The Limitless Memory

An Everyday Guide to Learn Strategies

on Fast Learning, Meditation and
Improvement Exercises to Improve your
Memory

By
Benjamin Carlos
 © Copyright 2020 by (Benjamin Carlos) - All rights reserved.

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 Contents

Title Page
Introduction
Chapter 1: How Memories are formed
1.1 What is Memory?
1.2 Human Memory Study
1.3 Types of Memory
1.4 Memory Formation Process
Chapter 2: How to improve your concentration
2.1 Why Focus is Important
2.2 Steps to Improve Your Focus
2.3 Stimulate Your Brain to be Smarter and Faster
2.4 Meditation for Concentration
Chapter 3: Memory Mediation
3.1 Meditations for Memory
3.2 Benefits of Memory Meditation
3.3 Role of Meditation in Memory Retrieval
3.4 Steps for Memory Meditation
Chapter 4: Exercise for Memory Improvement
4.1 Physical Exercise for Memory Improvement
4.2 Brain Exercise for Memory Improvement
4.3 Memory Palace
4.4 Memory Improving Games
Chapter 5: Powerful Learning Strategies
5.1 Definition of Learning
5.2 Steps to Improve Your Learning Skills
5.3 Benefits for Fast Learner
Conclusion
 Introduction

O
ur memories shape who we are in many ways. The stories we
tell ourselves of what we've done with our lives make up our
experiences. They tell us who we are attached to, who we've
been touching in our lives, and who's been affecting us. Our
memories, in short, are vital to the core of who we are as human
beings.

That means that loss of memory related to age may reflect a loss of
self. The practical side of life is often affected, such as getting
around the neighborhood or knowing how to reach a loved one. It is
not surprising, then, that worries about deteriorating thought and
memory capacities rank among the top fears that individuals have as
they age.

Although some remain sharp as a pin, what causes certain people to

lose their memory? Genes play a role, but choices do as well.
Following a balanced diet, exercising regularly, not smoking, and
keeping blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar in check
include proven ways to preserve memory. It is necessary, too, to live
a mentally active life. Mental exercise helps maintain mental skills
and memory in tone, just as muscles get stronger with use.

Are certain "brain work" types more efficient than others? Better than
being a mental couch potato, any brain workout is better. But those
that require you to work beyond what is simple and convenient are
the activities with the most effective. It might not be necessary to
play endless rounds of solitaire and watch the new History Channel
documentary marathon. Better choices are learning a foreign
language, volunteering, and other things that strain the brain.

Older individuals appear to have more trouble concentrating than

young individuals. This is because changes in the brain associated
with age make it more difficult to filter out stimuli that are not
important to the task at hand. Practicing mindfulness; doing cognitive
training; and living a balanced lifestyle that involves treating
underlying illnesses, eating a Mediterranean diet, and having the
necessary amounts of exercise are tips to try to improve focus.

The odd senior moment is encountered by most adults as they age.

Although these memory drops can be humiliating and frustrating,
conditions like Alzheimer's disease or some type of dementia are not
necessarily a warning sign. Still, incorporating these lifestyle habits
and techniques can help people retain and recall details for various
forms of daily forgetfulness and navigate memory lapses as they
occur.

Music has wonderful effects on the brain, simultaneously engaging

various parts of the brain. It has been shown to be capable of
changing mood and even enhancing memory. Musical memories are
located in the same section of the brain as memories of activities,
like riding a bike or cycle. This may explain why people with
Alzheimer's problem, when other memories have faded, are still able
to remember how to play an instrument.

Meditation will enable you to identify mental errors. According to a

recent report, meditating for 20 minutes will help people identify
mental errors and maybe prevent them in the future.

It has not been proven to protect against memory loss by

participating in brain games, like crosswords, bridge, and chess, as
well as artistic outlets, such as drawing, playing an instrument, or
learning a language. Yet, these pursuits can assist with daily thought
abilities and can improve the cognitive reserve of an individual when
combined with physical exercise.
The regular exercise starts to add up to significant improvements in
memory. A single round of moderate-intensity exercise can actually
boost memory, but people need to work out on a routine basis and at
a similar degree of intensity in order for the impact to last.
 Chapter 1: How Memories are formed

H
uman brains are about 3 times the size of our early ancestors,
who lived four million to two million years ago, and scientists
have been wondering for years how our brains got so large.
Recent research indicates that there may be social competition
behind the rise in brain size.

We have to commit to memory for us to remember events,

information, or procedures. Encoding, preserving, maintaining, and
eventually remembering information and past experiences are part of
the process of creating a memory.

Memory has been characterized by cognitive psychologist Margaret

W. Matlin as the "process of storing knowledge over time." Others
have identified it as the ability to decide our future direction by using
our past experiences.

Most people think of preparing for an exam or remembering where

we placed the car keys when they are asked to describe the
memory. In our daily lives, however, memory is important. Without
depending upon our memories, we will not be able to act in the
present or step forward.
 1.1 What is Memory?
Memory is the mechanism of taking in, processing, storing, and later
remembering information about the world around us, often several
years later. Human memory is frequently compared to that of a filing
cabinet or a computer memory device. In reality, however, memory is
far from perfect-most people cannot recall every single event that
happened to them, and memories are sometimes altered and can be
distorted.

Memory is not just one thing- there are multiple forms of memory,
such as: remembering the meaning of single words, world
information, and abilities such as how to ride a cycle or how to play
an instrument, and a complex form of memory that helps us to
remember and even 'relieve' personal experiences or episodes from
our history. Our personal history or autobiography forms this latter
type of memory, which is why it is known as autobiographical
memory.

Other research teams and we have discovered that autobiographical

memory is very closely linked to another type of memory, spatial
memory, and navigation, helping us to learn and remember how to
find out about the world. Additionally, the capacity to think about
something that might happen in the future is linked to both navigation
and autobiographical memory.

Humans have been trying to understand what memory is, how it

works, and why it goes wrong since time age-old. This is an
essential part of what makes us truly human, and yet it is one of the
human attributes that is most elusive and misunderstood.
The popular memory image is as a sort of small filing cabinet full of
individual memory folders where information is stored away, or as a
neural supercomputer of enormous capacity and speed, perhaps.
However, these metaphors may not be entirely useful in the light of
modern biological and psychological knowledge and, today, experts
believe that memory is actually far more complex and subtle than
that.

Our memory does not seem to be located in one specific place in the
brain, but rather is a brain-wide process in which several different
brain areas (sometimes referred to as distributed processing) act in
conjunction with each other. For example, the brain is actively and
seamlessly reconstructed by the simple act of riding a bike from
many various areas: the memory of how to function the bike comes
through one area, the memory about how to get from here to the end
of the block comes from another, the memory of safety rules for
biking from another part, and that nervous feeling comes from
another part when a car bends dangerously close.

Each memory element (sights, sounds, words, emotions) is encoded

in the same part of the brain that created the fragment originally
(visual cortex, motor cortex, language area, etc.), and memory recall
effectively reactivates the neural patterns build during the original
encoding. Thus, a better image could be that of a complex web, in
which the threads symbolize the different elements of memory that
join a person, object, or event at nodes or intersection points to form
a whole rounded memory. This sort of distributed memory ensures
that some parts of the experience may still remain even if part of the
brain is damaged. Neurologists are now starting to understand how
to reassemble the components into a cohesive whole.

The human brain, one of the universe's most complex living

structures, is the seat of memory. Memory is not a single unitary
mechanism either, although there are multiple forms of memory.
Years of case studies have begun to show some of the complexities
of memory processes in patients suffering from accidents and brain-
related illnesses and other disorders (especially in elderly people),
and the biggest strides have been made in cognitive psychology and
neuroscience, but many of the exact mechanisms included remain
elusive.
 1.2 Human Memory Study
The study of human memory extends back at least 2,000 years to
the early attempts by Aristotle in "On the Soul" to understand
memory. He compared the human brain to a blank slate in this and
theorized that all human beings are born free of any knowledge and
are just the sum of their experiences. Compared to making
impressions in wax, Aristotle compared memory, sometimes referred
to as the "storehouse metaphor," a memory theory that, for many
centuries, held sway.

In terms of personality, intelligence, and social and emotional

behavior, supporters of the "tabula rasa" (blank slate) thesis favor
the nurturing side of nature versus nurturing debate. The idea first
emerged in an Aristotle treatise, but then lay dormant for more than
a thousand years until the 11th-century Persian philosopher
Avicenna developed it, and then the 17th-century classic statement
of the theory by John Locke.

In the 20th century, Sigmund Freud revived the concept, portraying

personality traits as being formed by family dynamics. In ancient
times, two kinds of memory were generally assumed to exist:

The natural memory (the innate memory that everyone uses every
day) and the artificial memory (trained by learning and practicing a
variety of mnemonic techniques, resulting in memory feats that are
quite extraordinary or impossible to perform using natural memory
alone).

Roman rhetoricians such as Cicero and Quintillian applied their

theories to medieval scholastics and later Renaissance scholars
such as Matteo Ricci and Giordano Bruno on the art of memory or
the system of loci (a technique often first attributed to Simonides of
Creos or the Pythagoreans).

The English philosopher David Hartley of the 18th century was the
first to hypothesize that memories were encoded in the nervous
system through hidden movements, although at best, his physical
theory of the process was rudimentary.

William in America and Wilhelm in Germany, both considered among

the founding fathers of modern psychology, both carried out some
early fundamental research in the 1870s and 1880s on how human
memory works (James hypothesized the idea of neural plasticity
many years before it was shown).

In 1881, Théodule-Armand Ribot suggested what became known as

the Law of Rib, which states that amnesia has a time gradient in that
recent memories are more likely to be lost than more distant
memories (although this is actually not always the case in practice).

It was not until the 1880s mid, however, that the first scientific
approach to studying memory was developed by the young German
philosopher Herman Ebbinghaus. He performed experiments using
syllable lists and then associated them with meaningful words, and
some of his findings from this work remain relevant to this day (such
as the idea of the learning curve and forgetting curve, and his
distinction of the three distinct types of memory: sensory, long-term
and short-term ).

In 1904, the German evolutionary biologist Richard Semon first

proposed the idea that experience leaves a physical trace on specific
networks of neurons in the brain, which he called an engram. Sir
Frederick Bartlett, the British psychologist, is considered one of the
founding fathers of cognitive psychology, and his study into
remembering stories in the 1930s profoundly inspired later theories
about how memories are processed by the brain.
Flashbacks are accidental (and sometimes recurring) memories in
which a person has a sudden powerful re-experience of a past
memory, often so vivid that the person "re-lives" the experience,
unable to fully remember it as a memory and not something that
actually exists.

These unintentional memories are often of traumatic events or

emotional events that are highly charged and often happens in times
of high stress or food deprivation, although the exact causes and
mechanisms are not clear.

The field of neuropsychology emerged with advances in technology

in the 1940s, and with it a biological base for encoding theories. In a
systematic attempt to identify where memory traces or engrams are
formed in the brain, Karl Lashley devoted 26 years of his life to
research on rats in mazes, only to conclude in 1950 that memories
are not located at all in one part of the brain, but are widely spread
throughout the cortex and that if some parts of the brain are harmed,
other parts of the brain can take root.

The work of the Canadian neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield on the

stimulation of the mind with electrical probes in the 1950s, initially in
the research of the reasons of epilepsy, enabled him to produce,
practically unchanged, maps of the sensory and motor cortices of the
brain which are still used today. By investigating parts of the
temporal lobe of the brain, he was also able to summon memories or
flashbacks (some of which the individuals had no conscious
remembrance of).

Another Canadian, Donald Hebb, intuited as early as 1949 that

"neurons that fire together, wire together," implying that memory
encoding took place as links between neurons were established
through repeated use. Sometimes referred to as Hebb's Rule, this
theoretical idea was supported in the 1970s by the knowledge of the
mechanics of memory consolidation, long-term potentiation, and
neural plasticity and remained the current theory. In experimentally
showing Hebb's rule and knowing the molecular changes during
learning and the neurotransmitters involved, Eric works on sea-slugs
(whose brains are comparatively simple and contain relatively large,
easily-observed individual neural cells) was particularly important.

Parallels between computer and mind processes became visible as

computer technology developed in the 1950s and 1960s, leading to
advances in understanding the processes of memory encoding,
storage, and retrieval. However, the computer metaphor is basically
only a more sophisticated version of the previous memory
storehouse view, based on the rather simplistic and misleading
assumption that memory is just a simple copy of the original
experience.

In general, the brain and memory, in particular, have a distinct bias

towards negativity. It pays more attention to unpleasant experiences
and highlights them. Typically, the brain detects negative information
more quickly than positive information, and the hippocampus flags
negative events specifically to doubly ensure that such events are
stored in memory. Even when efforts are made to forget them,
negative experiences leave an indelible trace in the memory.

This is an evolutionary modification, given that it is good to err on the

side of caution and ignore a few good experiences than to overlook
an event that is negative and potentially dangerous.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the change in the overall study of
memory became known as the "cognitive revolution," leading to
several new theories about how to view memory and producing
influential books by George, Eugene, Karl Pribram, George, and
Ulric Neisser. George Miller produced his influential short-term
memory paper in 1956 and assessed that our short-term memory is
limited to what he named "the magical number seven, plus or minus
two."

Richard Atkinson and Shiffrin first defined their modal or multi-store

memory model in 1968, comprising of sensory memory, a long-term
memory, and a short term, which for many years became the most
popular model for memory study. Fergus and Robert offered an
alternative model, known as the levels-of-processing model, in 1972.
Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch suggested their working memory
model in 1974, which as a method of encoding, consists of the
central executive, visuospatial sketchpad, and phonological loop.

The early work of Elizabeth, who carried out her pioneering studies
on the influence of disinformation, memory biases, and the essence
of false memories, was also seen in the 1970s. Endel Tulving's
groundbreaking study on human memory from the 1970s onwards
has also been highly influential. In 1972, he was the first to suggest
two distinct forms of long-term memory, episodic and semantic, and
he also devised the theory of encoding precision in 1983.

Several formal memory models were developed during the 1980s

and 1990s that can be run as computer simulations, including the
Quest of Associative Memory (SAM) model proposed by Jerome
Raaijmaker and Richard Shiffrin in 1981, the James McClelland,
David Rumelhart, and Geoffrey Hinton's Parallel Distributed
Processing (PDP) model in 1986, and various versions of Thoug's
Adaptive Control.

The study of human memory is now considered part of the cognitive

psychology and neuroscience fields, and the interdisciplinary
connection between the two is known as cognitive neuroscience.
 1.3 Types of Memory
In day-to-day use, what we usually think of as "memory" is actually
long-term memory, but there are also significant short-term and
sensory memory processes that need to be worked through before a
long-term memory can be created. Each of the different types of
memory has its own specific mode of operation, but they all work
together in the memorization process and can be seen as three
necessary steps in the formation of a lasting memory.

This memory model is known as the modal or multi-store or

Atkinson- model, after Richard and Shiffrin, who developed it in
1968, as a sequence of three stages, from short-term to long-term
memory, rather than as a unitary process, and it remains the most
popular model for memory study. It is also often known as the
memory process.

It should be perceived that Fergus and Robert Lockhart proposed an

alternative model, known as the level-of-processing model, in 1972,
suggesting that memory recall and the limit to which something is
memorized is a function of the depth of mind processing, on a
consecutive scale from shallow (perceptual) to deep (semantic).
There is no real structure for memory under this model and no
distinction between short-term and long-term memory.

Sensory memory

The shortest-term portion of memory is sensory memory. After the

original stimuli are ended, it is the capacity to retain impressions of
sensory information. It acts as a buffer for stimuli obtained through
the five senses of vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch that are
accurately, but very briefly, retained. For instance, with just a second
of observation, the ability to look at something and remember what it
looked like is an example of sensory memory.

Studies have shown that during the encoding phase, attention

significantly affects memory, but hardly at all during recall. Thus,
during initial learning, distractions or divided attention can severely
impair subsequent recovery success, while distractions at the time of
retrieval may slow down the process a little but have little or no
impact on its accuracy.

The stimuli that our senses detect can either be intentionally ignored,
in which case they almost instantly disappear, or perceived, in which
case they enter our sensory memory. This requires no conscious
attention and is, in fact, generally considered to be completely
outside of conscious control. The brain is intended to store only
information that will be useful at a later date and to allow the rest to
slip by unnoticed. When information is interpreted, it is also stored
spontaneously and unbidden in sensory memory. Sensory memory
cannot be prolonged via rehearsal, unlike other types of memory.

Sensory memory is an ultra-short-term memory and degrades or

decays very rapidly, usually after an item's perception in the range of
200-500 milliseconds (1/5-1/2 second) and certainly less than a
second (although echoic memory is now considered to last a little
longer, maybe up to three or four seconds). Indeed, it lasts for such a
short period of time that it is often considered part of the perception
process, but it still represents an essential step for short-term
memory storage of information.

For visual stimuli, the sensory memory is sometimes referred to as

the iconic memory, the memory for aural stimuli is referred to as the
echoic memory, and that for touch as the haptic memory. In fact, the
smell can be even more closely connected to memory than the other
senses, possibly due to the olfactory bulb and olfactory cortex where
smell sensations are processed are physically close to the
hippocampus and amygdala (which are involved in memory
processes), separated by just 2 or 3 synapses. Thus, smells can be
associated with memories and their associated emotions more
quickly and more strongly than other senses, and smell memories
can persist for longer, even without constant re-consolidation.

George Sperling's early 1960s experiments involving the flashing of

a letter grid for a very short period of time (50 milliseconds) indicate
that the upper limit of sensory memory as different from short-term
memory) is almost 12 items, although individuals often reported that
they seemed to 'see' more than they could actually report.

Through the process of attention (the cognitive process of selectively

concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other
things), information is passed from the sensory memory into short-
term memory, which effectively filter's the stimuli to only those who
are of interest at any given time.

Short term working memory

For temporary recollection of the data that is being processed at any

point in time, short-term memory serves as a kind of "scratch-pad"
and has been referred to as "the Post-it note of the brain." It can be
taken as the capacity to simultaneously recall and process
knowledge. For a brief period of time (typically 10 to 15 seconds, or
occasionally up to a minute), it keeps a limited amount of knowledge
(typically about seven things or sometimes less) in mind in an active,
readily accessible state.

A 2010 research from the University of Stirling indicated a potential

link between weak short-term or working memory and depression. In
the study, the 10 to 15% with the worst working memory appeared to
think things over and brood too much, resulting in a risk of
depression. On the other hand, people with a strong working
memory are more likely to be self-assured and confident and more
likely to lead a happy and healthy life.

For instance, the beginning of the sentence must be taken into

account in order to comprehend this sentence, while the rest is read,
a task performed by the short-term memory. The temporary keeping
on to a piece of knowledge to complete a task (e.g. "carrying over" a
number in a subtraction total, or recalling a convincing statement
before another person finishes speaking) and simultaneous
translation (where the translator must store knowledge in one
language while verbally translating it into another) are two typical
examples of short-term memory in action. However, what is currently
kept in short-term memory is not full concepts but rather connections
or pointers that the brain can flesh out of its other acquired
information (such as terms, for example).

However, unless we make a deliberate effort to maintain it, this

knowledge will easily fade forever, and short-term memory is a
critical step toward the next level of preservation, long-term memory.
It is possible to promote or enhance the transfer of information to
long-term memory for more permanent storage by the mental
repetition of the information or, even more efficiently, by giving it
significance and associating it with other knowledge acquired
previously. Motivation is also a factor in that information is more
likely to be stored in long-term memory concerning a topic of strong
interest to an individual.

New research at the University of Michigan indicates that the

surroundings and environment of an individual directly influence
attention and short-term memory processing. On their attention and
working memory results, two groups of individuals were tested, one
group after a relaxing walk in a quiet park and the other group after
navigating busy city streets.

Those who walked the streets of the town scored much lower on the
exams. The term working memory is also used conversely with
short-term memory while working memory refers more technically to
the entire theoretical system of systems and processes used for
temporary information storage and manipulation, of which only one
portion is short-term memory.
In short-term and working memory, the central executive portion of
the prefrontal cortex at the front of the brain tends to play a
fundamental role. Both act as a temporary short-term memory store,
where information is kept accessible while current reasoning
processes need it, but it often "calls up" information from elsewhere
in the brain. Two neural loops are regulated by the central executive,
one for visual data (which stimulates regions near the brain's visual
cortex and functions as a visual scratch-pad) and one for language
(the "phonological loop" that uses the region of Broca as a kind of
"inner voice" that repeats word sounds in order to hold them in
mind). These two scratch-pads retain data temporarily before the
next job deletes it.

The prefrontal cortex is not the only area of the mind involved; it may
also collaborate for short periods with other parts of the cortex from
which it collects data; it is the most significant, and Carlyle Jacobsen
stated that damage to the prefrontal cortex in primates triggered
short-term memory deficits as early as 1935.

There is a small ability in the short-term memory, which can be easily

explained by the simple expedient of attempting to recall a list of
random things (without encouraging repetition or reinforcement) and
seeing where mistakes start to creep in. George Miller's often cited
studies in 1956 indicate that the number of items that an average
person can keep in working memory (known as the memory span) is
between 5 and 9 (7 ± 2, defined by Miller as the "magical number"
and often referred to as Miller's Law).

However, although this may be roughly true for a college student

population, for example, memory span varies widely with populations
studied, and current estimates of the order of only 4 or 5 items are
usually lower. It seems that short-term working memory works
phonologically.

For example, while in short-term memory, English speakers can

normally retain seven digits, Chinese speakers can usually
remember ten digits. This is because all single syllables are Chinese
numerical words, whereas English is not.

The type or attributes of the information often influence the number

of objects in short-term memory that can be stored. For example, if
they are shorter or more widely used words, or if they are
phonologically identical in tone, or if they are taken from a particular
semantic category (such as sports, for example) rather than from
multiple categories, etc., more words can be recognized. There is
also some proof that if the words or digits are spoken aloud instead
of being read sub-vocally (in the head), short-term memory capability
and length are improved.

Compared to the immense ability of long-term memory, the

comparatively limited ability of short-term memory has been
associated by few with the evolutionary survival benefits of paying
attention to a relatively small number of essential items (e.g., the
approach of a dangerous predator, the location of a nearby safe
haven, etc.) and not to a multitude of other peripheral information
that would only be in a plurality of other peripheral information.

The short-term memory is normally thought to naturally degrade over

time, generally in the region of 10-15 seconds; however, depending
on the material, objects may be retained for up to a minute. It may,
however, be extended by repetition or rehearsal (either by reading
things loud or by mental stimulation) so that the data re-enters the
short-term store and is retained for further time. When multiple items
(such as digits, words, or pictures) are kept concurrently in short-
term memory, they compete effectively for recall with each other.

Therefore, new content eventually drives out older content (known

as displacement) unless the older content is actively shielded from
rehearsal intervention or by directing attention to it. Every external
intervention appears to cause short-term memory retention
disruptions, and for this reason, individuals frequently have a distinct
desire to complete the short-term memory tasks as quickly as
possible.
Short-term memory forgetting requires a separate process than long-
term memory forgetting. If something is lost in the short-term
memory, it means that a nerve impulse has merely ceased to be
transmitted via a specific neural network. In general, it ceases
flowing through a network after only a few seconds unless an
impulse is reactivated.

Usually, data is transferred within only a few seconds from the short-
term or working memory to the long-term memory, although the
precise processes by which this transition takes place and whether
all or only those memories are permanently stored remain
controversial among experts. In particular, Richard Schiffrin is well
known for his work in the 1960s, suggesting that after a short period
(known as the modal or multi-store or Atkinson-Schiffrin model), ALL
memories instantly move from a short-term store to a long-term
store.

This is contested, however, and it now becomes more probable that

there will be some sort of vetting or editing process. Some
researchers (e.g., Eugen Tarnow) have indicated that there is no
particular difference at all between short-term and long-term
memory, and a simple division between them is definitely difficult to
demarcate. However, data from patients with some forms of
anterograde amnesia and diversion experiments influence the short-
term memory of lists suggests that there are probably two
mechanisms that are more or less distinct.

Long term memory

The storage of knowledge for a long time is long-term memory. The

final stage in processing memory is long-term memory. Long-term
memory information lasts longer than short-term memory data. With
time, long-term memory decays very little and is easy to recall.

Our conscious brain may not be aware of the long-term memory

information that is stored. But with ease and accuracy, this
information can be recalled. The recollection of an important event in
the distant past or bicycle riding skills that someone learned in
childhood are examples of long-term memory.

Some things simply become part of long-term memory, while others

may require long-term storage of ongoing practice. It also varies
from individual to individual. With little or no difficulty, some people
can remember complex things while others may struggle to
remember easier and daily life information.

In contrast to short-term memory, long-term memory is normally

defined. Short-term memories last for only about 18-30 seconds,
whereas long-term memories can last for months, years, or even
decades. In contrast to short-term and working memory, the capacity
for long-term memory is unlimited. Many studies have shown that in
different parts of the brain, different types of long-term memories are
stored.

There are several forms of long-term memory. Both forms will be

addressed one by one.

Explicit memory

Usually, explicit memory refers to all the memories and information

that can be consciously evoked. In the hippocampus, the encoding
of explicit memories is done, but somewhere in the temporal lobe of
the brain, they are stored. In this type of memory, the medial
temporal lobe is also involved, and damage to MTL is linked to poor
explicit memory. Declarative memory is the other name used for
explicit memory. Episodic and semantic memory are divided into two
types: explicit or declarative memory.

Episodic memory

Episodic memory stores data on events that occur in the life of a

person; this applies to know the time and location, and details of
events. The memory of your first day of marriage, or the memory of a
tour to another country and all the events that occurred there, would
be some examples of episodic memory.

Semantic memory

The responsibility for the storage of factual information, such as the

meaning of words or general knowledge of things, is semantic
memory. An example of semantic memory would know that Jupiter is
the biggest planet in the solar system. Semantic memory includes
conscious thought. Very small differences have been seen in the
encoding of semantic information in adults and younger people.

Implicit memory

Implicit memory is the opposite of explicit memory. It shows the

movement of the body in using objects. An example of implicit
memory is how to ride a bicycle. Several brain parts, which include
the basal ganglia, parietal and occipital regions, are included in
implicit memory. This form of memory is highly independent of the
hippocampus. Riding, Writing, driving, and swimming are all
examples of implicit memory since they are non-declarative.

Procedural memory

This is the memory of motor skills, and it is responsible for learning

how to do things. This memory is automatic; it works at an
unconscious level. Procedural memories are non-declarative and
recalled automatically for in processes that involve motor skills. For
example, riding a cycle is a type of this type of memory.

Associative memory

Associative memory usually indicates the storage and retrieval of

specific data through association. The addition of this type of
memory is carried out with two types of conditioning. One is operant
conditioning, and the other is classical conditioning.
Classical conditioning manages the learning process in which
behavior and stimuli are associated.

Operant conditioning , on the other side, is a learning process in

which new behaviors develop according to the consequences.
 Non-associative

Non-associative memory means the learning of new behaviors,

mainly through repeated exposure to the same type of stimuli. The
new behavior is classified into sensitization and habituation.
Habituation is the decrease in response to some stimuli, while
sensitization is an increased response to repeated stimuli.

Priming

Due to exposure to only certain stimuli affects the response of an

individual to stimuli that are presented afterward. This effect of last
memory on new information is what we named priming.

It is thought that long-term memory is different from short-term

memories in the aspect of their long time. But the difference between
these two types relies upon their definition. Describing both types of
memories in clear terms in the basic step of differentiating between
them.

These memories differ in the basic two fundamental areas. The first
is the time, and the second being chunk capacity limits. There is a
big difference between the timing of these types of memories. Long-
term memory has a time period of months and years, while short-
term memories are thought to stay only a few seconds. There is a
gap inability as well. Short-term memory stores only a small bit of
data. On the other hand, long-term memory ability is believed to be
infinite.

The process of establishing long-term memory physiologically differs

from that of short-term memory. It entails a change in the
arrangement of the neurons, i.e., long-term potentiation. New neural
networks are created and reinforced. The neurons interact by
synapses with each other. The release of neurotransmitters in
synaptic clefts facilitates cell-to-cell contact. During the formation of
short-term memories, this whole process does not take place. Unlike
short-term memory, long-term memory is forgotten only when a new
neural network is superimposed over the older network.

Through consolidation, a process involving preparation and

association of memory, short-term memories can be transformed into
long-term memories. Short-term memory, whereas long-term
memories are semantically encoded, depends on the visual and
acoustic encoding.
 1.4 Memory Formation Process
With activity, the brain simmers. Different neuron groups (nerve
cells), responsible for different perceptions or thoughts, drift in and
out of action. Memory is the reactivation of a particular group of
neurons formed by constant changes in the strength of neuron-to-
neuron connections. But what allows the reactivation of a specific
combination of neurons over any other combination of neurons?

Synaptic plasticity is the answer. This term describes the persistent

changes between brain cells in the strength of connections-called
synapses. Depending on how and often they have been activated
previously, these connections can be made stronger or weaker.
Active links tend to get stronger, while those that are not used get
weaker and can disappear entirely eventually.

When neuron A constantly activates neuron B, a connection

between two neurons becomes stronger, making it fire an action
potential, and the link becomes weaker if neuron A continually fails
to make neuron B fire a spike. Long-term potentiation (LTP) and
long-term depression (LTD) are called lasting rises and decreases in
synaptic strength.

For memory formation, changing the strength of existing synapses,

or even adding new ones or removing old ones, is critical. But there
is also proof that another type of plasticity might be important for
memory formation, not directly involving synapses. Brand new
neurons can be created in some parts of the adult brain, such as the
significant memory structure known as the hippocampus, in a
process called neurogenesis. Studies in older mice have shown that
memory can be improved through increasing neurogenesis in the
hippocampus. Exercise has been shown in humans to increase the
volume of the hippocampus, suggesting that new neurons are being
created, and at the same time to improve memory task performance.

For different memories, various 'neuron ensembles. As a five-year-

old, you might have imagined a drawing of a house if you were given
the word' house.' As an adult, you can well imagine your own house
when you hear the same word, a different answer to the same input.

This is because the interactions between neurons have altered the

perception and memories, making the old 'home' ensemble less
likely to occur than the current 'house' ensemble.

Recalling a memory, in other words, means re-activating a certain

group of neurons. The premise is that synaptic plasticity makes this
possible by previously changing the strengths of individual synaptic
connections.

By modifying the ties between neurons, memories are retained. A

certain group of neurons (Ensemble A) will be stimulated by a five-
year-old boy, while adults will activate another ensemble (Ensemble
A') with the same stimulus. The connecting strengths between
neurons can be changed by synaptic plasticity driven by repeated
experience. This is because the neuronal responses to the same
input can be different.

For memory storage, sleep is another essential aspect. The

hippocampus and neocortex engage in a carefully choreographed
conversation during sleep in which the hippocampus replays recent
events: during slow-wave sleep, the same hippocampal neurons
active during an encounter are triggered again, over and over again
in a time-compressed way, helping to update the neocortex as to
what needs to be processed. This replay happens only during sleep,
so you're not letting your brain consolidate memories if you're
skimping on sleep.
 Chapter 2: How to improve your concentration

H
ow many times have you to concentrate on a task, only to
observe that your mind is wandering? You just can't
concentrate, despite your best intentions. We've all been in this
stressful, familiar situation, and it's something that can actually
weaken our results.

Environment : In your ability to focus, your personal work

environment plays a large role. The more your environment is
comfortable and welcoming, the easier it will likely be for you to stay
there and concentrate.

Be comfortable – Start by assuring that your chair and desk are at

the accurate height for you to work comfortably. You will feel
uncomfortable if your chair is too high or your desk is too low, and
you will be tempted to use this as an excuse for getting up and
walking away.

View a natural scene or observing wildlife can help enhance

concentration by putting up images. In your work area or office, if
you can put up photographs, then select landscapes or natural
photos you want. This can help your concentration, particularly if you
can see the images from your desk.

Sealed out distractions: As much as possible, -listening to music

can help, particularly if it's instrumental music. Some people also use
"white noise" apps – these create a constant, no distracting sound
like ocean waves or falling rain. Other sounds will block out this
constant background noise, helping you concentrate more and
disregard distractions.

Drink water : When we work, many of us don't think about drinking

water, but dehydration can make us feel tired, irritable, sluggish, or
even sick. When our brains do not have sufficient fluid, it can't
operate at peak performance. An effortless way to help improve your
concentration during the day is to stay hydrated.

Begin your day with a good breakfast by eating breakfast. When you
are hungry, it is much harder to focus, so eat a well-rounded meal
before going to work. By keeping healthy snacks at your workplace,
you can also support your concentration during the day. Good
options include nuts, whole-grain crackers, fresh fruit, and
vegetables.

Get up and drive : During the day, do you walk about? You probably
don't jump around often if you're like many people. Research has
shown that during the day, regular walking can help increase your
focus.

Mindset: Constant interruptions and low productivity are linked.

These distractions have become so extremely common in today's
offices that doctors have even given it a name: Attention Deficit Trait,
or ADT. And, they admit that the entire company can suffer from it.
 2.1 Why Focus is Important
We live in a fast-paced world where you can easily get distracted
every day by a lot of stuff. You can try everything, but it is quite
impossible to succeed if you lack concentration in your life. Let me
explain and help you understand why concentration is important in
your life. Focus can change everything, truly.

Energy flows where the attention goes, as it is said. It expands when

you concentrate on something. It is important to know why focus is
so critical, so you can use it to your advantage.

Here are the explanations of why concentration in your life is

important.

1. It helps you change your life.

Focus can dramatically change your life. When you concentrate on

your life to make it better, eventually it will start to get better. As it is
said, "The hidden truth of change is to concentrate all of your energy
on building the new, not fighting the old."

When you decide to modify it, life changes; to start working on

change, you need to. The more you reflect on it, the easier your life
is going to be.

2. It provides you more prospects.

The focus will help you find a path you don't even know exists. With
our challenges in life, we become so blind that we fail to reflect on
possibilities.
When you concentrate on problems, you'll have more problems.
You'll have more opportunities when you focus on possible options.
So, in your life, you need to start searching for possibilities, and you
will open new doors to new opportunities. Don't listen to people
elsewhere. To embrace the opportunity around you, just remember
that attention is essential in life.

3. Your knowledge is expanded by focus.

The focus will help you expand your awareness and intellect. Your
knowledge will eventually expand when you start to focus on
learning. Focus on day-to-day learning new things. In your life, make
learning a priority. There will be distractions around you, however,
but you need to concentrate anyway. Your life will grow naturally as
you concentrate on expanding your knowledge.

4. It allows you at work to become more efficient.

Distraction is always going to knock your doors down. It is your

decision what you choose between concentrations vs. diversion. The
focus will allow you to become more efficient at your job.

As a primary goal, it will allow you to put your focus on a specific

mission. Everything that is a secondary focus on being productive,
but the majority of individuals never focus on being efficient. They
concentrate on being busy instead. In order to become highly
productive at work and effectively get the job done, the focus is
important in your life.

5. It helps you accomplish your objectives.

The level of accomplishments you gain in life will be determined by

your focus. You will get your goals if you put your focus on
accomplishing something in life. Otherwise, you would end up
wasting your time and resources on pointless stuff.

Life is like a camera; focus on what is necessary and catch it. If you
want to achieve your goals, concentrate on your goals, and continue
working until you achieve them.

6. Focus allows you to become effective quicker.

Nobody can stop you from achieving success when you are focused.
Successful individuals concentrate on their mission. Every single
day, they work on their objectives. This helps them achieve success
more quickly than anyone else.

Most individuals, however, try something but never stay consistent. It

becomes their roadblock. To achieve success, you wish
concentration is important in your life. Successful individuals never
allow disruptions to get in their way.

Losing your focus may mean that you get frustrated and impatient
with yourself.
Anxiety starts to mount on the list of things being done, and the next
step to success on the ladder can feel like an impossible task. So
how can this change you?

A lack of focus impacts both your home and work life. As a

consequence, all your relationships can start to suffer when you're
more irritable and anxious in a similar way that if you drop focus on
how you're relationships going, this can cause friction and affect your
mood. For you to achieve your full capability, this vicious cycle must
be broken.

Focus includes giving priority to what's important in your life. If you

know where your primary problems lie, channel your focus to the
problem region. For example, if your home life is troublesome, it may
be best to transfer your efforts on returning your family life to its
usual harmony before taking on a new project at work. It's exciting
when we start a project, but the glow wears off after a while.

Many individuals, for example, are passionate about their new work
and perform tasks with enthusiasm and energy. They can make
sacrifices to improve their careers as a result of this buzz, such as
working long hours or neglecting their personal lives.

When things settle down, the job is no longer as pleasant or

motivating. We are tired of losing sleep, not exercising, or eating a
balanced diet, and the cost of the initial increased effort has hit. Our
home life has become a little trickier, in addition to this. This
frequently causes our focus to start to waver. The predominant
reason why many companies fail a short time after opening is
burnout.

It causes us to lose sight of our original objectives by dispersing our

resources and focus on so many activities. Since we're not sure
what they are, we're struggling to grasp how we plan to accomplish
them. This is a significant contributor to failure.

Self-control and focus

Focus is, of course, closely linked to self-control, which is why you

frequently read papers that simultaneously mention each of these
principles. The term "self-control" is typically one of the reasons
people can't concentrate when you think of the challenges to the
process of concentrating on something. Lack of self-control
contributes to a lack of concentration, as the two have more in
common than you realize.

People often cannot concentrate because other things distract them,

which is why clearing your mind of unimportant things is such a good
idea when you try to concentrate. Believe it or not, you will learn to
block out noise and manage a wandering mind. It just takes practice
because if they try, anybody can do it.

Other things that help you concentrating are knowing when to focus
on the problem at hand and when to focus on the larger picture.
Even when you get interrupted, try to keep up a line of thought.
Without having to ask for more directions, aim to follow through on a
work. Keep up with a chat, follow all the instructions spoken. The key
to mastering the art of concentration is things like these.

Here are some tips to strengthen your concentration and self-

control:

Planning the timetable in advance

Try not to multitask if you don't have to
Declutter your desk as well as your mind,
If you need, take breaks.
Forgive yourself, and if you screw up, carry ahead.
When you do well, reward yourself.
Manage your time as well as your energy

Whether you're a businessman, a full-time mom, or a student, if

you're going to get stuff done, you need focus and self-control.
Fortunately, with a little preparation and concentration, everyone can
do this. You have it in you to do this; all you have to do is see inside
of yourself and make a decision; this is how you wish to live.

No discussion of emphasis can be full without explaining what it

means to use the word "emphasis." Simply put, the focus is on
having specific objectives and priorities and dedicating your job or
personal life to reaching those goals and objectives. At all times, you
have to make the right decisions, and each decision you make
needs to be in relation to your priorities and goals.

These days, life is noisy, hectic, and busy, which is why so many
people are now having difficulty concentrating. Ask yourself why
concentration is necessary, then consider ways in which your
concentration can be enhanced. To this all-important question, here
are a few other answers:

When you focus on a certain task, the brain helps you to

concentrate on it alone.
 Better concentration means improved productivity and less
stress.
The right way to focus means that your subconscious will
do the hard work for you
Focusing lets you get jobs done more easily and with fewer
errors.
When you are more concentrated, you can think a lot
better.

You don't need to let a busy lifestyle deter you from concentrating on
what you have to do. If you're a teacher, a writer, or a retailer, if you
hope to achieve something, the focus is important in your life. It
simply doesn't make sense to be unfocused because everybody is
happier, more productive, and enjoys greater well-being once they
learn how to focus correctly.
 2.2 Steps to Improve Your Focus
Now that we have known some most popular reasons for poor
concentration, let's look at some specific changes which you can
make to enhance your ability to remain sharp and concentrated.

1. Get sleep enough.

The single essential step for improving your ability to focus can be to
ensure that you get enough (as well as restful) sleep. 7-9 hours a
night are recommended by the National Sleep Foundation; however,
let yourself be the best judge to decide what sleep is enough for you
to feel rested. But notice, the next day, even an hour less than the
right amount can drain you and your brain energy.

2. Food for fuel.

Skipping breakfast and/or regular meals hurts energy and focus

performance, as per the American Dietetic Association. An incredibly
simple way to improve concentration (and boost your metabolism,
too) is to jump-start each day with a healthy breakfast (think protein
and whole grains, unprocessed white flour, and high fructose corn
syrup) and then refuel regularly every 3-4 hours. A study from USC
also demonstrates that certain vitamins, including iron, magnesium,
and zinc, may be linked to improved cognitive and ability to
concentrate skills. Thus, consider adding a multivitamin to your daily
routine if your eating habits are not sufficiently varied and/or
optimally healthy. More recent research also points to the vast
advantages of Omega 3, so definitely add this to your diet as well
(fish, flax seeds, or a supplement can come from Omega 3).

3. The workout.
Research has confirmed that physical activity can dramatically
improve focus, mental alertness, and memory so that a fitness
routine can be maintained or started. Even thirty minutes of regular
exercise helps, so don't quit exercising just because you don't have
hours to spend at the gym. Also, consider breaking your activity into
various smaller exercise rounds throughout the day if you don't have
large chunks of time (e.g., walk or cycle to work, go for a walk in your
lunch break or after dinner, etc.) as it's the important cumulative
effect of exercise.

4. Reduce the outside distractions.

Reduce, minimize, or prevent distractions as much as possible within

your daily life. Try turning your cell phone off or getting shut your
office door, for example, so you can work for a chuck of time
undisturbed. During pre-determined periods, try keeping your
internet browser closed and only checking your email at pre-
determined intervals. If you work hard for 46-50 minutes with 15-
minute breaks, you are more likely to get more stuff done than if you
are available all the time via phone, text, and email. This can be a
tough habit to break in these days of usually browsing email,
Facebook, and Reddit, so start by pacing yourself and "allowing"
yourself to only look at those sites during your specified 10-15
minute break.

Remember also that sometimes external distractions are quite subtle

but may still have a strong impact on your cognitive endurance.
These may take the form of sounds, bad smells, or even visual
signals. To avoid these distractors, rearrange your desk and use
white sound devices or earplugs if appropriate.

5. Maximize the peaks.

When they are at their peak, most individuals have a specific time of
day. Discover and use yours to your advantage. While most people
have daily rhythms (i.e., peaks during the day), some are more
active at night. By planning projects that require full attention and
intellectual capacity during personal peak periods and using your
less-than-optimal hours for more routine tasks, this improves
concentration.

6. Time-management strategies integrate.

Procrastination is one important thing to overcome. You significantly

cut down on time spent thinking, dreading, and/or avoiding it by
actually getting to work on a specific task. All this amounts to wasted
energy, which is spent better on the project itself. Think of it as the
more you procrastinate and the slower it goes, the more difficult it is
in the long run, peeling the Band-Aid off. Keep with you a small to-do
list (try the notebook function on your mobile device) to keep a list of
all the things you need to do so that you can stop thinking and
obsessing with them; this will also free up cognitive energy to
concentrate on the task at hand.

7. Intend to concentrate.

In a parking lot, do you ever lose your car or forget where you kept
your keys, wallet, or mobile phone? It is possible that this is NOT a
symptom of early Alzheimer's, but a red flag of loss of focus,
concentration, and attention instead. Remember, on autopilot, and
we have many cognitive functions (e.g., motor memory, breathing,
talking, walking, etc.), so for those who need attention and effort, we
can free up the same cognitive "space." You might be surprised at
how strong this approach can be, so try telling yourself to remember
and concentrate.

8. Practice 1-Minute" Selective Refocusing.

Concentrate on a particular sound (or visual signals) several times

daily for several seconds (e.g., a voice or the hum of the AC), then
switch to another sound intentionally (e.g., outside traffic). For a few
minutes, repeatedly switch every minute, consciously focusing on
the target sounds as you actively block others out. The more you use
it in a particular way, the stronger it becomes in that respect, the
more your brain is like any other muscle in your body.

9. Mindfulness.

Train your brain to be aware of itself, including moments when it

wanders and loses concentration. Practice noticing these instances
and gently return to focusing on your intended goal (be it a meeting,
a task, even in a meditation exercise, your breath). Close your eyes,
inhale slowly and deeply when your mind takes detours, and tell
yourself, "Be here now." This simple practice, borrowed from Zen
Buddhism, can help you return to the moment.

10. Take a class-oriented towards concentration.

Among the disciplines where concentration is a built-in part of a

performance are yoga, mindfulness meditation, and other mind-body
classes. To improve concentration, apply the techniques you are
learning to other situations.
2.3 Stimulate Your Brain to be Smarter and
Faster
The brain is worth more than brute strength in today's world, and
even old tricks can help. We live in a digital world where individuals
are striving to get smarter, quicker, surrounded by smart devices and
connectivity. Plus, we don't just compete anymore with humans,
thank you Automation.

We have quick access to data of all sorts. The only way to stay
ahead and be good in life is to keep learning and keep getting
smarter.

To others, this comes naturally, and it does not take much time to
understand complex concepts. Just since you're not a "genius"
naturally doesn't mean that you can't grow your intellect through
effort and commitment.

Studies have shown that you can try making yourself smarter. High
intellect is nothing more than a great capacity to identify patterns and
solve problems, all of which can be educated. Similar to how you
practice your physical muscles, the brain needs to work out. To boost
your intellect, intense preparation, rest, and persistence will benefit
you.

You can be your own enemy sometimes, and that can be the
greatest challenge to conquer. If you assume that the potential of
your mind will not change and its ability and is stagnant, you will
never be able to develop. It is important to think that with time and
effort, you will improve, develop, and grow as this belief will
empower your mind. Here are six ways this can be done:
1. Keeping a smart company

You may have noticed that high intelligence individuals frequently

group together, and that's because they want to openly explore a
wide variety of topics without their companions' objections. Jim Rohn
said you're the average of five people with whom you associate
yourself. Think about the significance of that for your IQ? Being in
the environment of intelligent individuals will indirectly make you
want your own intellect to continue to grow.

You will notice that the more you concentrate on your mental
development, the more you attract the same type of individual. You
bring books everywhere with you, and that is becoming a subject of
discussion. You go to escape rooms where you see people
interested in improving their logical abilities using reasoning to solve
problems.
2. Read

This should not be shocking; however, many individuals

underestimate just how much reading can affect the mind and
strengthen it. Well-read individuals aren't just intelligent — they also
have a large pool of information and an ever-evolving mind.

Reading strengthens your vocabulary, enhances your ability to

communicate, and strengthens your analytical skills. Neither do you
need to stick to self-help books or dry, analytical tomes? Books such
as Oliver Twist, Lord of The Rings, and even Pride and Prejudice will
enrich your mind and teach life lessons.

3. Rest

Poor sleep, relaxation, and high levels of stress can reduce your
brain's capacity. The brain needs plenty of energy to work, so your
mind simply won't have the potential to learn and improve if you're
tired all the time.

4. Eat food for the brain

Yeah, there's something like that. Food is like a fuel of your body, but
what kind of fuel you use does matter. To boost your brain, high-
nutrition foods work well. Walnuts, like fish, are a great source of
brain food; tuna, mackerel, salmon contain rich, fatty acids that have
been shown to assist the functioning of neurons. Harvard did an
amazing study titled,' Nutritional Psychiatry: Your Brain on Food,' on
this exact subject. And make sure that you have a steady Omega 3
intake. Your mind would be grateful for it.

5. Keep a diary

What do they have in common with Einstein, Isaac Newton, and

Thomas Jefferson? They were all diary keepers. An extension of
your mind is generated by taking notes or just writing down items or
ideas. Your thoughts will be recorded, and you will be able to think
more extensively and enhance your way of thinking through the habit
of writing them down.

Intelligence is not just straightforward biology. You will train the brain
and make it function at a more successful level. Be careful, stick to
routines that improve intelligence, and your mind will obey the
instructions.
 2.4 Meditation for Concentration
The two royal roads to perfection are meditation and concentration.
Meditation will only be led by true concentration. If you have a steady
mind, you can see that you are steady and healthy in all other areas
of your life. Your breathing, counting digits in your mind, or your
heartbeat can be focused on internal elements.

Alternatively, you should focus on external aspects, such as the

flame of a candle, any point on the wall, or the needle of a clock. You
would first need some training to be able to focus effectively. Do not
panic each time you find your mind drifts. Only clear these
distractions in your mind and start the process again.

Meditation is a popular relaxation and stress relief technique that can

significantly raise your ability to focus and concentrate significantly.
Focus is the capacity, at the cost of all others, to pay attention to one
thing, which can be very tough in a society that stresses multitasking
and performance. Improving the ability to concentrate will encourage
innovation, cultivate problem-solving abilities, and reduce the tension
associated with performing more than one job at a time.

1. Listen to your breathing.

The point when you're meditating is to focus on one thing allow your
other thoughts to pass by. That can be upsetting for anyone who has
difficulty paying attention to just one thing (which includes most of
us). Simply listening to your breathing is a simple way to get started.
Sit down comfortably, so the physical pain doesn't distract you, then
close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Breathe in and out
from your nose, but try not to control the rate or depth of your breath
elsewhere.
Let them disappear as you refocus on listening to your breath as
thoughts start to crowd in on your meditation. Feel like your throat
flows down it. Feel the belly rising. As long as you can, stay here.

Step 2: Do not move

Most individuals are confused. Sitting still a pretty foreign practice,

but instead of being dominated by your ease, it can help you
concentrate by placing you in control of your physical body. Sit as
quietly as you can, but don't think about your breath being listened
to. Close your eyes, and try to keep a single muscle from moving.
You'll find yourself bombarded with itches, your hair ticking your face,
and protesting joints. Do not resort to anything unless you are feeling
pain beyond normal discomfort. The focus needed to ignore your
body and sit perfectly still will calm your mind and improve your
ability over time to concentrate.

Stage 3: Use a mantra

Once you feel relaxed sitting still and can listen to your breathing
without trouble for long periods of time, try to incorporate a mantra. A
mantra is simply a syllable, word, or phrase repeated to help you
concentrate. Repeat your mantra over and over during your
meditation session.

A simple one is the syllable "ohm," which you say when each breath
is exhaled. Thoughts will attempt to rush back into your mind when
you inhale, and you will have to concentrate on keeping your mind
still as you go into the sound. This will improve the capacity to focus
on one item constantly, even with interruptions.
4. Concentration to a flame of the candle

Tratak helps you to focus on the flames of a candle. If performed in a

dark room, this exercise will be more successful so that you can
comfortably focus on the flame. This method of concentration
meditation helps to enhance memory and attention or focus.

The method of blocking your distracting thoughts is efficient. Close

your eyes after looking at the flame for some time and try to imagine
the flame's position in your mind.
 Chapter 3: Memory Mediation

S
urprisingly, there is a link between meditation and memory.
Research demonstrates that the physical structure of the brain
is altered by meditation in surprising, beneficial ways-including
enhancing concentration and memory. So what is the relation
between memory and meditation?

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston

demonstrated in one study that daily meditation causes the cerebral
cortex of the brain to thicken. According to the study, thickening
occurs because the size of blood vessels and blood flow in the area
is enhanced by meditation.

Higher mental functions such as learning, concentration, and

memory are responsible for the brain's outer cortex, so this is an
incredible discovery. The purpose and structure of the mind are
directly influenced by meditation, altering it in ways that seem to
increase attention span, sharpen concentration, and enhance
memory.

To change your brain by meditation, you do not need to be a monk

on a mountain top. Research has shown that mindfulness meditation
practiced in many Western countries is effective in causing the
cortex to thicken and improving focus. It is also known as the
meditation of "awareness" or "insight."
 3.1 Meditations for Memory
The benefits of meditation are far-reaching, and a number of
inherently beneficial effects that meditation can have on the nervous
system have already been reported by researchers. So, inevitably,
many of us wonder if one of those extreme advantages is better
memory. And that's the answer, YES! It has been verified by a
number of studies carried out by neuroscientists that there is a
strong correlation between meditation practice and improved
memory. While some of the better-known studies centered on
studying Tibetan monks' brain functions as they meditated, to
discover meditation, you don't have to be a monk or nun. Virtually
everyone can put mindfulness meditation methods into practice and
reap the benefits, including enhanced memory and ability to
concentrate, including teenagers, seniors, and anyone in between.

For memory meditation

One study performed by Boston researchers showed that regular

meditation appeared to improve the brain cortex of the brains of their
subjects. Mental functions such as comprehension, attention, and
memory are dealt with by the cortex. Regular meditation enhances
the flow of blood to the brain, contributing to a better network of
cerebral cortex blood vessels and strengthening memory ability. One
research conducted by a respected cognition journal revealed that
meditation improves memory and attention if meditating for 20
minutes a day.

Meditation training can improve different cognitive processes, such

as regulating emotions, executive control, and focus, particularly
sustained attention, according to a study cited in the Social Cognitive
and Affective Neuroscience Journal.
There are simple methods of meditation that seem to be associated
with enhanced memory, cognition, and discernment. For example:

Mindfulness meditation

Mindfulness is a method that helps us to become conscious of our

thoughts, sensations, and emotions in a profound, non-judgmental
way. Mindfulness allows one to concentrate on one single issue at a
time and cultivates a profound sense of gratitude for the present
moment. Research has shown that the density of the hippocampus,
a part of the brain related to memory and learning, is enhanced by
mindfulness. Among meditators who engaged in an 8-week
meditation regimen, it also enhanced self-awareness, self-
examination, and compassion.

Simply stated, mindfulness meditation changes the function of the

brain (even if practiced for a few minutes each day). Those parts that
are liable for helping us more vividly recall things concentrate better,
and enhance self-awareness are boosted. In the same way, areas
that are responsible for anxiety and stress are minimized. A very
persuasive article that appeared in The Harvard Gazette called
"Eight Weeks to a Healthier Brain" spells out some of the effects we
can expect from meditation.

Meditation on awareness

Teachers of meditation believe that it can be effective for all types of

meditation. When we sit down to meditate, a lot happens-we become
conscious of deep-seated thoughts, develop a refreshing
appreciation for the present moment, and also learn how to deal with
grief and loss better. Khenpo Dharma Mitra, a meditation scholar,
adds that focusing on our minds allows us to keep a positive life
outlook, allowing us to carry out our joy, love, and morality.

We may use this as a basis for another form of practice once we are
familiar with mindfulness: meditation of awareness. Meditation
instructor Bart Mendel proposes that mindfulness meditation brings
awareness a step further: our increased self-awareness is
harnessed so that we can understand more about how the mind
works, make better-informed decisions and react in a more reflective
way too difficult situations.

Will your memory be specifically enhanced by this? There have not

been any credible studies as far as we know that indicates one way
or the other. What we do know is that meditation on awareness gives
us resources that help us live a safe and positive life, which
inevitably decreases anxiety and stress. Enhanced cognitive
functions such as memory have clearly been correlated with lower
levels of stress and anxiety.

To improve memory, guided meditation.

If you find meditation difficult, don't know where to start, or want to

make sure that your practice is on track, good guided meditation will
help. A large range of useful resources is available in the meditation
courses.

Meditation practice, relying on simple, progressive, and genuine

methods of meditation from authentic guides, is important.
 3.2 Benefits of Memory Meditation
For a number of years now, meditation-and-the-brain research has
been slowly rolling in, with new studies coming out just about every
week to demonstrate some new meditation benefits. Or, rather, some
ancient advantage that is being confirmed with fMRI or EEG just
now. The practice appears to have an impressive range of
neurological advantages, from improvements in the amount of grey
matter to reduced activity in the brains' me' centers to increased
communication between brain regions. Below are a few of the most
promising conclusions to come out over the last few years and prove
that in our most critical organ, meditation actually creates observable
improvements. Of course, skeptics can question if the psychological
effects are not consistently illustrated, what good are a few brain
changes? Fortunately, with research indicating that meditation helps
to ease our subjective levels of anxiety and depression and boost
focus, concentration, and overall psychological well-being, there is
strong evidence for these as well.

Meditation helps to safeguard the aging brain.

A UCLA study showed that as they aged, long-term meditators had

better-preserved brains than non-meditators. While older meditators
also had some volume loss relative to younger meditators, it was not
as pronounced as the non-meditators. Individuals who had been
meditating for about twenty years had more grey matter volume in
the brain. "In some of the regions which had previously been
associated with meditation, we predicted very small and distinct
results," said study author Florian Kurth. "Instead, a pervasive
impact of meditation that encompassed regions across the entire
brain was what we actually observed."
 In the Brain's "Me Center," meditation decreases
activity.

One of the most important research performed at Yale University in

recent years has shown that meditation on mindfulness reduces
activity in the default mode network (DMN), the brain network
responsible for mind-wandering and self-referential thinking,
"monkey mind." The DMN is "on" or involved when we don't think
consciously about it when our minds are only wandering.

Its effects compete with antidepressants taken for

anxiety, depression,

A study at Johns Hopkins looked at the connection between

meditation on mindfulness and its ability to minimize depression,
anxiety, and acute pain. Researcher Goyal and his team found that
the meditation effect size was moderate at 0.3. If this sounds low,
remember that the antidepressant effect size is also 0.3, which
makes the meditation effect sound good.

In key areas of the brain, meditation can lead to

volume changes.

In 2011, Sara Lazar and her Harvard team discovered that

meditation on mindfulness could actually alter the brain structure:
Eight weeks of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) was
proven to increase cortical thickness in the hippocampus, which
regulates learning and memory, and in certain parts of the brain that
play involved in the process of regulation of emotions and self-
referential processing.

Only a few days of preparation improves concentration

and attention.

It also affects millions of adults with an ADD diagnosis or not. Oddly,

but not surprisingly, one of the key benefits of meditation is that it
enhances attention and concentration: One recent study showed that
only a few weeks of meditation training improved people concentrate
and memory during the verbal reasoning portion of the verbal
reasoning portion.

Meditation decreases anxiety — and social anxiety

Many people are beginning to meditate on their stress relief benefits,

and there is plenty of strong evidence to support this reasoning.
There is a whole new sub-genre of meditation, described earlier,
called Mindfulness-Based Stress Relief (MBSR), developed by Jon
Kabat-Zinn at the Mindfulness Center of the University of
Massachusetts (now available throughout the country), which aims
to reduce an individual.

Meditation helps in competing addictions .

Various researches have shown that meditation can be very effective

in helping individuals recover from different forms of addiction,
considering its effects on the brain's self-control regions. One
research, for example, pitted mindfulness training against the Free
from Smoking (FFS) program of the American Lung Association and
found that individuals who studied mindfulness were many times
more likely to avoid smoking at the end of the training and at 17
weeks of follow-up than those in traditional therapy. This could be
because meditation enables people to "disassociate" the state of
desire from the act of smoking, so that one does not always have to
contribute to the other, but rather you feel and ride the "wave" of
desire entirely before it passes. Other research has shown that in the
treatment of other types of addiction, mindfulness meditation,
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), and mindfulness-
based relapse prevention (MBRP) may be beneficial.

Small meditation breaks can benefit school children.

Meditation has as much or maybe even more potential for

developing brains than it has for adults. Educators and researchers
have become particularly involved in introducing meditation and
yoga to school children, who are coping with the normal stressors
within the school, and sometimes extra stress and trauma outside
school. Some schools also began to incorporate meditation in their
everyday schedules, and with good effect: in some of their high-risk
schools, one district in San Francisco begun a twice-daily meditation
program and saw a drop in suspensions and a rise in GPAs and
attendance. The cognitive and emotional benefits of meditation for
schoolchildren have been verified by research, but more work will
definitely need to be done before it achieves more widespread
acceptance.
 3.3 Role of Meditation in Memory
Retrieval
New research indicates that mindfulness can alter our brains and
facilitate our short-term memory. When things seem to vanish a lot,
you are of a certain age: keys, glasses, mobile phone, and your
favorite pullover. Somewhere, you put them down, and hours later,
you can't remember where they are.

Your memory is not at its best, particularly short-term or 'working'

memory. This is possibly due in part to what researchers call
"proactive intervention," where the ability to recall more recent
information from the memory banks is interfered with by past
memories.

For older people and persons suffering from mental illness, short-
term memory may be a specific problem. But new research has
found an easy way to theoretically decrease the effect of
constructive interference: training in mindfulness.

Either a four-week online course or a creative writing course is

assigned to participants randomly. The mindfulness community
spent two weeks learning to concentrate on their sensations of
breath or body and two weeks learning "open monitoring,"
understanding what was going on around them and gently
redirecting their focus as their minds drifted. In response to images
or text, the creative writing community wrote brief essays, practicing
two weeks of journalistic-style writing and 2 weeks of academic
writing.
Participants gave a memory test before and after the training: they
first saw a series of letters appear on a monitor and, after a few
seconds' break, they saw a single letter and had to choose whether
or not it had been part of that set. Seeing a letter in a previous set
will interfere with the ability to remember if the letter occurred more
recently, as the task is repeated several times, providing researchers
a way to quantify constructive intervention. In addition, pre and post-
training, some participants were scanned via MRI to look for
changes in the volume of their hippocampus, a memory-associated
region of the brain.

The results of the study showed that, relative to the writing group,
the mindfulness group had slightly less constructive intervention
during the memory test, implying an increase in short-term memory.

It's hard to do it when you want to learn something new when you
have all these past experiences that interfere, "says study lead
author Jonathan." "It makes sense that mindfulness can strengthen
that since a central definition of mindfulness is the tendency to
attend to the present moment."

The better persons performed on the memory task in the

mindfulness community, the more the volume of their hippocampus
increased, too. This was, according to Greenberg, especially
important. Although previous research has shown that meditation on
mindfulness enhances short-term memory and that meditators have
larger hippocampi, this is the first research to link the two results
together. The changes in interference were not transitory, in other
words, but contributed to real structural differences in the brain.

"In a lot of ways, we know that mindfulness is effective, but we don't

know anything about how it works," Greenberg says. "It's helpful to
see that brain changes align with real cognitive output changes, so
that the more your cognition increases, the more your hippocampus
alters."
In the mindfulness team, however, the hippocampus growth was
minimal, not enough to be substantially different from the creative
writing groups. Greenberg suggests this may be explained by how
brief the training was because, after eight weeks rather than four,
prior research recorded hippocampus development.

While this study involved healthy 18 to 50-year-olds, Greenberg

speculates that mindfulness could be effective in treating individuals
with memory disorders and smaller hippocampi at the same time,
such as older adults or individuals with depression, past childhood
trauma, or stress disorder. And, since short-term memory is also
essential for other cognitive functions, including executive
functioning and problem solving, he believes his research could help
explain why mindfulness is good for our cognitive health (according
to other research).

Greenberg says that sometimes we all forget things, where we left

items or why we went into a room, so minimizing intervention might
really be beneficial to everyone.

"A big part of our lives is proactive intervention and a key cause for
forgetting," he says. Some psychologists went as far as to say, hey,
we'd have infinite working memory power without constructive
intervention.

The findings definitely sound positive for someone who regularly

loses stuff and has a parent who died from the dementia-related
disease. You can save your precious time in the fruitless quest for
missing keys with a little meditation.
 3.4 Steps for Memory Meditation
It has been clinically established that meditation improves
concentration and memory. To improve your memory, you don't have
to use any single meditation. The use of some meditation, such as
meditation on mindfulness, helps you to concentrate your mind. You
are much more able to solidify ideas in your short-term memory as
you are able to concentrate more. Practicing meditation will also
assist you in improving your short-term memory.

Start Out

Get started today . You can be shocked to begin seeing the results,
and you don't need to practice meditation for that long. One scientific
study explored how meditation was responded to by a group of
students. The students dramatically improved their GRE scores (a
standardized test offered to students seeking to get into graduate
school) with just two weeks of meditation practice (10 minutes a day,
plus four 45-minute classes a week). With just two weeks of
meditation practice

In fact, some research indicates that your attention span and

memory can be improved by as little as four days of meditation.

Frequently practice : It is ideal for practicing every day. Doing so

would allow you to improve your memory by working. It can also be
helpful to spread it out during the day, such as meditating for fifteen
minutes in the morning, ten minutes at lunch, and 10 minutes at
night. But, if you find that you can't practice every day, do it as much
as you can.
Cultivate attentiveness : Mindfulness is part of meditation, but in
your day-to-day life, it is also something you can integrate.
Mindfulness only means paying attention, at its most simple. Place
yourself at the moment, in other words, rather than let your mind
race elsewhere.

Take a shower : When you are in the shower, for example, stop
yourself from worrying about the day ahead. Focus instead on what
the shower sounds like. Feel the heat on your skin from the shower,
how the soap feels on your body. Pay attention to your soap or
shampoo's good smell. Let yourself feel every sensation, truly.

Everywhere, you can practice this technique. When you're

washing dishes, for example, take a moment to really reflect on what
you are doing. Let yourself feel the warmness of water on your skin,
the plate's weight in your palms. Put your full concentration on
cleaning the plate, making sure it's spotless.

Work up your way : For an hour-long meditation every day, you

might want to jump in. However, since they haven't meditated before,
most individuals can't continue that kind of practice. It's better to start
small and to work for longer. You can get as little as three minutes a
day to start with. It is suggested about 10-20 minutes of meditation at
a time when you're just starting out."

Learning to use meditation for mindfulness

Choose a meditating spot . You can really meditate anywhere, but

it's nice to choose a place that's not distracting, particularly when you
start out first. Switch off the TV and go away from distractions. In the
corner of your building, you can also set up a little meditation center,
with a candle and something you want to concentrate on.

Just sit down properly : You can sit down on the floor or in a chair.
It is up to you. Make sure you are reasonably relaxed, though. For
example, you do not want a lot of pressure on one part of your body.
But not so much that it seems like a burden; try to sit up straight.
Just get settled : Spend a couple of minutes just getting yourself
into the right state of mind. Focus on, if that helps, the candle. You
don't have to be fully concentrated; just bring it back to the core, to
the moment, when you find your mind wandering.

Concentrate on breathing : Try paying attention to only your

breathing once you've positioned yourself. Concentrate on getting in
and out of it. You don't have to make a move. Rather, just keep your
mind on it, concentrate on breathing in and out all of yourself. Return
it to your breath while your mind wanders.

Continue to get yourself around : The longer you sit, the more
likely it is that your mind wanders. That's good; in fact, it's natural.
The main thing is to realize that you have drifted and switch back to
your focus. When your mind wanders, try naming it, such as saying
"thinking" in your brain and then refocusing on your breath.

Try breathing deeply : Trying deep breathing is one easy way to get
started with meditation. Start by putting your chest with a hand and
your stomach with a hand. You should find your stomach expanding
more than your chest when you are breathing, as you are trying to
breathe deeply as possible. Closing your eyes will help. Slowly,
breathe in through your nose. Keep your breath to the count of
seven, then let the count of eight (in your head) slowly fall out of your
mouth.

When you try this exercise, try taking five deep breaths
each time.
Make sure you blow it out absolutely.

Growing your skills in meditation

Consider a class to take, although classes are not for everyone, and
your meditation practice will begin with a class jump, making it easier
for you to make it a daily practice. Plus, a class will help you find out
a good starting point if you have no idea where to begin.
In your city, look for meditation centers. Some yoga studios also offer
courses in meditation. Buddhist temples or centers in your region are
also likely to give meditation lessons.

Through your library or your parks and recreation department, you

can also find meditation classes, and some churches offer
meditation classes, especially those that follow other practices, such
as the Unitarian Universalists.

Let distractions do not make you anxious. When they meditate,

everybody gets distracted. That may make you nervous or angry at
yourself when you start out for the first time. Instead of getting upset,
though, just try to be mindful of when your thoughts wander and
bring them back to meditation.

You realize that even a bit of meditation will help. That is, you might
think you have to meditate at a certain time every single day for it to
be beneficial. If you slip into that thought, though, you could find
yourself giving up because you are missing a few days. Bear in mind
that it can help boost your memory with even a little meditation. Try
to meditate when you can, then, even though you don't have time
every day to do it.

Try meditation with instructions. You can always profit from the
wisdom of others if you do not want to take a lesson. Try to do a
guided meditation. Many of them can be found online, or you can
download free software. The person will walk you through a
meditation phase on the other end, encouraging you to learn how to
do it.

Just change it up: Each time, you do not have to meditate the same
way. Some individuals, for example, find walking meditation
beneficial. Taking a ten-minute stroll, concentrating in turn on various
sensations. Start by feeling your body walking, reflecting on what the
motions feel like, really. Switch on to the breathing sensation.
Concentrate on what the air feels like on your skin after that, then try
to think about what you see and what you listen to.
Chapter 4: Exercise for Memory Improvement

E
xercise has long been concluded as a way to lose weight,
strengthen the coordination of muscles, and enhance general
well-being. Many individuals may not know, though, that
exercise is one of the best ways to enhance memory and focus. It
might be time to include some basic exercises in your everyday
routine if you are not getting as much exercise as you can. Doing so
will improve your ability far into the future to stay mentally sharp.
 4.1 Physical Exercise for Memory
Improvement
There have been several studies relating exercise to a healthy aging
process in general. Physical activity keeps the body working, and
disease rates among seniors have been known to decrease. A
recent placed a real number on the brain effects of exercise and how
it translates to increase and preservation of memory. University of
Illinois researchers performed a study with a group of people in their
60s. For a year, half of them were given an aerobic exercise regimen
that they consistently observed, while the other half had no regimen
or instructions to follow.

In the aerobic exercise community, participants increased the

average volume of the hippocampus in the left and right
hemispheres by 2.12% and 1.97%, respectively, an average of just
over 2%. The control group that engaged in non-aerobic stretching
exercises reported a 1.40 percent and 1.43 percent decrease over
the same one-year interval. The baseline fitness level within the
control group was a deciding factor in minimizing the total loss of
hippocampal volume.

A rise in hippocampal volume is directly associated with memory

improvements. The findings are quite remarkable. Exercise prevents
the shrinking of the hippocampus and can raise the volume as well.
Exercise can help with the memory process by maintaining the
memory space you have, and in many situations, it allows you more
space to work with. The proof does not lie. For your general health
and brain activity, exercise has many benefits, including:
 Alleviates body pain and inflammation and increases the
activity of the immune system
Reduces resistance to insulin, eventually helping to better
regulate blood sugar levels
Stimulates and regulates brain chemicals that influence cell
development
Promotes healthy body-wide cell growth
Promoting the building of new blood vessels in the brain,
helping more areas of the brain to access oxygen-rich
blood

There are also different ways that exercising in a more subtle

manner leads to the well-being of the brain. And, this could also
increase the quality of life.

The following effects of exercise on your body include:

Improves mood, making you feel more energetic and

happy during the day
Regulates stress that makes the body feel better but also
decreases the risk of inflammation
Improves sleep, which increases brain attention
Minimizes depression and anxiety
Enriches cognitive ability, making it possible to think and
respond more effectively

The process begins by making the decision to exercise on a regular

basis for many men and women. You don't have to work out a lot or
every day, just a few minutes per day, you should make sure that you
get some sort of physical activity.

Be consistent.

A good place to begin is with an appointment with a doctor. Ensure

that you are well enough to exercise and become conscious of any
weaknesses. Your doctor will be delighted to allow you to exercise,
but others do have warnings about the kinds of exercises you are
doing.

Before you get started, your health and any underlying diseases
need to be treated on an individual basis. From there, consider the
kinds of exercises that suit you best. For the non-exerciser, walking
is an ideal way to get started. Whenever possible, you'll want to build
up to around a 20 to 30 minute walk each day.

To bear in mind, there are a few things:

Whenever possible, walk outside the small hills and turns

help to increase the exercise intensity.

Try walking with a mate for the encouragement (and

companionship!) to go just a little further.

By adding small weights or by going longer distances, try

to increase the tolerance over time.

Choose a slow-moving treadmill at home if you are unable

to get outside. Make sure you know your limits again,

Swimming is one of the most reliable available fitness

choices for seniors with joint pain or reduced mobility.

Without the intensity of joint injury to your knees, swimming pushes

the body. And if you are significantly overweight, when you are in the
water, you will be able to do better than on dry land.

There are activities you can do where it is cool outdoors. They are
also low-intensity; to get the rewards, you don't have to play your
heart out on the field. Tennis, squash, and racquetball are all similar
in that they provide a little bit of friendly competition that is suitable
for certain individuals, not to mention the social aspects.

At your nearest recreational facility, check out the indoor leagues.

Senior wellness classes can be a good way of having both exercise
and socialization. Consider certain services that are tailored for the
intensity level you will enjoy right now. And, to keep you involved and
on track, be sure to do them with a friend.

Discover ways to exercise at home for seniors who might be

unable to get out as much.

Walk, inside or out, around the house.

Spend some time on an exercise bike (if you are unable to

use a conventional bike, you can buy hand pedal versions).
Your goal is simply to get involved and to remain active.

You begin to see the benefits to your body when you do,
and you will experience a noticeable change in your brain
function, memory, and attention levels over time.

You probably already know that to maintain muscle strength, keep

your heart strong, maintain healthy body weight, and stave off
chronic reduces such as diabetes, exercise is important. But
exercise can also help boost your ability to think. "Behind this, there
is a lot of research," says Dr. Scott McGinnis, a neurology teacher at
Harvard Medical School.

Exercise, directly and indirectly, improves your memory and

cognitive skills. By inducing physiological changes such as
decreases in insulin resistance and inflammation, it works directly on
the body, along with promoting the development of growth factors,
chemicals that influence the creation of new vessels in the brain, and
also the abundance, survival, and overall health of new brain cells.

It works directly on the brain itself as well. Many studies have

suggested that in people who exercise, the parts of the brain that
regulate perception and memory are greater in volume than in
people who do not. The finding that is participating in a daily exercise
program of moderate intensity for six months or a year is correlated
with an improvement in the volume of selected brain regions is even
more exciting," says Dr. McGinnis.
By enhancing mood and sleep, and by decreasing stress and
anxiety, exercise can also improve memory and thought indirectly.
Problems often cause or lead to cognitive disability in these areas.

In terms of brain health, is one workout better than another? The

response to this question is not known to us, since almost all of the
study so far has looked at walking. "But other types of aerobic
exercise that have the heart pumping are likely to reap similar
benefits," Dr. McGinnis says.

Research in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found

that tai chi has shown the ability of older adults to improve cognitive
performance, especially in the field of decision-making function,
which handles cognitive processes such as planning, working
memory, attention, problem-solving, and verbal reasoning. That may
be because tai chi, a martial art involving slow, concentrated
movements, needs new abilities and movement patterns to be
mastered and memorized.

Exercise be developed as a routine, much like taking a prescription

drug. And since several studies have shown that beginning to enjoy
the cognitive benefits of exercise takes about six months, be patient
while you look for the first results, and then to continue to exercise
for life.

Aim for a target of exercising 150 minutes per week at a moderate

pace, such as brisk walking. Begin with some minutes a day and
increase the sum every week by five or 10 minutes until your target
is achieved.

Exercise is not just beneficial for the body. It's good for the brain as
well. You can find that forgetfulness or lack of memory is becoming a
concern as you age. Certainly, you're not alone. This occurs because
the bonds between our brain cells, or neurons, are beginning to
break. Fortunately, there are ways of enhancing these ties and
developing your memory while you're at it.
The influence of your memory is determined in your brain by the
frequency of certain neural pathways. The older you become, the
worse you become with those links. This can cause problems like
forgetfulness and loss of memory. If you might think this is something
to worry about during later life, in your mid-twenties, those bonds
actually start to break. You can find yourself beginning to lose
episodes of memory.

An explanation of this? If you forget where you're putting the keys.

You have forgotten the act of throwing down your keys, not what the
keys are. You still have the knowledge in that situation-you've just
lost certain pieces of the memory. The old you get, the more likely
you are to lose episodes more often or begin to forget the data itself.

Be ready to improve your memory. You're going to need to work up a

sweat then. Science has shown that brain cells are malleable, which
means that neutrons can be formed, and strong connections can be
created at any age. So, if you are thirty or eighty, it is still possible to
boost your memory. The trick is to continue to exercise it. Much like
working your body with a muscle, your brain also needs to be
worked out. How will this be done? With workouts. They will help
reinforce ties while strengthening the short-term and long-term
memory.

The more you use your brain, the easier it is to remember details.
That is why so many physicians and scientists recommend doing
psychological exercises. Try doing a regular crossword, reading the
morning paper, doing a brainteaser, learning a new language, or
playing a musical instrument to tackle age-induced memory loss. All
this stuff will make an immense difference to your brain. In fact, it has
been found that it can add four years to your overall brain health by
simply learning more than one language. The more, the more you
know! For senior citizens, it is no wonder "brain gyms" are popping
up. To help improve memory, these facilities provide mental drills and
other brain games.
Your brain isn't the only one that needs a good workout. Breaking a
sweat has also been related to better memory in the old fashioned
way. Studies have shown that consistently exercising will add up to
five years to your memory. This means five years of additional
freedom. How is this happening? All have to do with elevated blood
flow to the brain. The links between certain brain pathways can be
enhanced by this. Try weight lifting or going for a fast walk to reap
the benefits of working out.

It's time for your memory to improve. You are able to do exactly that
by incorporating mental and physical activity. Not only does it keep
your body safe, but it also keeps your brain strong and your mind
sharp, too. Embed fitness into your life for a seriously fit brain.
Before you note a transition, it won't belong.

In the battle against memory loss and dementia, new research

published in the journal Applied Physiology, Diet, and Metabolism
has some very exciting results. If you have witnessed it with
someone you care for, probably don't need to remind you how
devastating dementia can; count yourself lucky if you haven't.

Around 50 million people worldwide have dementia, the World

Health Organization (WHO) reports. Almost 60 percent live in
countries with low and medium incomes. There are about 10 million
new cases each year. And the overall number of people with
dementia is expected to exceed 82 million by 2030 and 152 million
by 2050, to make matters worse.

Actually, there is no dementia medication or cure or even a way to

change its development. That makes preventive therapies even
more exciting, such as the study. Fortunately, several new therapies,
which are in different phases of clinical trials, are being studied. So
not all of it is doom and gloom.

There are many things that can be done to help and enhance
the lives of people with dementia, while there is no cure,
including (from the WHO):
 Early diagnosis in order to foster early and optimal
leadership
Physical health, cognition, exercise, and well-being
optimization
Identification and treatment of accompanying physical
disease
Detecting and treating difficult signs of behavior and
psychology
Providing careers with information and long-term support.
And movement and exercise play a role in brain health.

How much workout does it take to improve your memory abilities?

According to the outcomes of a new study that explored the effect of
light exercise on memory, probably a lot less than you might expect.

Researchers observed remarkably immediate changes in memory

after just 10 minutes of low-intensity pedaling on a stationary bike in
their study of 36 healthy young adults. The international research
team's further testing indicated that the quick, light exercise, which
compares in intensity to a short yoga or tai chi session, was
correlated with increased activity in the hippocampus of the brain.
That's noteworthy as the hippocampus is known for its participation
in recalling facts and events.

After the light exercise, brain scans of the participants also

demonstrated clearer links between the hippocampus and the
cerebral cortex, which have an important role in the thorough
processing of memory. What's more, the amount of enhanced
connectivity after exercise in the brain of a person predicted the
degree of improvement in their memory.

These findings come from Michael Yassa's laboratories, Irvine

University of California, and the Hideaki Soya University of Tsukuba,
Japan. Soya's team conducted earlier studies in rodents that found
increased hippocampal activity and improved performance after a
light-intensity run on a controlled treadmill on spatial memory tests.
Intriguingly, the same memory boost did not provide more vigorous
exercise.

In the new report, partially sponsored by the NIH and published in

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, those earlier
results were applied to individuals by the researchers. They
achieved so by combining exercise at the very light intensity with
computerized memory tests and brain functional magnetic
resonance imaging (fMRI) in high resolution. Here's how the analysis
was carried out:

On two different occasions, participants came in. individuals either

took part in ten minutes of light-intensity biking during each visit or
sat quietly for 10 minutes on the same bike. The biking routine was
calibrated to 30 percent of the maximum oxygen consumption rate of
each person during exercise. That meets the American College of
Sports concept of "very light" exercise.

Participants performed a memory test in another round of study,

while researchers recorded their brain activity via fMRI.

Each participant was administered two computerized tests following

the biking routine and also after sitting on the bike. One hundred
ninety-six different pictures of everyday things, such as a coffee cup,
lantern, or eyeglasses, were seen for the first time. Participants
answered whether an indoor or outdoor item represented each
object. To the respondents, their responses to this test were not
significant. This first stage was clearly designed to concentrate their
attention on the pictures.

In the second test, conducted 45 minutes later, 256 photographs of

everyday items were displayed to participants. They were asked for
each photograph if the object was unique, identical to one seen in
the first test, or simply similar. This test was developed to identify
even subtle distinctions in the memory performance of a person.
After having done 10 minutes of very light exercise, participants
made fewer mistakes on the image recognition test than when they
just rested on the bike. The subsequent brain scans of individuals
during memory training further revealed, similar to previous work in
rodents, that enhanced memory output was followed by increased
activity and communication in the brain.

There are several concerns. In healthy young adults, for instance,

the reported effects of only 10 minutes of very light exercise were
seen. But is light exercise just going to support people who have
memory issues already? And would longer exercise cycles, maybe
at a higher degree of intensity, perform any better? The researchers
are trying to find the answers already.

A variety of other promising research and consortiums that aim to

maximize the health benefits of exercise is sponsored by the NIH.
The Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium
(MoTrPAC) is an especially exciting one. A detailed map of the
molecular changes that occur with physical activity and lead to
improved function of multiple body systems will be created by the
MoTrPAC initiative. There is no denying that it's good for us to
exercise. But how and why exercise affects our bodies and leads to
improved physical and mental health has been much less obvious. In
starting to explain the procedure, the MoTrPAC project will be a
major help.

One of the most promising areas of this new research is that it

shows that light intensity exercise, which is available to most
individuals, provides the brain with real benefits.
4.2 Brain Exercise for Memory Improvement
In many ways, exercise affects the brain. Exercise typically raises
the heart rate to begin with, which in turn pumps more oxygen to the
brain. Exercise helps to release hormones, which provide an
excellent atmosphere for new brain cells to develop. Exercise also
facilitates brain plasticity in many essential cortical areas of the brain
by promoting the development of new connections between cells.
UCLA research has also shown that exercise raises growth factors in
the brain, making it easier for the brain to establish new neuronal
connections.

Although researchers are still trying to establish the specific essential

factors that make the brain so good for exercise, the emphasis
seems to be narrowing on increased blood flow to the brain, growth
hormone spikes, and significant expansion of the blood vessel
network of the brain.

The effect of exercise on the brain was studied by Canadian

researchers at McMaster University. Their recent research shows
that the degree to which we get more movement and exercise in our
lives is significant. They found in their research that seniors who
exercised using "short activity bursts" saw an increase in their
memory output by up to 30 percent, whereas participants who
worked out at a steady-state, moderate pace saw no increase.

The lead author of the report, cited in Science Daily, Jennifer Heisz,
says, "There is an urgent need for treatments in stable older adults
that reduce the risk of dementia. The study will help to educate the
public about brain health exercise prescriptions, so they know
exactly what kinds of workouts improve memory and hold dementia
at bay.
Gary Small talks about the memorization in public of four specifics of
people, you know.

Let's assume somebody, for instance, is wearing a black hat, blonde

hair, a triangular ring, and a green sweater. The aim is to first notice
the information and then later remember them. Some scientists call
these "passive memory training" brain exercises. They're passive,
and you don't use any special methods for memory. You simply ask
your mind to do what it was supposed to do: to remember.

Why does it matter?

Since we do not practice observation, we fail to observe and obtain

the exercise simply by asking our brains to remember that it brings
knowledge.

We also struggle to observe things we don't see, making it difficult to

construct mental representations of them with these three basic
visualization exercises.

If you would like to be a better observer of the world around you, it

will help even better to note and imagine information than brain
training apps like Cog med.

It's scalable as well. You can start by watching only one individual a
day. You can add more knowledge or more people (or both) once
you've gotten good at remembering four specifics from just one
person.

By memorizing the data using a Memory Palace, you can scale this
memory exercise even further.

You may also note specifics of houses, vehicles, movies or shows,

and foods that enhance memory to increase your cognitive ability if
you like.

But the more potent recall exercise is to concentrate on specific

individuals. It's a great social ability to be observant of those around
you.

Number exercises that skyrocket your concentration

Numeracy is a powerful ability to develop your cognitive skills. It's

something you can focus on, both with and without memory
strategies in play, to improve critical thought.

Add 3 minus seven "is a fun brain numerical workout that you should
try today." All you do is pick any three-digit number in order to get
started. Then, three times to add 3 to the digit. And minus seven
times out of the new number seven.

Repeat the procedure at least five times and the next time, select a
new 3-digit number. To challenge your working memory more, you
can also take a different route and begin with a 4-digit number and
use other numbers. You could begin with 1278, for instance, and add
12, 12 times, and minus 11, 11 times.

To dictate the level of difficulty, it's up to you and the number of

numbers. Know, because of the amount of information you need to
keep in mind to complete it, and this brain exercise enhances your
working memory.

We all know in our hearts that when we talk, no one is really

listening. And that's unfortunate. Here is the good stuff, however:
You don't have to be that person who, while actually thinking about
something else, just nods your head like a marionette.

You should train the brain to rely on what you are being told by
people and remember what they say. It all starts by establishing a
presence in a simple way at the moment: By repeating them in your
head, follow the words being spoken to you. For instance, imagine
that someone is asking you the following:

"I want to go to a movie tomorrow called Memory Maverick. It's about

a guy you can't forget about. He's hired to penetrate a rival by a
company known only as 'The Department.' Yet he doesn't want to
hand them over until the hero knows the secrets. But because he
can't forget, the organization is starting to make his life miserable.

All you have to do in this brain exercise is repeat everything in your

mind that the person is quietly saying. By doing this, you will
naturally improve your cognitive function and recall more.

It works because it exercises simply by asking your brain to

remember details. The more complex the details, the more exercise
your brain will get. You should practice taking photos in your mind to
recall even more.

You could see a picture of Mel Gibson, for instance, as he watched

the movie Maverick trying to remember something.

Or you could get an image of an agency building in your mind and

scenes of evil men in suits that torment the hero. Any pictures and
definitions you develop will help you become a living dictionary of
breathing mnemonics.

To be more present.

Recalling more of what has been said.

Showing individuals that you care for them and their lives.
Easing disagreements as they occur and in greater detail,
you remember the problems.
They "translate" their ideas into photographs, emotions,
relevant concepts, and even tastes and smells as
individuals talk.
Take it seriously with this training:

When you're always with them, you'll feel better about your
connection to people. A fantastic professor named Matthew Clark:
He told me about a great concentration exercise that you can have
practice. It's easy: you put a metronome on at a slow speed and then
practice "click coverage."
These neurotic activities will help us concentrate on tasks that have
been automated for our brains to do. The enhanced concentration
generated by neurotic exercises allows you to improve your memory
skills by zeroing in on your environment.
To be straightforward: memory is not improved in any direct way by
this brain exercise. But for enhancing focus and presence, it is
excellent.
 4.3 Memory Palace
Also, the simplest is the ultimate brain workout to improve overall
cognitive function. It includes nothing more than a simple drawing
that follows certain simple principles. Why is it such a powerful
exercise to build a Memory Palace? It builds upon your spatial and
visual memory to build a Memory Palace. It's both a perfect memory
repair and an autobiographical lesson in memory.

The Memory Palace training exercise works sort of in reverse, as far

as mind exercises go. Why? Since you're accessing visual memory
signals outside of your consciousness that is normally blueprinted in
your subconscious. Think about the following:

Rarely have you gone to a new home or shop with the deliberate
intention of memorizing its characteristics? Yet, if you're thinking
back to a friend's last home you visited, here's a fact:

With visual memory, most individuals can remember an insane

amount of information. You can exercise that inherent skill by
building a Memory Palace.
You can also use it for memory and learning stunts, such as
memorizing all of Canada's Prime Ministers. Second, the
construction of a Memory Palace is the creation of a tool that you
can use for life. You can build hundreds more once you have one,
and you've mastered using it.

And if you can do that, then with your memory, you can do amazing
stuff, like how Matteo learned Chinese in record time. You can also
quickly recall event names and achieve any memory-related aim.
And what goal does memory not involve? You've probably learned
bilingualism is good for your brain, have you?
It is, and one of the major cause why is that you constantly ask your
brain to remember details. Take benefits of the neuroplasticity of
your brain and learn a new skill to keep it working and ticking at any
age! For individuals of any generation, this is a perfect brain exercise
because it keeps you interacting with people.

For improved mental well-being, daily communication often helps to

promote the development of safe chemicals. And singing has been
shown to improve cortisol and other chemicals involved in healing,
for a double-whammy of health and brain benefits.

For this reason, the impact and efficacy of this brain exercise can be
enhanced by singing a foreign language you're learning. That's not
everything, though. You get more health advantages. Researchers
performed a study that found that learning another language could
delay the onset of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease by around
4-5 years, such as dementia!

It is good for your brain to learn something new! If it's learning to play
a new musical instrument or practicing with your non-dominant side,
it will build new neural pathways that will help you improve your brain
capacity.

It's not a secret Tony mind mapping approach. Map the mind in ways
that weren't at all accurate. But you can find a new route after
practicing with Tony and world mind mapping champion Phil
Chambers. Why is mind mapping excellent for cognitive function
enhancement? One explanation is that the function of nerve cells on
the paper is effectively replicated by you.

Much as a brain cell has a central nucleus that flows outward like a
river with synapses, the mind map has a central concept that feeds
mental power to many streams. You're making it simpler for your
brain by building these mind maps, thereby increasing its processing
speed. Whenever you want a cognitive training exercise, give these
ten mind mapping rules a try.
Aerobic exercise and physical activity. But not just for your muscles
to work out and increase your heart rate. A perfect place for mental
exercise is physical activity. For instance, using the Major Method,
you can memories the number of sets and reps you complete.

In your Memory Palaces, you can also rehearse the material before
and after your tai chi session. Or you can use Recall Rehearsal to
recite foreign language vocabulary or any of the meditation verses if
you like to memories instead of gobbling down world news while on
the treadmill.

When on the stationary bike, during your high-intensity interval

training breaks, you should do the 4-detail exercise as you watch
other people.

The greatest ways to reduce stress, improve memory, and control

the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is physical
exercise. The onset of defects associated with a rise in brain age
has also been shown to be delayed.

It is a win-win to integrate physical exercise with the routines you will

complete in your head. And since your mind is created by your
physical brain, it is certain that integrating physical and sensory
mental exercise will maximize your overall health and cognitive skills.
 4.4 Memory Improving Games
Choices for brain games are abundant, from pen-and-paper Sudoku
and crosswords to advanced brain training applications. In order to
enhance mental functioning and avoid brain aging, people of all ages
use these games.

Brain training can help develop your memory, reaction speed, and
reasoning skills, although research indicates that it is difficult to
correlate brain training games with enhanced cognitive function.

Try these games and activities that can boost your mental
concentration and health if you would like to give your brain activity
and have fun too.

Sudoku

Sudoku is a placement game for numbers that depends on short-

term memory. If you put a 6 in this package, that one must be an
eight and this one a 4, and so on, you have to look ahead and follow
paths of consequences to complete a Sudoku puzzle. This method
of preparation helps to enhance short-term memory and attention.

Online, on an app, or on paper, you can play Sudoku. Look in your

newspaper for a daily Sudoku, purchase a book with a set of
puzzles, or download a free phone or tablet app.

Sudoku puzzles have different degrees of difficulty. Play simple

games when you start out before you learn the rules—using a pencil
if you are playing on paper!

Lumosity
One of the most developed brain conditioning and mental fitness
services is Lumosity. To play three games a day, you can sign up for
a free account or select the subscription service for more deals.
Either way, you can keep track of your performances and
development.

The enjoyable brain training and mental health sports, assessments,

and exercises at Lumosity are validated by research. On the
website, you can play them or download the free iOS and Android
apps. Lumosity now has a mindfulness and meditation app called
Lumosity Mind.
 Crosswords

Crosswords are a classic brain teacher, accessing from several

aspects of information, not only verbal language but a memory.
There are several ways, both online and off, to conduct crossword
puzzles. If you get a regular newspaper, there's almost always a
crossword for you. Or pick up a crossword book that is explicitly
suitable for your ability level and interests.

Online or through free or cheap applications, you will also find

several choices for crossword puzzles. The AARP website provides
everyone with a regular crossword that is free, whether or not you
are a member of the community.

Elevate

To play Elevate 35 (and counting) different brain training games,

which have a highly educational feeling, you'll need to download an
app. It is free (with in-app purchases), and there are tens of
thousands of five-star ratings available for both iOS and Android
models.

Reading, writing, speaking, and math are the focus of Elevate's

games, and you can tailor your training to focus on whatever areas
you want. You can chart your progress, as in most other brain
games, to see if your abilities are improving.

Peak

The peak is another app-only option that offers brain games to help
you work on concentration, memory, problem-solving, mental
endurance, and more cognitive functions (available for iOS and
Android). You may be inspired by seeing how you do against other
users if you are a competitive person. The software is free to use,
but more features are activated with an affordable subscription.

Happy neuron
Happy Neuron divides its games and tasks into five vital areas of the
brain: memory, focus, and language, visual/spatial, and executive
functions. Like Lumosity, it customizes the training to suit you,
monitors your progress, and scientific analysis is the basis for the
games.

To access the platform, you need to pay a monthly subscription fee,

and its simplified app edition is only available for Android users.
However, Happy Neuron offers a free trial bid, so you can see if you
like the technique.

Braingle

Braingle's free website offers over 15,000 puzzles, games, and other
brain teasers, as well as an online community of fans, claiming to
have the world's largest selection of brain teasers. To give your brain
a super workout, you can even do your own puzzles. Braingle has a
wide range of offerings, including optical illusions, cyphers and
passwords, and quizzes for trivia.

Queendom

There are thousands of personality tests and surveys at Queendom.

It also has a comprehensive range of "brain resources" for you to
exercise and test your brain, including reasoning, verbal, spatial, and
math puzzles, trivia quizzes, and aptitude tests. You'll need a free
account if you'd like to save stats and scores. Some tests only send
you free snapshot results and charge a fee for complete reports.

Brain Age Concentration Training

For the Nintendo 3DS system, Brain Age Concentration Training is a

brain training and mental fitness system. To develop your
concentration, memory, calculation, and other brain skills, it requires
a large number of games. It's interesting, compact, and challenging.
For the Nintendo Wii U, Brain Age is also available, but not for the
Switch, the most up-to-date Nintendo gaming system.
 Chapter 5: Powerful Learning Strategies

A
s students move from the skills focus of elementary grades to
the material focus of secondary grades, they face greater
demands in written configurations and on paper and pencil
tests to read knowledge from textbooks, take notes from lectures,
work self-sufficiently, and demonstrate understanding. The task of
grasping content often comes with disappointment, especially in
comprehensive general education classes, for students who have
not developed such significant academic skills. In response to this
challenge, despite their knowledge and skill deficits, many students
with learning difficulties, including those with learning disabilities
(LD), have gained and use unique learning strategies to become
successful.

Simply put, a learning approach is the strategy of an individual to

complete a task. More precisely, a learning strategy is a way for a
person to coordinate and use a specific set of skills to learn content
or perform other activities more efficiently and effectively in both
school and non-academic settings. Teachers who teach learning
techniques therefore teach students how to learn, rather than
teaching those particular content or specific skills of the curriculum.

Researchers and educators associated with the University of

Kansas, Center for Research on Learning, have done much of the
research and advancement of learning strategies for students with
learning disabilities. In general, their research indicates that the use
of learning strategies in inclusive environments or on grade-
appropriate assignments will enhance student success. For
example, reading results from a review of the use of the Word
Recognition Technique showed that the number of reading errors
reduces for all students on skill level and grade level materials (Lenz
& Hughes, 1990) while reading comprehension scores improved.
Another study showed that students using the Test Taking Strategy
improved their average test scores from 57 percent to 71 percent in
inclusive classes.

Positive results have also been found by other researchers in the

area of learning strategies. Graham, Harris, and colleagues, for
instance (e.g., Graham, Harris, MacArthur, & Schwartz, 1991), have
validated methods to enhance the standard of compositions,
preparation procedures, and revisions of students. Palincsar and
Brown (e.g., Palincsar & Brown, 1986) successfully tested and
repeated reciprocal teaching in another line of study, a method for
enhancing the performance of student reading. Several techniques
have been validated by Scruggs and Mastropieri (e.g. Scruggs &
Mastropieri, 1992) to teach learners how to build and use
mnemonics. Miller and Mercer validated methods (e.g., Miller &
Mercer, 1993) have resulted in increased student success in math
calculations as well as word problems being solved.

Pretest,
Define,
Model,
Verbal practice,
Managed practice,
Grade-appropriate practice,
Posttest,
Generalization (Schumacher & Deshler, 1992).

With the support of a mnemonic, each technique has several

sections that students recall. For example, students learn a reading
comprehension technique in the Paraphrasing Technique
(Schumaker, Denton, & Deshler, 1984) that is remembered by the
acronym RAP: Read a paragraph, tell yourself, "What were the key
concept in this paragraph and the details?" Put the primary definition
and information in your own words.

If learners need to learn prerequisite skills, such as finding key ideas

and information, before teaching the strategy, teachers teach them
and improve student mastery of those skills during strategy teaching.
In small groups, sometimes in a resource room, via short, intense
lessons over many weeks, students usually learn to use a learning
strategy.

The curriculum of learning strategies developed at the

University of Kansas is organized into three strands:

(a) Acquisition of information,

(b) Storage of information, and
(c) Knowledge representation and demonstration.

The word recognition strategy, the Paraphrasing Strategy, and others

feature the information acquisition strand. The Word Identification
Strategy (Lenz & Hughes, 1990) allows multisyllabic words to be
decoded by students. Students use the Paraphrasing Technique
(Schumaker, Denton, & Deshler, 1984) by paraphrasing to enhance
reading comprehension of key ideas and information.

The information storage strand contains the Mnemonic Strategy

FIRST-letter, the Strategy of Paired Associates, as well as others. In
order to build lists of essential knowledge, students who master the
FIRST-letter Mnemonic Technique will search textbooks and
formulate first letter mnemonics to remember the content. The
Paired Associates Strategy encourages students to pair pieces of
new information with existing knowledge using a visual device in
order to better study and remember material.

The Sentence Writing Technique, the Test Taking Technique, and

others form the expression and demonstration of the comprehension
strand. The Sentence Writing Technique aims to teach students how
to write sentences that are simple, compound, complex, and
compound-complex. The Test Taking Technique is an adaptive
approach used by learners to concentrate attention on important
aspects of test items, answer questions systematically, and
maximize the performance of the test.
 5.1 Definition of Learning
In discussions about teaching in higher education, the term learning
is routinely used, so it is important to explain what we refer to when
we speak about learning. Educational scholars believe that learning
is much more profound than remembering memorization and data.
Deep and long-lasting learning includes comprehension, integrating
concepts and integrating previous and current experience with
independent and logical thinking and the ability to move experience
to new and different contexts.

Learning is a "change-leading mechanism that arises as a result of

experience and enhances the opportunity for improved success and
future learning" (Ambrose et al, 2010, p.3). The learner's shift may
occur at the level of awareness, attitude or actions. Learners come
to see concepts, thoughts, and/or the environment differently as a
result of learning.

Learning is a mechanism that is always not within our influence and

the worlds we work in and the relationships we make are wrapped
up. It includes meeting the senses with signals; attending to them;
searching for associations and meanings; and framing them so that
we can behave.

Learning is becoming one of the most important words in the field of

education over the last thirty years or so. Adult education has
become lifelong learning; educators have become, teachers and
become learning facilitators; schools are now learning environments;
learning outcomes are closely monitored. This interpretation of the
language and practice of education (Biesta 2009, 2018: 245) is in
part due to the emergence of neo-liberal policies that are
individualized. Learning theory advances have also contributed.
Yet there has been little questioning of what it is and what it means,
with all the talk of 'learning.' As stated by Jan De Hower ET. In nearly
all fields of psychology, al. noted,' concerns regarding learning are
answered. Therefore, it is alarming to see that researchers are rarely
specific about what the word means.'

A similar condition has been encountered in the area of education.

It's almost as if studying is something that can be taken for granted
and is unproblematic. Get the instructional method right, the
message seems to be, and it will accompany learning (as
determined by assessments and evaluation regimes).

As Lynda Kelly (2002) put it, the truth is that learning is 'a very
person, complex, and, to some extent, an indescribable process:
something we just do, without ever thinking too much about it.' It is
also a social practice which is complex. Perhaps the most striking
outcome of recent studies on childhood and adolescent learning is
that very little comes from deliberate and intentional instruction. It
comes from life involvement.

We return to basics here and start by analyzing learning as a

commodity and as a method. We also look at the useful discussion
of task-conscious or acquisition learning, and learning-conscious or
formalized learning by Alan Roger.

From there, we turn to contrasting theories of learning: ideas about

how learning should happen. We can see immediately, as Paul
Ramsden pointed out, that conceptions 4 and 5 vary qualitatively
from the first three.

A less complex view of learning is implied by conceptions 1 to 3. To

the learner, learning is something external. It may even be
something that teachers just happen or are doing to you (as in
conception 1). Learning is a little like shopping in a way. Individuals
go out and buy information, which becomes their possession.
The last two conceptions look at the 'internal' or personal learning
component. To understand the real world, studying is seen as
something that you do.

In certain cases, the distinction here is what Gilbert Ryle called

'knowing that' and 'knowing how.' The first two categories contain
'knowing that' mainly. As we pass through the third, we see that
there is an increasing focus on 'knowing how' alongside 'knowing
that'. This category structure is hierarchical, with each higher
conception meaning all the rest under it. 'In other words, it can also
be seen by students who think of studying as knowing reality as
increasing their awareness.

Pick up a standard textbook on psychology, particularly from the

1960s and 1970s, and you will probably find 'learning' described as
behavioral change. It has also often been described as a permanent
shift. Less crude meanings acquired prominence in the 1980s. For
instance, learning was described by Robert Gagne as 'a change in
human disposition or ability that persists over a time period and is
not simply due to growth processes. Learning in the 1990s was often
characterized as a relatively permanent shift in the knowledge or
actions of an individual because of experience:

This move can, for better or for worse, be deliberate or unintentional.

This transition must be brought on by experience, by a person's
contact with his or her environment, to qualify as learning. The
changes arising from learning are in the awareness or actions of the
person.

Learning is approached in these examples as an outcome-the result

of some process. It is recognizable or seen. 'Learning' De Hower ET.
Wrote. Al. is seen as a feature that maps behavior with experience.
In other words, learning is defined here as 'an effect of behavioral
experience.'

Viewing learning as a commodity, a thing, has the advantage of

highlighting a key feature of change-learning. When performing
tests, its apparent clarification can also make some sense. It is a
blunt instrument, however. For instance: Does a person have to
perform to learn in order for it to happen? Are there any variables
that can alter behavior?

Can the potential for change include the change involved? Not all
behavioral changes arising from experience require learning, and not
all behavioral changes are due to experience. It would seem fair to
expect that knowledge might have been used in some way if we
were to assume that learning had taken place. For instance, while
conditioning may lead to a behavioral change, the change does not
require drawing on experience to produce new information. Not
surprisingly, many philosophers were therefore less concerned with
overt actions than with improvements in the ways in which people'
perceive or interpret or conceptualize the world around them. For
them, the emphasis is on learning information or skills using
experience.

Attempts to redefine product or functional learning definitions have

been made. For instance, Domjan addresses learning as an
enduring shift in behavioral mechanisms. From De Houer ET. During
the lifespan of individuals (after Skinner 1938), al look at the
adaptation of individual species to their environment.

There have been attempts to group findings as well. Benjamin S.

Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Priorities Bloom chaired a group
of American Psychological Association members discussing
educational goals and edited the first volume of their work is the best
known of these.

Three core areas or realms of educational goals or learning

were defined by the APA group:

Cognitive: mental ability (knowledge).

Affective: development (attitude or self) in emotions or
emotional areas.
Psychomotor: abilities (skills) manual or physical
These areas (knowledge, attitudes and skills) have become part of
the formal and informal fabric of the field of education. To evaluate
the essence of learning and to establish a hierarchy of priorities,
each domain was then split into different categories.

Most emphasis has been paid to the cognitive domain, not

unexpectedly. There were six categories in a recent version of the
taxonomy recall, understand, apply, interpret, assess, build and then
break these down into the form of information involved: factual,
logical, procedural, metacognitive.

In the second volume of the taxonomy attention was also paid to the
affective domain. Receiving ideas; reacting to ideas, phenomena;
valuing ideas, materials; arranging ideas, values; characterizing by
value set (or behaving appropriately in accordance with internalized
values) were its categories, The learner transitions from being
conscious of what they are learning to a stage of having internalized
the learning in this model, as O'Neill and Murphy comment,' so that it
plays a role in directing their acts.

The psychomotor domain's original taxonomy has also been revised

by Dave. There are several layers of this mapping:
perception/observation, directed response/imitation, mechanism,
complex response, adaptation, and origination.

The use of Bloom's taxonomy faded during the late 1960s and
1970s, but with the emergence of national curricula in places such
as the United Kingdom and the concern with learning goals and
learning that Biesta addresses, it became a regular feature of
practice again.

The attraction of treating learning as a commodity is that it provides

one with something to search for and calculate reasonably clearly.
The danger is that what we calculate might not be clear and that the
infatuation with discrete learning goals drives individuals down a
road that takes individuals away from the intent and processes of
education. Instead of 'gardeners', it turns educators into
'woodworkers. Much like carpenters:

Your task is basically to form the material into a finished product that
will suit the framework that you had in mind to begin with. And you
can decide how good a job you have.
5.2 Steps to Improve Your Learning Skills
It can be a fantastic educational equalizer to boost your study
abilities. The one factor guaranteed to produce good grades in
school is successful learning. But it is ironic that students are
actually never taught in school how to learn efficiently.

Example: Note-taking is an important part of learning, but few

students obtain any training in this ability. At best, you had better
take notes, you are clearly told, but not offered any advice about
what to record or how to use the content as a learning tool.

Fortunately, accurate knowledge about how to research exists. It has

been scientifically shown that one note-taking approach is better
than another and that there are routes to more efficient review,
memorization, and reading of textbooks as well. To make your study
habits strong, the following are established steps you should take. It
promises that your grades will improve if you really use them.

Using the learning principle of connection. Attempt to research the

same subject at the same time in the same place every day, as
nearly as possible. You will find that you are immediately in the
subject "groove," after a very short time when you get to that position
and time.

Train your brain on a time-place cue to think about math, and it won't
take you ten minutes a day to get in the mood for math anymore. Not
only can you save the time and mental resources that you once used
to psych up to do algebra, or something else, it will also help you
remember more of what you're learning.
Reinforce yourself after learning by doing something you like to do
(watching television, going to a party). Experts know that its
frequency and length can be improved by constructive reinforcement
of an action (such as studying).

Currently, don't spend more than 20 to 30 minutes at a time if you're

doing direct memorization. The reasoning for taking such tiny bites
out of study time is here.

Next, you use the time more effectively while you are under an
imposed time constraint. Have you noticed how much you manage
to cram into preparing the day before the major examinations? That
is why "cramming" is what it is called.

Second, in short, psychologists suggest you learn best. In reality,

studies have shown that in four one-hour sessions spread over four
days, as much is learned as in one six-hour marathon session during
a day. That is because your mind subconsciously works to digest
what you have learned between study cycles when you are sleeping
or eating, or reading a book. So it also counts as study time.

Keep in mind that you do much more actual learning faster than
when you read a social studies text or an English essay when your
memories, whether it is math formulas or a foreign language or
names and dates.

The specialists suggest that if you take a 10-minute break every

hour, you can get your most productive studying done. Some good
students actually study for 45 minutes to an hour, and they take a
break of five to 10 minutes. The break is called your reward, and for
the next hour, it increases your learning.

Dr. Walter Pauk, former Director of Cornell University's Reading and

Study Center, recommends that you take that short break anytime
you feel you need one. That way, by clock-watching and anticipating
your break, you would not waste your time off.
Starting with your toughest or least favorite subject and moving
towards the easiest and/or the one you like best is another method
for stopping your mind from wandering when learning. Thus,
studying the topic, you like best is your reward for studying the least
favorite or toughest one. Have a try; it works.

Brain waves are like waves from the radio. You get interference if
there's not enough space between inputs. The more similar the
forms of learning are, the more interference there is. So, for courses
of equivalent subject matter, divide the study times. Follow the math
studies, not chemistry or numbers, with an hour of Spanish or
history.

People have a particular time of day when she or he gets sleepy,

psychologists have discovered. At that time, do not attempt to study
(but do not go to sleep either; it hardly ever refreshes). Instead,
schedule some physical activity, including recreation, for that time.
Use the time to sort your notes or clear up your desk if you have a
stack of schoolwork, and get your books together or research with a
friend.

If it is a course, do your revision soon after the lecture; study before

class if it is a course in which they are invited to recite or answer
questions. You should check your notes and arrange them after the
lecture. You should spend your time memorizing, brushing up on
your facts, and preparing questions about the prior recitation before
the recitation lessons. Question-posing is a helpful way to help the
information sink in and to find places where you need further
practice.

Researchers have found that actually reading something over and

over again is the toughest way to memorize, the way that takes the
most time and results in the least retention. Forget it if that's the way
you memorize it. Use as many of the senses as you can instead.

Try to imagine, to get a vision in your mind in concrete terms. Using

sound in addition to sight: Speak the words out loud and listen to
them being spoken by yourself.

Using association: associate the fact of being taught with something

personally important or find a rational tie-in.

Examples: Link them to significant events when memorizing dates,

the dates you already know. Using mnemonics: For instance, to
remember the names of the musical notes on the lines of the treble
clef, the expression "Every good boy does fine." Using acronyms like
OK4R, which is the secret to recalling the process.

In the long run, it truly takes less time! With a reason, read. Instead
of only starting at the beginning and reading right to the end, if you
first take the time to practice the OK4R method designed by Dr.
Walter Pauk, you can complete the task much faster and remember
much more:

Read the title, the paragraphs that are introductory and summarizing,
and all the headings included in the reading material. You would then
have a general understanding of what subjects are going to be
discussed.

Go back and skim the text for main ideas (usually found in each
paragraph's first sentence). The italics and bold type, bulleted pages,
itemizations, photos, and tables are also read.

Your task from start to finish, you are going to be able to do it easily
as you already know where the author is moving and what he is
trying to prove.

Put the text aside and say or write the main points of what you have
read in a few keywords or phrases. It has been proven that
immediately after initial learning, most forgetting takes place. Dr.
Pauk says, "One minute spent almost doubles the retention of the
piece of data in instant recall!" The previous move allows the
material in your mind to be fixed.
Relate it to other knowledge to anchor it there forever; find
relationships and meaning with what you have read. · This move
does not take place immediately.

For the next short test, it should be finished, and then again in the
term for later exams. Multiple feedback would make the details
indelibly yours. Dr. Palmatier recommends the following for your text:
Red for key ideas, Blue for numbers and dates, Yellow for supporting
evidence. To make reviewing simple, circles, boxes, stars, and
checks in the margins can also be used. Create your own glossary of
the words you don't know and definitions.

Stress, star, or otherwise mark the ideas that your teacher tells you
are relevant in your notebook: thoughts to which you are told you will
come back later, things that are recommended to be common
mistakes.

Look for words that tell you what is being summarized, such as, thus,
and in essence. Examples are always registered. In fact, your notes
should consist of such subjects as mathematics, mainly from
examples from your teacher. Up until the last minute of class time,
pay careful attention to your note-taking.

Sometimes, an instructor becomes sidetracked, and time runs out.

He/she will cram the material into the last five or 10 minutes of a
lecture for up to half an hour. Get that packed down — a few
minutes' worth’s. Stay on after class if possible, to get it all down. Of
course, if the book isn't yours, you won't underline it at all.

But if you stress that, do it sparingly. Not as productive as the worst

note-taking is the best underlining. Over-underlining is a common
fault for students; it is best to underline only the main terms in a
paragraph.

It must be done in ink or felt-tip highlighter, and only after you have
completed the "OK" portion of your reading of OK4R should it be
done. Never purchased one that has already been underlined if you
buy your books secondhand.

You may appear to rely on it, and you have no idea whether the
hand that supported the pencil in the course got an "A" or an "F"! If
you have to purchase an underlined textbook due to scarcity or
funding, mark it in a different color. Research has shown that during
that period, it is not how much period you study that matters, but how
well you study.

In reality, students who studied more than 35 hours a week in at

least one study came out with worse grades than those who studied
less.
 5.3 Benefits for Fast Learner
It is impossible to undervalue the worth of learning. Learning
motivates us to fulfill our thoughts and understand our full potential.
The pace at which new information is gained is basically as relevant
as its volume. Who would not love to remember as quickly as
possible tons of information? If you like to start learning faster, you
require a new approach to the process that helps you to grasp and
apply the meaning of the matter to new concepts that you encounter.

Modern life is fast-paced and flooded with change. It is the most

adaptable that appears to thrive, Darwin famously said, but while
evolutionary change appears to unfold over extremely long time
frames, modern changes are carried out in ever-shortening cycles. It
has built an environment in which the speed of learning, both for
people and organizations, is a competitive advantage.

Today, though, we are in the learning organization's third generation,

with emerging technology accelerating the pace at which we can
both consume emerging data and test our assumptions. This is
paired with the need to deploy learning over longer timescales as
topics take on a global and complicated nature. The more you can
learn, the more you can adjust to something. The globe is not static.
It keeps changing, for good or for worse, and you'll be ahead of
everything if you can adapt to it. Also, you get a fresh perspective on
old ideas and how to translate them into modern thinking when you
learn something new. Being capable of learning quickly gives you an
advantage in soaking up data so that you can allow your
subconscious to make fast choices. Learning is not just
remembering; it's integrating fresh ideas into your process of
thinking. If you wish, upgrade your CPU.
Also, the more you learn, the more quickly you learn. It is difficult, for
instance, to learn French when you only know English. It will be a
little less difficult to learn a new language after that because you are
not only learning the language. How phrases are formed, how words
communicate with one another, etc. You're learning a meta-
language, which makes learning new languages easier.
 Conclusion
A strong memory relies on your brain's health and vitality. There's a
lot you can do to improve your memory and mental performance,
whether you're a student studying for your exams, a working
professional interested in doing everything you can to stay mentally
active, or a senior looking to preserve and improve your grey matter
as you age.

You cannot teach new things to an old dog, but scientists have
discovered when it comes to the brain that this old adage is simply
not true. The human brain has an astonishing capacity, even in old
age, to adapt and change. This ability is referred to as
neuroplasticity. Your brain can form new neural pathways with the
appropriate stimulation, alter existing connections, and modify and
react in ever-changing ways.

When it comes to memory, the brain's remarkable capacity to

reshape itself holds true. To increase your cognitive skills, boost your
ability to learn new things, and enhance your memory at any age,
you can control the natural power of neuroplasticity.

Your brain has developed millions of neural pathways by the time

you have reached adulthood that helps you quickly process and
remember knowledge, solve familiar problems, and perform habitual
tasks with a minimum of mental effort. But you don't give your brain
the stimulus it needs to keep growing and improving if you only stick
to these well-worn ways. From time to time, you have to shake
things up!

Memory, like muscle strength, needs you to "use it or lose it." The
more your brain works out, the more knowledge you can absorb and
remember. But not every activity is equal. Break your routine with the
best brain exercises and challenge yourself to use and develop new
brain pathways.

Although brain health is important for mental exercise, that doesn't

mean that you never need to break a sweat. Physical exercise helps
stay sharp in your brain. It raises the brain's oxygen level and
decreases the risk of memory loss disorders, such as diabetes and
cardiovascular disease. The effects of beneficial brain chemicals are
also enhanced by exercise, and stress hormones are minimized.
Maybe most significantly, by enhancing growth factors and activating
new neuronal connections, exercise plays an important role in
neuroplasticity.

There are various techniques for brain-boosting. For the brain,

aerobic exercise is especially healthy, so choose activities that keep
the blood flowing. Anything that is healthy for your spirit, in general,
is better for your brain.

Will you need a long time to clear the fog of sleep when you wake
up? If so, you might find it makes a big difference to exercise in the
morning before you start your day. It also primes you for learning
during the day, in addition to cleaning out the webs.

Especially advantageous for brain building are physical activities that

involve hand-eye coordination or complex motor skills. Exercise
breaks will help you get through mental tiredness and slumps in the
afternoon. To refresh your brain, even a quick walk or a few jumping
jacks can be enough.