Want to get smarter? Neuroscience says 5 simple steps significantly boost memory, learning, and cognition
Since no one ever does anything worthwhile on their own, who you know is important. But what you know — and what you do with what you know — is crucial. Learning, memory, and cognitive skills are a competitive advantage.
Here are five neuroscience-based ways to learn more quickly, and even more importantly, better retain what you learn. Best of all, each takes a couple of minutes at most, and one requires no effort at all.
Say it out loud.
We took the grandkids to surf lessons. They wanted to go back for another session, the instructor was great, so I asked him his name. Problem is, I'm terrible at remembering names.
So I said it aloud three or four times. Why? A study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that saying words out loud (or even just mouthing the words) makes them more memorable.
While the underlying mechanism is unclear, neuroscientists theorize saying something out loud separates and distinguishes it from 'mere' thoughts. (You didn't just think it. You also heard it.) That makes the information, idea, or plan you want to remember even more memorable.
When you need to remember something, say it aloud, or mouth it to yourself. Your cerebral cortex will help you retain it longer.
Then…
Do a 40-second replay.
Remembering a name is fairly simple. Remembering something more complex requires memory consolidation, the process of transforming temporary memories into more stable, long-lasting memories. Even though memory consolidation can be sped up, storing a memory in a lasting way takes time.
A good way to increase the odds is to mentally replay whatever you want to remember for 40 seconds. A 2015 study published in Journal of Neuroscience found that a brief period of rehearsal — replaying an event in your mind, going over what someone said in a meeting, mentally mapping out a series of steps, etc. — makes it significantly more likely you will remember what you replayed.
As the researchers write:
A brief period of rehearsal has a huge effect on our ability to remember complex, lifelike events over periods of one to two weeks. We have also linked this rehearsal effect to processing in a particular part of the brain, the posterior cingulate.
A week or two? That should be long enough for you to actually do something with whatever you wanted to remember.
Then…
Make a prediction.
While it sounds odd, a study published in the Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology shows the act of asking yourself whether you will remember something significantly improves the odds that you will remember, in some cases by as much as 50 percent.
That's especially true for prospective memories, or remembering to perform a planned action or intention at some point in the future. Following up with a customer. Checking on a vendor's status. After you deal with a problem, determining the the root cause.
Why playing the prediction game works is also somewhat unclear. Possibly the act of predicting is a little like testing yourself; as research shows, quizzing yourself is a highly effective way to speed up the learning process.
What is clear is that the act of predicting helps your hippocampus better form and index those episodic memories for later access.
Want to remember to do something in the future? Take a second and predict whether you will remember. That act alone makes it more likely you will.
Then…
Zone out for two minutes.
According to a study published in Nature Reviews Psychology, 'even a few minutes of rest with your eyes closed can improve memory, perhaps to the same degree as a full night of sleep.'
Psychologists call it 'offline waking rest.' In its purest form, offline waking rest can be closing your eyes and zoning out for a couple of minutes. But you can also daydream. Meditate. Clear your mind and think happy thoughts.
While none of those sound productive — should you really be wasting time you could be learning? — intermittent lack of focus improves memory consolidation; in simple terms, constantly going from one thing to the next makes it hard for your brain to keep up.
As the researchers write:
Periods of reduced attention to the external world are a universal feature of human experience, which suggests that spending a portion of time disengaged from the sensory environment … permit the reactivation of recently formed memory traces.
This iterative reactivation of memory could strengthen and stabilize newly formed memories over time, contributing to early stages of memory consolidation during the first few minutes following encoding.
The key is to be intentional about it. First, replay what you want to remember for 40 seconds or so. Then, predict whether you will remember it. Then, close your eyes, zone out, and engage in a minute or two of offline waking rest.
As the researchers write, 'Moments of unoccupied rest should be recognized as a critical contributor to human waking cognitive functions.'
And finally…
Get a good night's sleep.
Here's the effortless aspect of improving your memory. According to a study published in Psychological Science, people who studied before bed, slept, and then did a quick review the next morning spent less time studying — and increased their long-term retention by 50 percent.
The underlying mechanism is what psychologists call sleep-dependent memory consolidation: 'Converging evidence, from the molecular to the phenomenological, leaves little doubt that offline memory reprocessing during sleep is an important component of how our memories are formed and ultimately shaped.'
In simple terms, sleeping on it helps your brain file away what you've learned, and makes it easier to access when you need it.
That's also true where longer-term memory is concerned. Learning, then getting a good night's sleep, and then learning again is an extremely effective way to boost intelligence and skill. As the researchers write:
We found that interleaving sleep between learning sessions not only reduced the amount of practice needed by half but also ensured much better long-term retention.
Sleeping after learning is definitely a good strategy, but sleeping between two learning sessions is a better strategy.
Say you're learning a new sales demo. After a practice session, say the main bullets of your presentation out loud. Then mentally replay key elements of your presentation. Then predict whether you'll remember what you've learned. Then take a minute or two to zone out.
Then get a good night's sleep, do a quick review the next day, and work on the next chunk of information. Rinse and repeat, and neuroscience says you'll spend less time learning — and you'll remember a lot more.
Which means you'll be able to do more.
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Want to get smarter? Neuroscience says 5 simple steps significantly boost memory, learning, and cognition
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(You didn't just think it. You also heard it.) That makes the information, idea, or plan you want to remember even more memorable. When you need to remember something, say it aloud, or mouth it to yourself. Your cerebral cortex will help you retain it longer. Then… Do a 40-second replay. Remembering a name is fairly simple. Remembering something more complex requires memory consolidation, the process of transforming temporary memories into more stable, long-lasting memories. Even though memory consolidation can be sped up, storing a memory in a lasting way takes time. A good way to increase the odds is to mentally replay whatever you want to remember for 40 seconds. A 2015 study published in Journal of Neuroscience found that a brief period of rehearsal — replaying an event in your mind, going over what someone said in a meeting, mentally mapping out a series of steps, etc. — makes it significantly more likely you will remember what you replayed. As the researchers write: A brief period of rehearsal has a huge effect on our ability to remember complex, lifelike events over periods of one to two weeks. We have also linked this rehearsal effect to processing in a particular part of the brain, the posterior cingulate. A week or two? That should be long enough for you to actually do something with whatever you wanted to remember. Then… Make a prediction. While it sounds odd, a study published in the Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology shows the act of asking yourself whether you will remember something significantly improves the odds that you will remember, in some cases by as much as 50 percent. That's especially true for prospective memories, or remembering to perform a planned action or intention at some point in the future. Following up with a customer. Checking on a vendor's status. After you deal with a problem, determining the the root cause. Why playing the prediction game works is also somewhat unclear. Possibly the act of predicting is a little like testing yourself; as research shows, quizzing yourself is a highly effective way to speed up the learning process. What is clear is that the act of predicting helps your hippocampus better form and index those episodic memories for later access. Want to remember to do something in the future? Take a second and predict whether you will remember. That act alone makes it more likely you will. Then… Zone out for two minutes. According to a study published in Nature Reviews Psychology, 'even a few minutes of rest with your eyes closed can improve memory, perhaps to the same degree as a full night of sleep.' Psychologists call it 'offline waking rest.' In its purest form, offline waking rest can be closing your eyes and zoning out for a couple of minutes. But you can also daydream. Meditate. Clear your mind and think happy thoughts. While none of those sound productive — should you really be wasting time you could be learning? — intermittent lack of focus improves memory consolidation; in simple terms, constantly going from one thing to the next makes it hard for your brain to keep up. As the researchers write: Periods of reduced attention to the external world are a universal feature of human experience, which suggests that spending a portion of time disengaged from the sensory environment … permit the reactivation of recently formed memory traces. This iterative reactivation of memory could strengthen and stabilize newly formed memories over time, contributing to early stages of memory consolidation during the first few minutes following encoding. The key is to be intentional about it. First, replay what you want to remember for 40 seconds or so. Then, predict whether you will remember it. Then, close your eyes, zone out, and engage in a minute or two of offline waking rest. As the researchers write, 'Moments of unoccupied rest should be recognized as a critical contributor to human waking cognitive functions.' And finally… Get a good night's sleep. Here's the effortless aspect of improving your memory. According to a study published in Psychological Science, people who studied before bed, slept, and then did a quick review the next morning spent less time studying — and increased their long-term retention by 50 percent. The underlying mechanism is what psychologists call sleep-dependent memory consolidation: 'Converging evidence, from the molecular to the phenomenological, leaves little doubt that offline memory reprocessing during sleep is an important component of how our memories are formed and ultimately shaped.' In simple terms, sleeping on it helps your brain file away what you've learned, and makes it easier to access when you need it. That's also true where longer-term memory is concerned. Learning, then getting a good night's sleep, and then learning again is an extremely effective way to boost intelligence and skill. As the researchers write: We found that interleaving sleep between learning sessions not only reduced the amount of practice needed by half but also ensured much better long-term retention. Sleeping after learning is definitely a good strategy, but sleeping between two learning sessions is a better strategy. Say you're learning a new sales demo. After a practice session, say the main bullets of your presentation out loud. Then mentally replay key elements of your presentation. Then predict whether you'll remember what you've learned. Then take a minute or two to zone out. Then get a good night's sleep, do a quick review the next day, and work on the next chunk of information. Rinse and repeat, and neuroscience says you'll spend less time learning — and you'll remember a lot more. Which means you'll be able to do more.
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