Talk about what you read – to remember – Spd Rdng Technique number 19

Talk about what you read – to remember – Spd Rdng Technique number 19

Summary: Talking about what you read helps crystallise your understandings in your mind – which is the first step to remembering. Do it twice:
1) as you read, summarise the information to yourself – it keeps you actively engaged.
2) after reading, tell someone what you’ve read – it helps you understand and remember it better.

Talk to somebody to remember Spd Rdng 19

Talk to somebody to remember

 Although reading is traditionally viewed as a passive activity, it is important to engage with the material if you want to learn and remember things from it. Verbalising is an important part of clarifying, consolidating and retaining information you read.

Research is now backing up what we’ve been teaching for over 14 years
Canadian researchers (Alexis Lafleur and Victor Boucher)suggest that those who talk to themselves or others may have better memories than those who don’t. So if you want to remember something talk to yourself our loud or share it with others. Professor Victor Boucher of the University of Montreal in Quebec states that by increasing the number of aspects to the information (i.e. the effort of talking and moving lips) we make it more memorable. This links to the speed reading technique number 16 (remember by doing something) which states that the more things you do to remember information the more likely you will recall it later. The research paper (The ecology of self-monitoring effects on memory of verbal productions: Does speaking to someone make a difference?) published in the Journal of Consciousness and Cognition states: “The simple fact of articulating without making a sound creates a sensorimotor link that increases our ability to remember, but if it is related to the functionality of speech, we remember even more. The added effect of talking to someone shows that in addition to the sensorimotor aspects related to verbal expression, the brain refers to the multisensory information associated with the communication episode.”

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Stress – learning and memory killer

Watch this National Geographic and Stanford University documentary on how stress kills your brain cells and affects hippocampus which is responsible for your learning and memory (from 25 min of the documentary). “Stress is not a state of mind… it’s measurable and dangerous, and humans can’t seem to find their off-switch.” says author and award-winning neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky in the documentary Stress: Portrait of a Killer.

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Coffee improves memory

Coffee triggers a mechanism in your brain that releases a growth factor called Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) which also activates brain stem cells to convert into new neurons in your brain, which can have definitive benefits for your brain function. Research conducted at Johns Hopkins University found that 200 milligram (mg) of caffeine enhanced participants’ memory for up to 24 hours. Natural blend of polyphenol antioxidants (including chlorogenic acids), bioflavonoids, vitamins and minerals in coffee beans all work together to help neutralize the harsher effects of the caffeine.
Read more about the benefits of drinking coffee

Top 7 Foods to Boost Brainpower

How sleep helps with memory formation and learning

There is a lot of research on the role of sleep and memory formation and learning. But only recently scientists discovered how it happens. During sleep your brain forms new synapses and nurons that help with learning and memory. “…sleep is important to the process of forming long term memory,” says Wen-Biao Gan, a neuroscientist and physiologist at New York University who discovered that learning, or making long term memories, is a two part process in which sleep plays an important role. Sleep is also an essential aspect of health. Not enough of sleep can lead to all kinds of health problems such as diabetes, heart problems, cancer,obesity and so on. Top tips for getting good night’s sleep include sleeping in total darkness and avoiding electromagnetic pollution which will disturb melatonin production which is critical for good night’s sleep. Read top tips for good sleep

Watch this video about the importance of optimising your sleep below. Research shows that most people need eight hours of sleep – ideally in total darkness (one photon of light can disturb melatonin production which is responsible for good sleep – make sure that you have low electromagnetic pollution levels in your bedroom – light falls into an electromagnetic spectrum and our bodies perceive electro-smog as light – so switch off your wifi router for the nigh – read top tips on how to avoid and minimise electro-smog).

Sleep more. Researchers say an afternoon nap prepares the brain to learn better and remember more

How siestas help you remember more

Sleep Pods devised by MetroNap

Sleep Pods devised by MetroNap

“It has already been established that those who siesta are less likely to die of heart disease (people who siesta for 20-30 minutes each day are 30% less likely to suffer from heart disease as sleep lowers stress on the heart). Now, Matthew Walker and his colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, have found that they probably have better memory, too. A post-prandial snooze, Dr Walker has discovered, sets the brain up for learning. The ideal nap, follows a cycle of between 90 and 100 minutes (according the research, napping for 90 minutes after lunch can improve your productivity by up to 10%). The benefits to memory of a nap, says Dr Walker, are so great that they can equal an entire night’s sleep. He warns, however, that napping must not be done too late in the day or it will interfere with night-time sleep. Moreover, not everyone awakens refreshed from a siesta. The grogginess that results from an unrefreshing siesta is termed “sleep inertia”. This happens when the brain is woken from a deep sleep with its cells still firing at a slow rhythm and its temperature and blood flow decreased. Sara Mednick, from the University of California, San Diego, suggests that non-habitual nappers suffer from this more often than those who siesta regularly. It may be that those who have a tendency to wake up groggy are choosing not to siesta in the first place. Perhaps, though, as in so many things, it is practice that makes perfect.” Read the full story in Economist

Read more on the role of sleep in learning