliar to the familiar. If there is no natural connection, it will have to be created artificially.

Communication can be anything: fabulous, fantastic, absurd, funny. The more unusual connection you can come up with, the better these objects will be remembered.

“Human memory is arranged in such a way that we easily remember what shocked our imagination,” explains Nikita Petrov. – And at the same time, information is remembered, one way or another connected with this “amazing” event. When making connections, use this: connect emotions and imagination to the material you memorize, and do not forget to put yourself at the center of these mental actions.

2. Method of phonetic associations

The phonetic association method is an effective technique for memorizing foreign words. In the scientific literature, it is called the Atkinson method, after the American cognitive psychologist, memory researcher, who first “officially” applied it in 1973.

The essence of the method: for a foreign word, a Russian word that is close in sound is selected, and then a bright, figurative association between them is invented. For example, you need to remember the word pillow – a pillow. There can be many consonant Russian words – this is “saw”, and “drank” (“drink” in the past tense), and “pilot”, and even “pilaf”. And then you need to associate a pillow with one of these words. For example, imagine how someone saws a pillow with a saw or how someone drank while sitting on a pillow. And imagine this picture as brightly and clearly as possible.

Experiments have shown that using the method of phonetic associations, students memorize more foreign words in two lessons than in three lessons according to the usual system, and even after six weeks, almost twice as many words remain in memory.

3. «Метод мест» или «система римской комнаты»

Суть этого простого и в то же время чрезвычайно эффективного метода в том, что запоминаемые единицы информации надо мысленно расставлять в хорошо знакомой комнате в строго определенном порядке. Затем достаточно вспомнить эту комнату, чтобы воспроизвести необходимую информацию. Именно так и поступал римский оратор Цицерон при подготовке к своим выступлениям: он прогуливался по дому и мысленно размещал в нем ключевые моменты своего выступления.

«Найдите в комнате 25 предметов, расположенных по порядку(лампа, ноутбук, мышка, книжка и т.д.), — объясняет Никита Петров. — Закрепите в памяти этот «маршрут». Возьмите первый билет. Выпишите на листе бумаги ключевые слова ответа. Расскажите связную историю, используя эти слова. «Привяжите» первое слово этой истории к лампе (первому предмету в нашей виртуальной комнате). Сделайте так же со всеми билетами. На следующий день посмотрите в зачетку. Там будет «отлично»!»

This is how medieval students memorized large amounts of information. They wandered around universities, temples, streets and created their routes. Routes may vary. It’s good to have multiple routes to place items in different places.

4. Alphanumeric code (PPM)

The essence of the method is that each digit corresponds to a consonant letter. Then words are made up of letters that you memorize with the help of associations, putting them into sentences and stories. Here is the code:

0 – N L

1 – R C

2 – D G

3 – Т З

4 – H K X

5 – P B

6 – W W W

7 – C

8 – V F

9 – M

«С непривычки применение цифробуквенного кода кажется сложным, — комментирует Никита Петров. — Но если вы выучите его наизусть и доведете до автоматического (рефлекторного) уровня припоминания, то убедитесь, что лучшего способа запоминания цифр не существует».

Tricks of repetition

“The nature of our memory is such that the created associations spontaneously collapse after about 40-60 minutes, if they are not reinforced by repetition,” notes Nikita Petrov. “Therefore, the first mental repetition must be done immediately after memorization.” If you memorize text or speech information, then the second repetition should be done 15-20 minutes after the first, the third – after 6-8 hours (on the day of memorization), the fourth – the next day after 24 hours.

Если вы запоминаете точную информацию (цифры, даты, формулы), то второе повторение нужно сделать через 40-60 минут, третье — через 3-4 часа (в тот же день) и четвертое — в течение следующего дня.

Don’t be afraid of lots of repetitions. Repeating from memory is much easier and more interesting than trying to memorize something with the usual method to no avail. You can do it anywhere: at dinner, while walking, in transport. When you memorize accurate information, you can spin it around in your head all day.

Exercises to train attention

“We remember badly, first of all, because we don’t know how to focus on one thing 100%,” Nikita Petrov is sure. – Simple exercises will help improve concentration. Together with the techniques of mnemonics, they will help to increase the “memory reservoir” by several times. But, of course, one day before the exam, the exercises will not work a miracle – you need to start “pumping” your memory in advance, at least a couple of weeks in advance.

Положите часы напротив телевизора, когда идет боевик, реклама или новости. Постарайтесь удерживать внимание на секундной стрелке в течение полных двух минут. Не позволяйте телевизору сместить фокус вашего внимания.

Разделите внимание на две равные части, сфокусировав одну половину на движениях секундной стрелки, а вторую — на своих руках. Думайте и о руках, и о секундной стрелке.

Give half your attention to the second hand and the other half to the number sequence. Mentally list the numbers with an interval of three: 1, 4, 7, 10, 13 … up to 60 and back, juggling the tasks in your mind. If you get confused or think about something else, start over. Try to hold out for two minutes or more.

We continue to “divide” attention. Concentrate a third of your attention on the movements of the second hand. Give the other third to the mental recitation of some poem or song. Focus the remaining third of your attention on the numerical sequence.

When washing dishes, save attention by dividing the procedure into work cycles. For example, when preparing to wash a spoon, give yourself the command: “Start!” Wash the spoon as if you were doing a surgical operation. When you finish washing the spoon, dry it and put it back. Say “Stop!” Then move on to the next item and repeat the process.

We repeat: you should not expect “quick miracles” from all of the above methods, but if you systematically practice the proposed exercises and techniques, you can achieve impressive results.