Neuroscience Says This Simple Technique Dramatically Improves Your Memory and Long-Term Retention

Research shows a little mental replay will help you remember more, and for a long longer. Illustration: Getty Images. Knowledge is power, as long as you actually put that knowledge to use. Success in any pursuit is based on what you do with what you know: It follows that the more you retain and remember, the more you can do.

There are plenty of simple ways to improve your memory. Interleaving, learning, or practicing more than one subject or task in succession . Distributed practice, intentionally spacing out learning sessions . Literally sleeping on it . Even chewing gum .

But my favorite involves memory consolidation, the process of transforming temporary memories into more stable, long-lasting memories. Even though the process of memory consolidation can be sped up , still: storing a memory in a lasting way takes time. The 40-second replay

One way to increase the odds is to replay whatever you want to remember for about 40 seconds. A study published in Journal of Neuroscience found that a brief period of rehearsal — like replaying an event in your mind, replaying what someone said, or replaying a series of steps you want to take — makes it much more likely you will remember what you replayed.

FEATURED VIDEO

An Inc.com Featured Presentation

For example, I’ve never forgotten the time Mark Cuban told me , “No one’s time is so valuable they can’t be nice.” Partly that’s because the situation itself was memorable , but that’s also because I re-lived that moment as he walked away, and thought about it later in the day as well.

As the researchers write: Memories are strengthened via consolidation. We investigated memory for lifelike events using video clips and showed that rehearsing their content dramatically boosts memory consolidation. Using MRI scanning, we measured patterns of brain activity while watching the videos and showed that, in a network of brain regions, similar patterns of brain activity are reinstated when rehearsing the same videos. Within the posterior cingulate, the strength of reinstatement predicted how well the videos were remembered a week later. The findings extend our knowledge of the brain regions important for creating long-lasting memories for complex, lifelike events. Or in non-researcher speak, replaying an event has a major effect on your ability to remember complex, lifelike events, in part because those memories get stored across a range of brain regions, and because replaying the event adds context. How to remember names

Say, like me, you’re terrible at remembering people’s names. When you walk away after being introduced, take 30 or 40 seconds to replay the introduction. What you said. What they said. How they looked, how you felt, what was happening around you – play the “video” in your mind.

Do that, and you’ll be much more likely to remember that person’s name, as well as other things they, and you, said.

The 40-second technique also works for things you’ve been shown how to do. An electrician showed me how to wire a three-way circuit. Thirty minutes later, when i tried to do it myself, I couldn’t.

I went back and asked him to show me again – but this time, when he was done, I took a few minutes to replay his demonstration. I tried to remember what he said, what he did, what I was thinking. It worked.

Later, I still had to ask him one question, but I basically had gotten it. Failing one part of the “test” also helped me remember how to do it. Research shows testing yourself, whether formally or inadvertently, dramatically improves retention .

Memory consolidation works, especially if you make it an intentional, active process. So start replaying. You’ll remember more – and be able to do more with what you know.

Read more at www.inc.com