5 Strategies To Improve Attention And Memory

Improving attention and memory is a goal for many people. Either because they have difficulty studying, because they want to increase their skills in this regard or because they notice that over the years these faculties seem to decrease.

The truth is that our intellectual performance increases when we manage to improve attention and memory. Neither one nor the other is equivalent to greater intelligence, but they do contribute decisively to our being able to get the most out of it. In particular, the ability to learn largely depends on attention.

In fact, improving attention and memory is above all the fruit of proper habits , as well as perseverance and discipline. It can be achieved at any age, although, obviously, at advanced ages it requires more dedication. There are some simple strategies to achieve this. These are five of them.

1. Avoid distractions and monotony

It is almost obvious that avoiding distractions is essential to improve attention and memory. However, it is never enough to remember it. What to avoid, in particular, are noise and interruptions. Both factors have a fairly negative impact on care. And without attention, the ability to generate memories is impaired.

Avoiding monotony is not so obvious, but no less true. Today we know that the human brain has precise time limits in maintaining attention. In tasks that require great concentration, the ideal is to take a break every 30 minutes and make changes to the task or environment every two hours.

2. Review and emphasize, a way to improve attention and memory

Sometimes one of the great difficulties in improving attention and memory is wanting to do everything too quickly. We end a reading simply when the chapter or book ends. This is not enough.

In a special way, in the case of reading, it is very important that we underline what we identify as most important or worthy of being a memory. At the same time, at the end it is necessary to review those points that we have highlighted. In this way, the text is used much more. Something similar should be done with other activities.

3. Don’t multitask

Doing many things at the same time is one of the habits that has been implanted nowadays and that, in turn, has more negative effects. There are many people who are doing a job and at the same time have the television on, the headphones on, while simultaneously they are watching their cell phone.

The only thing that is achieved with this is not paying full attention to any of the activities that are being carried out and, at the same time, feeding the anxiety or the feeling of helplessness for not being able to cover everything that we want. Those are the worst circumstances to memorize.

So, simply put, working in multitasking mode makes our ability to hold attention diminish much sooner, while also impairing our ability to create reliable and accurate memories.

4. Create suitable atmospheres

The environment is a decisive aspect when carrying out a task that requires concentration. If this is the case, nothing better than working in a space that favors attentional control. A well-lit environment with few distractions and a low noise level.

Thus, a pleasant atmosphere predisposes the brain to perform better activity. This atmosphere is not only physical, it is also emotional. In this way, a low-intensity emotional tone will precisely favor attentional control and the formation of memories. It is paradoxical, but an emotion with such bad press as sadness is sometimes an ingredient that precisely enhances concentration.

5. Create external recall strategies

Attention and memory are closely related. When a high level of attention is achieved, memory processes are almost automatically activated. However, there are times when this does not happen, either because the level of attention is not high enough or because the content to be memorized is more complex than usual.

Especially in such cases, it becomes necessary to employ external strategies to facilitate the encoding or retrieval of memories. The strategies are multiple:  elaboration of mnemonic cards, recording and listening to a text or the use of concept maps, among others.

As we noted from the beginning, improving attention and memory is a matter that has to do above all with the constant and adequate exercise of these faculties. In other words: with good habits. It involves the introduction of effective methods in intellectual activities, so that the results are seen almost immediately.