How To Increase Memory: 10 Surprising Ways To Learn Faster

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C’mon, admit it. You think that learning how to increase memory skill and ability is going to be a drag.

I thought that myself the first time I read a memory improvement book. It had only two pages of instruction on how to memorize vocabulary. I nearly tossed it across the room because the description was so vague and illogical.

As someone with a PhD and two MAs, perhaps I hold a higher standard to memory training books than most.

But seriously… it can’t be as easy as Harry Lorayne and Jerry Lucas were trying to make it seem in The Memory Book.

Perhaps like me you’ve also seen all those pictures of memory champions with their sound cancelling headphones and dark sunglasses on while memorizing playing cards.

I wouldn’t blame you if you instantly thought that nothing could seem more boring.

After all… You’ve got learning to do!

You want to pass exams, learn languages and never forget the names of the people you meet again.

Here’s the truth:

You really can improve memory ability without going to the lengths of the memory athletes.

On this page, we’ll discuss how. There are several approaches I think you’ll find surprising. Not to mention unexpectedly pleasing.

How to Improve Memory: 10 Science-Backed Strategies

As we go through this list, keep in mind that you don’t have to do them in order. In some cases, you might have the steps covered already.

The key is to work on all of these factors, especially if you have holistic learning as a goal.

And rest assured, these truly are research-based techniques. I’ve studied memory science for many years. Although I have disagreed with memory experts like Harry Lorayne on how he taught vocabulary memorization, Tony Buzan acknowledged my work by awarding me the Warrior of the Mind Emblem for Outstanding Contributions to Global Mental Literacy.

I’m not saying I know everything. But you’re in a good place if you care about memory improvement, and especially memory techniques. I do all I can to continually expand my knowledge and keep this site updated. Here’s why if you don’t know my story.

Now let’s get started!

One: Nutrition for Memory

There’s no doubt about the direct tie between your memory and what you eat. There’s a lot of information about memory friendly foods out there, including foods that harm your mind and memory.

Ultimately, you need to consult with a doctor and work on your diet throughout your life. For example, I was able to eat mostly keto for a few years and it helped me tremendously.

Eventually, I needed to get some dairy back into my diet for gut health reasons. It has definitely created a bit of brain fog.

But because we’re all different and our lives keep changing over time, please consider the dietary factor a lifelong project. As this study shows, food is about a lot more than just providing you with energy and repairing injuries. Certain nutrients directly affect cognition.

Two: Exercise

Physical fitness doesn’t have to be strenuous to boost your memory and thinking ability.

These days, I perform a lot of yoga moves that have been shown to boost memory and concentration.

We’ll talk about mnemonics later, but one great thing about physical fitness is that you can perform mental activities while at the gym. I’m doing that in this pic while performing deadlifts at my favorite gym in Berlin:

Three: Brain Training Activities

Although you might think there’s a disconnect between the first two tips and actually getting into brain exercises and brain games, the truth is that the physical quality of your brain needs to be there first.

Some of my favorite brain training activities include neurobics and memorizing playing cards.

The important thing to understand when you choose your activity is that it has some kind of transfer effect. In other words, the game should involve using your brain in a way that applies to improving how your brain needs to operate better while engaged in real-life activities.

This study shows that a video game does that better than a marketing brain training app. Dr. Christine Till shared similar findings when she was on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast to discuss her research with brain training apps.

Four: Increase Memory By Using The Power Of Intention

Yes, setting an intention will help you improve your memory power.

But intend to do what, exactly? I suggest your start by intending to pay more attention as you go about your life.

This is where memory expert Harry Lorayne and I completely agree. He makes the point again and again in his books:

Memory ability begins and ends with our attention.

After all, you simply cannot remember anything to which you haven’t consciously attended.

Pay attention to the next movie you watch with the intent to remember more and you’ll already give yourself a cutting edge memory increase beyond belief.

Five: Practice Recalling Movies & Reconstructing Stories

You probably haven’t done this since you were a kid:

You watch a movie and then immediately get on the phone and retell the entire story to a friend.

At least, I remember doing this as a kid.

I loved hearing my friends recount what they had seen.

Back then, after all, if you missed a movie at the theatre, it could be six months to a year before it appeared on videocassette.

And even then, there was no guarantee that a video store in your town would carry it for rental.

The exercise here is to watch a movie and retell the story to someone.

If you cannot find someone to relate the narrative to, tell it to a pet.

Speak it into a recording device.

Or even just write it down. Who knows? You could wind up becoming a great film reviewer and critic and memorizing what happens in movies for a living.

For bonus points, do both:

Verbally recount the film and write your description down.

This verbal activity will exercise more parts of your memory and improve recall in a deeper way, especially of you make this a regular affair.

And keep in mind, this description doesn’t have to be super-lengthy. When I recall the plot points of a movie in writing, I can usually squeeze it all on to a mid-sized index card, the kind that is about half the size of a sheet of paper. If you’re interested in more about memorizing plot points, you can check out this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on memorizing plot points.

Six: Practice Memorizing Character Names

My girlfriend and I used to watch Deadwood and Breaking Bad for hours on end.

In season two of Deadwood, a new character showed up and we both immediately recognized the actress. “What was her name in Breaking Bad?” my girlfriend asked. “Skyler,” I said immediately, “Skyler White.”

How did I remember this character’s name so easily when my girlfriend did not – even though we had watched the entire series together, episode by episode?

I deliberately paid attention to character names, that’s how. And then I used this technique for remembering names.

The great thing about memorizing character names and other details of series you watch is that you can apply what you’ve memorized to memorizing vocabulary. I show you what I mean using a Breaking Bad Memory Palace in this video tutorial I created for you:

If you spend just a bit of time memorizing names while enjoying movies, you’ll be better able to instantly memorize other information you come across through mnemonic association.

Seven: Learn to Use the Memory Palace Technique

A Memory Palace is a kind of mnemonic device that lets you  think back to a familiar location and place an association you can later retrieve.

That’s the basics, at any rate.

To get more into this technique, you’ll want to study it and learn the method of loci. Many people have taken this tool for increasing memory seriously for thousands of years because it simply works. For example, this study shows how well it helped endocrinology students outperform those who didn’t use it.

Of course, the Memory Palace is only one of several ways you can increase your memory by using mnemonics. Let’s look at some more.

Eight: Association Techniques For Better Memory

A lot of mnemonics boil down to pairing things that are similar. For example, if you want to remember Walter White’s name in Breaking Bad, you might pair him together with Walt Disney.

As a visual memory technique with auditory properties, it’s really all you need to form fast mental connections.

Over the years, people have developed multiple approaches to refine how quickly they can associate. Here are some of the best options:

• Pegword System
• Major Method
• PAO System
• Number Rhymes
• Active Recall

All of them are well worth knowing.

Nine: Interleaving

Sadly, many students “cram.” This is not a very good memory hack.

Instead, consider interleaving. As a study method, it sounds counterintuitive. But all you do is read in short bursts and continue changing between books.

This Scientific American article discusses more about why and how this approach works so well. I used it throughout graduate school in combination with the Zettelkasten Method and it helped me a ton.

Ten: Mind Mapping

Although Tony Buzan abandoned mind mapping as a memory method back in the 1980s, I think it’s useful for a lot more than planning and creativity.

For one thing, the exact definition of mind mapping is quite broad.

The way I like to use it for memory is usually limited to language learning, something I demonstrate in this video lesson:

As you can see, it’s kind of like turning a mind map into a Memory Palace.

Rather than use a building, you limit the mind map to 12 individual stations and use quick drawings to help you establish what you want to remember.

Plus, as this pilot study has shown, mind mapping helps many learners bring boring information to life. That helps with motivating them to learn.

In my own life, I’ve also found that mind mapping helps me remember the many things I need to do in my business. That’s because I have mind mapped the work I do, as discussed in this illustration-packed tutorial.

Learning Itself Increases Your Memory

One thing I’ve noticed with all of my students that take serious steps with memory improvement is that just learning about memory exercises it.

And today you’ve encountered a number of ideas and techniques you can test out for yourself.

That’s the key:

Actually taking these processes out for a test drive. When it comes to boosting your memory, it’s just not possible to experience boosts without applied effort.

If you’d like more help, get my free memory improvement course:

It will take you through developing and using the Memory Palace technique in simple steps.

Going through the steps will increase your memory, especially if it’s currently rusty from disuse.

A little bit of effort will go along way.

But as I hope to have made clear today, it’s not all about grinding. The next time you sit down to watch your favorite movie or series, you can practice your memory in ways that boost and maintain its many types.

So what do you say?

Get out there and make it happen!