If your phone is draining your brain, follow our top tips for regaining your memory
IT’S known as “The Google effect” – the idea that our ability to type anything we want into a search engine is destroying our memories.
And now more and more of us have “digital amnesia” (AKA relying on the internet instead of using our own memory to recall facts).
A study found 79% of people confessed they are more reliant on their digital devices for accessing information than they were five years ago, and 49% of us don’t even know our partner’s phone number.
There’s no doubt that the internet has changed the way we process information. Research from Columbia University found that when a fact on the internet is easy to find, people are more likely to remember where they found it, rather than the information itself.
Numerous studies have found that London black cab drivers have a larger hippocampus – the region of the brain known to contribute to memory processes and processing of spatial layouts – than other people.
But before you throw your phone in the sea, there is hope. “The act of forgetting is not inherently a bad thing,” says Kathryn Mills from the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. “We are adaptive creatures and we don’t remember everything because it’s not to our advantage to do so.
Things that have emotional resonance or significance in other ways tend to be more easily remembered than abstract information or intangible facts.”
Luckily, there are things we can do to improve our ability to remember the information we need, whether it’s your online banking password or impressing friends at the pub quiz. So here’s how to train your brain, improve your recall and make your powers of retention, er, unforgettable.
Use it or lose it
Actively forcing yourself to remember information instead of heading straight for Google is an example of something know as “retrieval practice”. Studies show this can help boost both learning and being able to recall that learning long-term.
“Memory is a biological function, and like most others, you need to exercise it,” says Dean Burnett, a neuroscientist and author of The Happy Brain. “Next time you’re struggling to remember something, take a few minutes to really focus on recalling it instead of looking it up straight away. Or try only checking your shopping list right before you get to the till. Memories are essentially connections between neurons, and it is widely agreed that to keep these connections intact they have to be ‘activated’ regularly.
“Retrieving a memory activates it.” According to Dean, we don’t need to worry about “losing” our memories just because we’re surgically attached to our smartphones. They’re all still there, just in storage. “It’s not that memories fade away or degrade, it’s just that our brains struggle to find them if they are seldom used.”
Stop being snap happy
Being able to capture every moment of your holiday on your phone seems like a wonderful and convenient way to create lasting memories, but one study suggests that taking photos actually reduces our capacity for recall.
Participants were asked to look around a museum, and those who took photos of each object remembered fewer items and details about them than those who had simply observed. “The act of taking photos is distracting,” says Kathryn. “To remember something fully, we need to feel engaged in our environment. So every so often, disable the camera on your phone (on most smartphones, you can do this by removing the camera app) to avoid the impulse.
“Instead practise mindful awareness of your environment. Take a deep breath and pay attention to all the sensations you feel. Let experience unfold, rather than feeling like you have to control and capture it.”
Make a mind place
The Ancient Greeks didn’t have voicenotes, so when Socrates and co wanted to remember something, they used the method of loci, better known to Sherlock fans as the “mind palace”.
“The idea is that when memorising a list – such as a to-do list – you associate an image with every item on it,” explains Dean. “The images are then placed in the rooms in your ‘palace’, which will typically be your home or another familiar building. To recall the list, you imagine walking from one room to the next. The more vivid these scenes appear in your imagination, the more likely it is that you will recall them.”
So if booking a dentist appointment, ringing your mum and picking up loo roll are all on your to-do list, you might visualise a memory palace with a massive tooth in the hallway, your mum holding an inflatable phone in the kitchen and a huge loo roll in the bathroom. It may sound silly, but it can be very effective.
Eat food for thought
Blueberries have long been called a superfood, but they might help stave off memory decline, too. While more research is needed, one small study found that daily consumption of wild blueberry juice improved memory.
“Blueberries are known for being high in flavanoids, which appear to strengthen existing connections in the brain,” says nutritionist Libby Limon. Alternatively, the scent of rosemary could help.
Northumbria University carried out a study involving 150 healthy people aged 65 and over in a room scented with rosemary, and found that the smell helped boost their prospective memory – the ability to remember to do something specific in the future, such as take a tablet or post a letter.
Play the name game
Struggling to remember someone’s name is not only embarrassing, it can make it difficult to build a rapport with people. “Remembering names is all about focus,” says Gary Small, a professor of psychiatry and author of The Memory Bible.
“Develop a habit so that just before you’re introduced to someone new, you ask yourself: ‘What’s their name?’ This will force you to pay close attention when they give their name. Then immediately repeat it back to them by saying: ‘Nice to meet you, John.’”
Dean suggests you also use some word association tricks. “If one part of a person’s name sounds like another word, that can be a trigger for your memory,” he says. “Often our ability to recall images is stronger than our ability to recall words or names, which is why we remember faces better. For example, if you meet a Steve think of a stove at the same time, or if you meet a Paul think of a ball.”
Go blank
Good news for day dreamers – allowing your mind downtime can contribute to a healthy memory. Last year a study found that when people were allowed to rest for 10 minutes after looking at a series of photographs, their fine detail memory was better than that of people asked to complete an unrelated 10-minute task.
Basically, doing nothing seemed to bolster people’s memories.
MOST READ IN FABULOUS
“The brain continues to process and replay experiences during immediate post-learning rest periods,” says Gary. “Even a few seconds of idle time when your brain is not being confronted with new or stimulating information may be enough to strengthen its memory for what you’ve just encountered.”
Plus, a Stanford University study found that people who spend a lot of time using various forms of media at once, such as listening to a podcast and replying to texts at the same time, tend to do worse on memory tests than those who focus on one media source only. So no more checking Facebook while watching Corrie!
- GOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL exclusive@the-sun.co.uk