When is the best time to absorb information? How to make your brain remember what you read. How to learn to memorize a large amount of information at once

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Agree, in an attempt to learn twenty French words or speech for the defense of a diploma, or the theory of driving, we usually resort to classical methods: put a book under the pillow, reread the same paragraph until bloody tears, seal the entire living space with stupid pieces of paper. Often they are all useless. But the science of memorization is far from exhausted by them. Yes, that's science! “Don’t give up and think that it’s your memory that is bad,” says Mark Sheed, coach, author of the Productivity Lessons blog. - Initially, the input data for everyone is more or less the same. The secret is to learn how to memorize by choosing a technique that is right for you.” I picked up some of the most interesting ways - I recommend trying them all!

How to improve memory?

1. Write letters. A study conducted in 2008 at the University of Kyoto showed that if, before starting cramming, for 15-20 minutes, remember and write down your sad thoughts and the smallest troubles that have occurred recently, the effectiveness of your studies will increase dramatically. The fact is that we a priori remember everything negative very well. And all the information that comes immediately after the epistolary outpourings, the brain, by inertia, will perceive it as “bad”, which means it will reliably fix it. Not the most fun method, but it really works.

2. Protect the environment. It turns out that the tradition of domestic students to prepare for exams in the country is very wise. Three years ago, psychologists from the University of Michigan found that contemplation of nature increases cognitive function by as much as 20%. By the way, it is not necessary to go to this very nature, you can just look at the photos for 5-10 minutes.

3. Scream louder. Words are remembered 10% better if they are shouted out. It sounds stupid, but thanks to this method, I learned almost half of the Russian-Spanish dictionary. It is not necessary, of course, to yell at the whole house “cat!”, “Walk!”. It is enough to pronounce each word loudly and clearly several times.

4. Be expressive. Another tip for learners of difficult languages: sign all the words and phrases you are learning. Literally: if you learn the conjugation of the verb "jump" - jump. And if you need to learn a dialogue or a complex phrase, act out a skit. You will see, everything will be remembered amazingly quickly.

5. Listen to yourself. After learning some information, say it into the recorder. And when you fall asleep, quietly turn on this record - you need to sleep under it. This is an amazingly effective way to reinforce already familiar, but poorly remembered things.

6. Don't sit still. Learn poems, textbooks, and reports as you circle the room. The fact is that walking activates the work of the brain, and your ability to memorize increases significantly.

7. Change the environment. If you need to study for two exams (or meetings) in one evening, do it in different rooms. The information that we remember under different circumstances is not mixed up in our heads.

8. Throw out the words. A super way to learn a large amount of continuous text, for example, the words of a song or a report. Rewrite this text, leaving only the first letter of each word, and learn it by trying to remember these words. Naturally, at first you will have to look into the original, but in the end it will be enough for you to look at the truncated version and the text will instantly pop up in your memory. It is very convenient to take such a cheat sheet with you.

9. Sleep more. The longer you sleep after you have learned something, the better you will remember this information in the morning. And sleepless nights, on the contrary, significantly impair memory. I want all students to read this and take note. It is better to sleep a couple of hours before the exam than to try to learn more "a couple of tickets."

10. Go in for sports! A lot of research has been done on this topic, and everything has been confirmed: aerobic exercise improves cerebral circulation and memory. Get busy or before you sit down for books: you can memorize at least “Eugene Onegin”. Or at least the first stanza.

A good memory is a matter of pride. In the modern age, we daily perceive tons of information. It's just that not everything can be remembered. Needless to say, lately people have become accustomed to entering everything into telephone memos. But still, the most powerful and reliable hard drive that cannot be hacked is our brain. However, in order to remember information, you need a good memory and following some tricks. However, first things first.

Memory usage

How to memorize information faster? It is impossible to find the answer to this question without understanding your abilities given by nature. The thing is that almost all of us have developed several types of memory. But one of them is the strongest. So, here are all its types:

• visual (visual);
• auditory (auditory);
• tactile (kinesthetic);
• gustatory and olfactory.

The latter type of memory is considered the least practical, because taste and smell are the least likely to act as leading analyzers. However, all of these types are combined into one type of memory - figurative. Image, sound, sensation, smell and taste - all this contributes to the creation of a certain picture in our imagination.

There is also verbal-logical memory, motor (motor), emotional, voluntary, involuntary, short-term, long-term and operational. But remembering contributes, of course, the first of this list.

figurative method

If we talk about how to memorize information faster, then this method should be noted first of all. Because it is the most efficient.

Memorization is the process of finding connections. Or their creation in an array of images. If you want to put something in memory, you need to find or create a new visual connection. Information, especially abstract information (ideas, thoughts), cannot be memorized.

Here is a simple example. Word sleeve, which is translated from English as "sleeve", you can try to drive into your head for an hour, repeating it ad nauseam. But why, if it's really memorized in 5 seconds? Everything is simple! It is enough to imagine the sleeve of a jacket, filled to the brim with plums. Weird? May be. But now you don’t even have to remember what the word means sleeve. And all thanks to the creation of a connection between him and the image.

Even in teaching this method is used. Recall at least the lessons of mathematics in school. Yes, any person who completed it 10, 20 and 30 years ago, to the question of what a bisector is, will answer - this is a ray that divides one angle into two. And all why? Because the bisector is a rat that runs around corners and bisects the corner. This simple rhyme was used by all teachers to make life easier for students.

Associations

This method is similar to the previous one. How to memorize information faster? Think of associations! These are groups of images that encode information. They always have a base and superimposed elements.

You don't even need to look for associations, because they surround us. Phone numbers have birthdays to remember. In memorable dates - house numbers, addresses of friends. And, of course, words are the main assistant of each of us.

How to quickly memorize the spectral classes of stars? They are denoted by letters, and far from being in alphabetical order - O, B, A, F, G, K, M. If you think a little, you can come up with a funny association by writing a word for each letter and combining them into a semantic sentence: "One White-haired American Chewed Dates Like Carrots". And according to this scheme, you can remember almost everything - starting with dates, ending with formulas.

In the process of learning

Most often, schoolchildren and students are interested in the answer to the question of how to memorize information faster. Those who need to learn something, and preferably quickly. The above methods should be used, but they will be auxiliary in this case.

The most important thing is to set a certain mode. The best time to absorb information is from 8:00 to 11:00 and from 20:00 to 23:00. However, it all depends on what time a person goes to bed and gets up. After analyzing your activity, it is not so difficult to find the best time for yourself.

Having chosen the time, you need to turn off the Internet and all electronic gadgets, ensure silence or non-distracting background music, and then concentrate, removing everything that may seem more interesting than studying. For many, this is the problem. But you can concentrate if you break the material you are learning into several parts and learn a little.

For example, a student needs to prepare for the exam, which will be in 5 days, 40 tickets. This means that he will need to do 10 pieces every day. Five in the morning, and the same number in the evening, and you can rest during the day. On the fifth day, repeat everything. This will help. The main thing is to set yourself a goal and follow a clear plan.

self-hypnosis

How to quickly remember "big" information? The question posed in this way worries all students on the eve of the exam or test. The amount of information (besides, not the most interesting) is great, but there is no time. What to do? The answer is simple. Gotta get excited.

After all, everyone noticed how imperceptibly time flies during walks, travels, and entertainment! And then we remember everything in amazing detail. All because it was interesting. Preparing for tomorrow's exam, you need to get carried away with the subject. “But why do I need it!”, “I’ll forget everything in a day!”, “There is nothing more boring in the world!” - all these excuses are familiar to students. But you need to teach, so you have to convince yourself that the subject and information are of unprecedented interest. You need to try to find something catchy or maybe useful in it. Or to convince yourself that today nothing from the classes, except for the teaching of this subject, is available. And be sure to find motivation. You can promise yourself to arrange a holiday after successfully passing the exam. In anticipation, information is remembered really better.

A solid approach

There are people who are not interested in how to quickly remember a large amount of information. It is important for them that certain data be stored for a long time on their internal “hard drive”.

To do this, you need to use a combined technique of fast and detailed reading. So, first - a detailed acquaintance with the material. Someone reads 2-3 pages to understand what he is dealing with. Others snatch the text from different parts of the book (summary or other source of information). However, this is an individual question. The meaning of surface reading is not to memorize the text, but to get acquainted with it.

And then comes the time for a detailed method. It involves a slow, thoughtful reading of all available information and its parallel analysis. You can highlight difficult words or interesting phrases, reread what you could not understand the first time.

In parallel, it is desirable to take notes and even sketches. And also talk to yourself. Thinking aloud is very useful because auditory, verbal and visual memory is involved. In addition, mindfulness is activated more strongly, because reading aloud is impossible without concentration.

Useful Tricks

How to learn to quickly memorize information? You have to learn one simple rule. You need to scream! It has been proven that information fits into the brain faster if a person shouts it out.

Emotions help too. Especially expression. Gestures, phrases, facial expressions - and everything that can express it. You can even act out a scene in front of a mirror.

Also, you can't sit still. If you learn something by turning circles around the room, you will be able to activate the work of the brain and, accordingly, your ability to remember information.

By the way, if there is an opportunity to change the situation, you need to use it. And it is desirable to exchange the room for nature. Fresh air and the absence of concrete four walls will contribute to more active memorization.

Active repetition

This is another good way to quickly remember information and transfer it from temporary memory to long-term memory.

At the very beginning, it was about images and connections. With their help, you can really remember information faster. But! If a person does not use these connections, they will simply collapse over time. This is the reason why we forget what we used to remember. And the weaker, more indistinct was the connection - the faster it will collapse.

That's why you need to use this method. Repeat connections, update visual images and make them more vivid. And here is the conclusion: memorization is not constant cramming and looking at external sources, but regular retrieval from memory of images that have ever been created. And it's better to spend a little time to think of them, and then remember the information for life, than to memorize it for hours and forget it in a day.

Habit formation

There are people for whom to quickly remember the necessary information - just spit. And all because they constantly follow the above recommendations (and some more that they come up with themselves). These people train their memory and improve the ability given by nature. And for them, the question of how to quickly remember information before the exam or what they saw in passing is not relevant. And this is the main secret.

It is necessary to develop the habit of memorizing or learning something every day. And with the help of the above methods. They are effective, tested by many. In addition, they contribute to the development of thinking and verbal-logical memory.

Incredible Facts

Want to increase your productivity or lose weight? If you still can't do it, you may be doing it at the wrong time.

According to clinical psychologist Michael Breus, who specializes in sleep disorders, there are four types of people in the world: "dolphins", "lions", "bears" and "wolves".

Each of us has a different internal rhythm, and therefore our body is better at burning calories or producing hormones at certain times. What chronotype do you belong to?

4 chronotypes of people

Dolphins

Personality: cautious, introvert, neurotic, intelligent

Behavior: avoids risky situations, strives for perfection, concentrates on details.

Dream: wake up unrested and remain tired until the evening, when they enter the rhythm. They are most active late at night, and their productivity increases in spurts during the day.

Like real dolphins, which only sleep with one half of their brain while the other half watches for predators, "dolphin people" have light sleep. They may wake up many times and are prone to insomnia due to anxiety. When they wake up in the middle of the night, they tend to reflect on their mistakes or what they once said.

Dolphins work better alone than in a team, and they don't tend to be confrontational. They don't even need to exercise to lose weight, as their body mass index is usually below average.

lions

Personality: responsible, stable, practical, optimist

Behavior: do not stop there, give priority to health and fitness, looking for positive interaction.

Dream: get up early, feel tired in the evening and fall asleep easily. Most active at noon and most productive in the morning.

Lions in nature wake up before dawn to hunt. "Lion people" also wake up before the sun rises, are hungry when they wake up, and after a hearty breakfast are ready to conquer the goals they have set for themselves for the day.

They feel energized when they face challenges head-on, with clear goals and a strategic plan for success. Most executives and entrepreneurs are lions. They also value being physically fit, as it helps them set and achieve goals.

The Bears

Personality: cautious, extroverted, friendly and open.

Behavior: avoid conflict, strive to be healthy, prioritize happiness, find solace in familiar things.

Dream: wake up in a daze, get tired by the middle or end of the evening, sleep deeply, but not as long as they would like. Full of energy from mid-morning to early afternoon and most productive shortly before noon.

When in nature, bears are not hibernating, they are diurnal animals - they are active during the day and rest at night. "People-bears" prefer to sleep at least 8 hours a night, if not more.

It takes them several hours to fully wake up in the morning, during which they feel hungry. We can say that the "bears" are hungry all the time. They eat whenever they can, even if it's not mealtime or snack time.

They are courteous and undramatic, and will not intrigue or blame others for their mistakes. They are a great company for parties.

Wolves

Personality: impulsive, pessimistic, creative, prone to mood swings.

Behavior: take risks, give priority to pleasure, seek novelty, react emotionally.

Dream: wake up hard before noon, but do not get tired until the middle of the night and later. They are most active by 7 pm and are most productive in the late morning and late evening.

In nature, wolves are active after sunset, and they hunt in packs. "Wolf people" are also prone to nightlife. They are not hungry upon awakening, but become insatiable at night. Their body mass index is medium to high. Due to the diet and promiscuity in food, they often suffer from diseases associated with being overweight.

Wolves are creative, unpredictable and get angry if others perceive them as "lazy". They are prone to mood disorders such as depression and anxiety.

What time is best to go to bed

We learn throughout our lives, from childhood to old age. Playing the guitar, new software, raising a child - the human brain constantly absorbs new information, however, this happens at different speeds. In childhood, information is absorbed very quickly, but the older we get, the more difficult it is to learn.

Below you will see several ways to hack your mind and make it work faster and better.

Maintenance

Like any complex mechanism, the brain requires regular maintenance, and if you do not neglect it, it will be able to cope with any task. A few good habits help to keep the brain in perfect condition, so that the learning process will be faster and easier.

go in for sports

I don't trust any thought that didn't come while moving.

It turns out that exercise is necessary not only for a great figure and a healthy body, but also for brain function. If your brain refuses to think, try taking a walk or working out at the gym. Studies show that memory and mental clarity improve after just 15 minutes of exercise.

Meditate

Regular meditation not only relieves stress but also helps improve your memory. In addition, concentration skills are developed during meditation, which is very important for the learning process.

More omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids

These essential acids restore disturbed nervous processes such as attention, speed of thought and memory. Omega-3 acids are found in excess in flaxseed oil and walnuts, peanuts and pumpkin seeds. There are many of them in fatty fish - salmon, mackerel, sardine and halibut. No wonder they say that fish helps to think better.

get enough sleep

In order for the brain to function properly, you need to get enough sleep. Healthy sleep increases the speed of perception, helps to make sound judgments and ensures fast brain function.

If you repeat the learned material before going to bed, for example, a poem or a lecture, during the night the information will be firmly fixed in your memory and in the morning you will be fluent in the subject.

drink water

Scientists from the University of East London have found that simply drinking water helps you concentrate better and solve complex problems. The results of the experiment, published in the Daily Mail, show that people who are thirsty think 14% slower. So always keep a bottle of water handy.

Take a break from studying

You can not do only one thing every day - work or study. It is important to periodically be distracted by something else so that the brain sums up and processes the information during this time.

If you decide to take up a hobby, choose activities that involve concentration and hand-eye coordination, such as juggling. One study found that juggling has a positive effect on brain function. True, the positive results took place immediately after people gave up a new hobby.

have fun

Laughter is the best way to relax and avoid burnout, especially when you have to study at a fast pace. Laughter has been proven to help solve problems and be creative.

How to facilitate the learning process itself?

Warm-up for the brain

Before diving into work, you can have a little fun, along the way, setting your brain to work. For example, you can mentally select rhymes for words or solve a simple problem. Such a “warm-up” helps to relax and tune in to the perception of more complex things.

study together

If your training is like storming a fortress, you can find someone to support you. Whether it's a group, a club, or a friend, it's easier to focus on the material in a team and make the learning process itself more organized.

Set up a place

The environment is very important for learning. Ideally, the space should be clean, quiet, and fresh, but variety doesn't hurt either. For example, in good weather, you can try to work in the park or in a cozy cafe. The only thing that should not be mixed is education and bed. Even though it's very comfortable the bed is subconsciously associated with sleep and relaxation, so it will be harder for you to concentrate.

Metacognition

Most of the advice on how to improve the learning process is based on metacognition. This concept can be defined as the art of awareness of one's own consciousness. You evaluate your own thinking, your ability to complete the task, and the goals that are appropriate for this.

You need to step back from the first impression of the material and evaluate how quickly you learn knowledge, are there any problems and ways to learn more productively.

Do one thing at a time

Multitasking is a real talent, but, unfortunately, it reduces the efficiency of work. If you do several things at the same time, you cannot concentrate well on them, so the time needed to complete the task increases.

Don't be afraid of failure

A group of researchers in Singapore found that people who solved complex math problems without instructions or help were more likely to fail. However, in the process, they found interesting ideas that helped them in the future.

This can be called a "productive failure" when the experience gained in the solution process will help more than once in the future. So do not be afraid of failures - they will come in handy.

Test yourself

Don't wait for the last exam - test yourself often or ask a friend to give you a little test. Productive failures only deal with finding solutions, and if you fail an exam that required rote memorization, it won't help your learning, it will only hinder it.

cut material

It is useful to supplement your notes with visual elements such as graphs, charts, or maps.

Think about where it can be applied

Very often, when presenting facts and formulas, the scope of their application is missed. Dry knowledge is quickly forgotten, and if you want to remember something for a long time, try to find application in real life on your own. Knowing how, where and why to apply facts in real life will securely fix the information in your memory.

Apply different methods

The more diverse the sources of knowledge, the more likely it is that they will remain in your memory.

The coordinated work of different areas of the brain improves the perception and storage of information.

For example, it can be reading articles, listening to audio materials, watching videos, writing or retyping by hand, speaking out loud. Most importantly, don't do everything at the same time.

Link to existing knowledge

If you can mentally connect what you know with what you have learned before, it will help you learn more quickly and effectively. Don't leave knowledge in isolation - build it into the big picture of the world that is in your brain.

You will succeed

Be confident in yourself and know that you will succeed. Not only because it's true, but also because faith in the power of one's intellect really increases it.

When you look at the text for many hours, and a little later nothing or some scraps of knowledge remain in your head, this is demotivating. After a bad experience, a lot of people decide that studying is just not for them, and next time it makes no sense to strain. But if nature has deprived of an excellent memory, then you can and should learn to remember.

How to remember what you read

Memory, almost like muscles, needs training and development. The whole process can be divided into five stages.

Reading comprehension

To memorize a text or topic, you first need to understand the meaning of what you read. If you don't understand the topic you're learning, even dozens of hours of looking at long rows of letters or numbers won't fix anything. At best, you can learn something by heart, like a poem, but then everything will fly out of your head very quickly. It helps to listen to the third person explanation of the material again. It is desirable that the main terms are supported by images, graphs or diagrams.

Reading aloud

When you already understand what is at stake in principle, start reading aloud. Read everything several times slowly and with expression. Read more interesting or key passages with a different intonation or force. Thanks to this, you will retain in your memory part of the knowledge not only in written form, but also in sound form.
Do not try to remember everything at once, memorize semantic segments.

Outline key passages

Rewrite entire materials, or outline key passages. It is best to record rather than print on a computer. The fact is that written by hand is remembered better. It is also important not to write a continuous block of text, but to try to make everything visually appealing. Alternate letter sizes, use colors and underlining in key passages. In this case, you can use various illustrations or diagrams.

Try to remember all the new knowledge

New knowledge needs to be reproduced in memory at least several times in order for it to be permanently fixed. When you have read everything, transcribed and reduced, after a short pause, try to remember everything systematically. That is, recite everything from beginning to end. If you get stuck somewhere, try to remember the sound or visual image that you created while repeating. If you can't remember, pause for a minute or two. Drink coffee or tea, walk around the room, switch to something else for a short time.

Recall a sound or visual image

Then try to reproduce in your memory everything that accompanied you during your studies, that is, sounds, images, etc. Paradoxically, even distractions during memorization help - a phone call, noise on the street. If this does not help, try to remember at least the abbreviated content. Then pause for 15-30 minutes, after which read the rewritten text again, or at least the part on which you are stuck. After half an hour, check again if you remember everything without errors and gaps. Depending on how much time you have left, repeat the process the next day or a couple of hours later.

Tricks to help you remember stuff

This helps if no foreign language or formulas are given.
Write down words, phrases on pieces of paper and hang them all over the apartment. Constantly bumping into them, you will remember them involuntarily.

2. Use gadgets

While repeating aloud the material to be memorized, turn on the microphone. You can then turn on the recording and listen to it while driving, jogging or while preparing dinner.

3. Movement helps you remember

Psychiatrists say that motor activity activates the brain. No wonder many scientists and writers dictated their immortal works, winding circles around the room. Try listening to the text, walking around the room.

4. Learn in your sleep

There is a belief among students that if you put a book under your pillow at night, the material will be remembered by itself. There is some truth in this, however, before you put a textbook under your pillow, you need to read it. Reading immediately before going to bed and immediately after waking up is remembered better.

5. Don't read while eating

Never read what you need to remember while eating. Let your brain rest and enjoy your food. Taking a break will help you concentrate better after eating at school.

6 All individually

Each person is an individual. Memory processes are different for everyone. Try different ways and be sure to find your fail-safe method!