Dr Michelle Dickinson: nanotechnologist on the latest research revealing the best way to remember things

As we get older, we might find it harder to remember things, including lists of information.

So how can we help our brains to retain new information? One option is to continue to repeat the information over and over again to try and help our brains to remember it, the other option is to use a mnemonic.

New research out this week in the journal Royal Society Open Science compared the two methods and found that tailoring mnemonics to suit your own needs was by far the best way to remember things more quickly and accurately.

So, what is a mnemonic and how can we use them to help us?

A mnemonic is a pattern of words, letters, or ideas that helps us remember something unrelated.

There are several types of mnemonic:

Musical mnemonics

The alphabet song: The “A-B-C-D…” helps us learn the English alphabet, which is essentially a string of 26 random letters.

Rhyme mnemonics

Rhymes tend to be catchy making it easier to remember information like the rule I before E, except after C.

Acronyms

This uses the first letter of each item in a list to form an acronym, like ROYGBIV for the colours of the rainbow.

Keyword mnemonics

Sometimes creating visual cues can help to create associations like how to differentiate between stalactites and stalagmites. Stalactites hold on ‘tight’ to the ceiling.

Previous research found that mnemonic devices work because they take creative routes to learning, either by linking to some knowledge you already know, or by appealing to your humour or your emotions.

So the next time you are trying to remember something, think about it creatively and help your brain to learn the fun way.

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