Memory
Memory is the ability to gather, keep and recall personal experience; learning is done through memory. By content its types are: motor memory (writing, dancing, riding a bicycle), imagery memory (faces, pictures, music, smells), emotional memory (experienced feelings) and verbal memory (read and heard words). By duration memory is short-term (minutes) or long-term (years); it can also be voluntary or involuntary. Memory is linked with sensory centres in the cortex and their connections, so the more senses (sight, hearing, movement) used to learn information, the better it is remembered. To improve memory: learn by understanding meaning, make plans, diagrams and tables, retell in your own words, repeat at spaced intervals, sleep enough, drink enough water and take frequent breaks. Harmful substances (alcohol, nicotine, drugs) damage nerve cells and worsen memory. Everyone’s memory is different, so compare yourself with yesterday’s self, not with others.
Memory exercise: look at 10 words for 1 minute, cover and write them; then group them into 3 groups (“fruit”, “animal”, “tool”) and write again – how does grouping change the result? Record the outcome.