Rakshan Patnaik Week 13: All About Memory
All About Memory
For the first blog of the quarter, I was not really sure what to write about. I did not really see a direct connection between memory and power, nor did I see alternate interpretations of either the word “memory” or power in relation to memory. So for this week, I just wanted to establish a base on memory and its benefits.
According to MedlinePlus, memory is “the process of storing and then remembering this information.” They also say that memory doesn’t always work perfectly and worsens as you get older. To be honest, I have a terrible memory, and I don’t consider myself old, so I often wonder why I have such bad memory. So, part of writing this blog is to encourage myself to better my memory skills.
I came upon this article regarding the benefits of a good memory, called “Higher grades and other benefits of a good memory.” Of course, I clicked and read the article, because I want higher grades. In it, bestselling author Eran Katz says that students can benefit heavily from a good memory, not only with “better grades,” but also an “improved sleep quality” and “higher self-confidence.” These are all aspects which I feel I can personally improve in.
So, now with this information, I looked for ways to improve my memory. Healthline suggested “25 Ways to Improve [my] Memory.” Rather than techniques or brain exercises, the article stated many doable items and commonly-said things, such as eating more green vegetables or eating less sugar. I highly recommend anyone who has bad memory to look at their solutions. As for me, I’ll try to be less “mentally lazy” because I feel that is the driving factor in my bad memory.
Now, I don’t mean to say I have a terrible memory. But remembering things from weeks, months, or years ago in detail is a skill I’d like to improve in. And if I need to put in some extra work in order to improve my memory skills and reap the benefits, why not? What are your thoughts?
I find it funny how you basically explained your process of falling into the rabbit hole of article clickbait on the internet, something we have all fallen victim to. I am also someone with considerably bad memory, so I will definitely also be falling into that rabbit hole in the near future. I am always so envious of people with photographic memory or even just decent memory. I just found out recently that some of my friends--even ones in this class that go by the names Riddhika and Sophia--did not need to study for tests until this school year likely, due to their good memory. I was shocked and very envious of their memory abilities, and hopefully I can also eventually improve my memory skills like them.
ReplyDeleteHi Rakshan,
ReplyDeleteI will certainly try all twenty-five of the ways to improve my memory, especially drinking a little caffeine! Even though I do not intend to necessarily improve my memory, all twenty-five methods are beneficial in improving mental and physical health as well. I can one hundred percent empathize with your “mental laziness.” Just like my body, my mind needs rest and to be strengthened with healthy habits. Of course, laziness makes it difficult to stick with such habits, so thank you for pointing out the importance of even the smallest actions that can help us improve our mental health and, in turn, our memory.
Hey Rakshan, I'm not sure that eating less sugar is more doable then doing a series of brain exercises and techniques, but i have been looking for ways to improve my memory more. I find that I am sometimes able to recount oddly specific memories from a really long time ago, but will forget life changing things told to me just a day or two ago. I definitely could use some better memory skills when it comes to remembering content given to us in class as well. One thing I've found with memory though is that, at least for me, moments that I am more engaged in and happier in tend to have a more prominent place in my memory.
ReplyDeleteHey Rakshan, I love how you included a link and talked about ways to improve your memory because that's certainly something I need. Having grown up in a household who loved to play the memory game whenever we had the time (which was a lot when we were younger), my memory was very good until I was 10 years old or so. As I stopped playing that game and the time gap got larger, I feel like my memory has gotten a little worse than it used to be because I find myself trying hard to remember certain moments or pieces of information which there are sometimes where I remember what I need to remember as instantly as I need to. It's interesting how some days my memory is better than others, but I hope to find time to try some of those 25 methods to improve my memory overall. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Rakshan, I want to remind you that this week's blog topic is language and memory—not power. Regardless, I enjoyed your blog and I found it funny how you explained how the process of being click baited from the blog title. When it comes to remembering things like people’s names or books, I feel the amount of focused time is quite beneficial. The past couple of weeks, I have been talking to new people and made a reasonable effort to build a connection with them. When I saw them again, I said their name aloud and gave them a fist pump before starting the conversation. This has helped me remember more people’s names and the details they told me. When it comes to recalling events in a book, I think the best strategies are writing a summary without looking at summaries and just talking about it with a friend.
ReplyDeleteHi Rakshan! I also want higher grades, improved sleep quality, and higher self confidence, so I will be taking note of your solutions. Growing old is something that I probably won't be able to accept when it happens to me, and the memory aspect of it makes it all the more terrifying. I relate to being mentally lazy, since I often lack the will to exercise brainpower. Doing so, however, definitely makes memories stronger and last longer.
ReplyDeleteHi Rakshan! I must admit, memorizing and remembering things has also been one of my weaknesses for the longest time. When I was younger, my mom would make me remember random information to improve my memory. When I was younger, my church would also make us memorize long verses (which I struggled with of course). I feel like I did so much, exercising my memory, but it was still not enough. After reading your blog, I realized that there are things such as sleep and diet that may also affect memory!
ReplyDeleteHi Rakshan, it is interesting to see different ways people improve their memory. Blogs have talked about everything from learning skills when you are young to doing brain exercises. Understanding how eating more nutritious food changes the way your brain retains information is very fascinating and I definitely want to learn more. I guess staying healthy has many more benefits than I previously thought.
ReplyDeleteHi Rakshan, this reminds me of something I read before. Ideally, one should not cram for a big test the night before because the human brain doesn’t retain or learn optimally by cramming. It may work in the very short run but the person is also taking the risk of potentially freezing up, as well as the risk of losing most of the information promptly after delivering it on the test, instead of retaining it. It also makes sense that eating more nutritious food and sleeping better help memory, since most of the body’s function can effectively improve if it maintains a healthy state.
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