People are always looking for the best way to increase short term memory.  But before you can do that, it is important to understand just what short term memory is and how long information can be stored there.

Short term memory is the part of the brain where recently acquired information is held.  G.A. Miller famously wrote that the mind can store seven plus or minus two (known in psychology as “the magic number”) items in short term memory.  Attempting to store more than this can result in losing one of the items already stored.  It is estimated that short term memories have a lifespan of only several seconds before being stored long term or discarded by the mind.  This is the opposite of long term memory; we still don’t know the limit on how many pieces of information can be stored there, and long term memories can last a lifetime.

There are a variety of ways to increase short term memory.  By using repetition, you can train your brain to store more information for longer periods of time.  Flash cards are one way students exercise their memories.  Also, try to remember things in groups rather than individually.  When we remember a phone number, for instance, we don’t learn ten numbers.  We remember two groups of three and a group of four.

Consuming certain nutritional supplements can help as well.  Vitamin B12, vitamin B9 (folic acid) and antioxidants have all been proven to help cognition and prevent atrophy of the brain in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease patients.

Finally, use memory tricks to recall large amounts of information.  The letters in ROY G. BIV all correspond to one of the colors in the visual spectrum, or the colors in a rainbow.

The best way to increase short term memory is to exercise your mind to keep it sharp, and to lead a healthy life style to prevent damage and disease from ruining it.

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