Tricks for a longer memory
Hyderabad: With the notifications for several TSPSC exams being announced, several aspirants might be looking at ways to get back to the books in order to secure a job position under the Telangana Government. However, as there is an ocean of books to study and also remember, it is very important to tune our brain […]
Hyderabad: With the notifications for several TSPSC exams being announced, several aspirants might be looking at ways to get back to the books in order to secure a job position under the Telangana Government.
However, as there is an ocean of books to study and also remember, it is very important to tune our brain to turn into a sponge which can absorb as large information as possible.
Dr Diana Monteira, PhD in psychology and director of Hyderabad Academy of Psychology, shares the functions of the brain memory and how one can remember large material for a longer term.
Three levels of memory:
“The human brain has three levels of memory – sensory, short-term and long-term. While the sensory is the memory of touch or smell, the short-term memory is what stays in our minds for a shorter period of time and similarly, long-term memory, as the term itself suggests, is imbibed in our brains for a very long period of time,” shares Dr Diana.
“So, it is important for the aspirants to save subjects in their long-term memory so they can remember it even months later – for the exam – and perform better,” she points out.
Tips to develop a long-term memory of different subjects:
Repetition is the key
As kids, we were asked to repeat the mathematics tables either orally or in a written form until we can recite them without a break. Because of repeating it thoroughly during schooling, we are able to remember simple mathematics on finger tips even today. Thus, it is very important for you to repeat what you study – either orally or in a written form. By repeating, the subject matter will stay in the short-term memory of the aspirants.
Develop an in-depth understanding
As one repeats what they study, they start remembering it. But if the subject matter is understood well, and repeated – the matter gets stored in the long-term memory. Thus, it is very important to understand while also practising regularly so you can remember it even months later.
Stay calm and focused
It is very important for aspirants to shut all external tensions and thoughts and calm their minds to stay focused on the subjects. Thus, it is better to study with full concentration for a little time than staying distracted and spending large amounts of time on subjects. If your brain is calm and focused, it becomes very easy for the subject matter to be understood and stored in your memory.
Retrieval processes
Once you finish a chapter, it is very important to revise it the next day or a few hours later. This practice allows the aspirants to understand how much matter they remember and how much more do they have to study. So when you get back to the subject, try to remember what you studied earlier and see if it went in your long-term memory. Also, encoding a pattern to study – like abbreviations or drawing diagrams, etc – can help store the subject matter in the long-term memory. Moreover, quiz yourself regularly so the subject matter stays in your mind.
Break the monotony
Studying one subject for a long time might get very monotonous. Thus, it is very important to break the pattern so the brain can find something new again to keep it active. For example if you are focusing on history for too long, it might get too drowsy to concentrate further. Thus, it is important to sometimes shift to a subject that is not closely related so the brain can absorb the material without getting confused. Like you can focus on arithmetic if you are bored reading history for long. As they are quite different from each other it might regain the enthusiasm back again.
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