A neurologist has shared three simple things you can do daily to help boost your memory. These habits could help improve your cognitive health, something which is particularly important as we get older.
In a video shared to social media platform TikTok, Doctor Baibing Cheng, revealed his top tips with his more than 157,000 followers. According to Dr Cheng, who is better known online as Dr Bing, these steps will help you improve your memory and memorise things better. His first piece of advice was to “teach what you learn”. This involves passing on any new knowledge or expertise.
This could help to improve your comprehension and make your memory “more durable”. He said: “For example, if you learn a new concept today, try to explain it to a friend, a partner or even a pet.
“Just verbalising it would help. When you explain information to someone else your brain reinforces its connections, making the memory more durable.”
He explained more: “This is known as the prototype effect that teaching forces you to process information more deeply and improving comprehension and recall.” His next tip involved using more than one of your senses at a time.
Dr Bing said: “Number two – engage multiple senses.
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“Instead of just reading something, try singing it out loud, writing it down, or associating it with a visual or movement. The more senses you involve, the stronger the memory you’ll form.
“This is based on the dual coding theory, which showed that pairing information with visual imagery significantly enhances recall.” He detailed a specific technique he had used himself.
“One powerful example of this is the memory palace technique , which I personally used during medical school,” Dr Bing continued. This method involves associating information with familiar locations, imagining placing each fact inside different rooms of your house, then mentally walking through them to retrieve the information later.”
Finally, he recommended trying to memorise things over extended periods, rather than trying to do it all in one go. Dr Bing added: “Use space repetition instead of cramming.
“Reviewing information at increasing intervals over time has been proven to solidify long-term memory, so instead of memorising everything in one night, revisit key concepts a few days later, then a week later, then a month later.”