After studying human and artificial memory for over 10,000 hours, I discovered how to naturally improve our working memories.
Working memory capacity is restricted, although it can be increased with effort.
Our memories are important because they shape who we are. Human memories are classified as either short-term or long-term. In this article, I discuss the importance of working memory (a combination of both types) and offer practical strategies for organically improving it.
Working memory is related to our intelligence quotient, which is thought to be fixed at birth, but it is possible to improve it using numerous approaches that I discuss at a high level in this story.
This article appears to be longer than most articles, however it summarizes the important themes of a manuscript of over 50,000 words produced to reflect my study over the last five decades. To make this a useful piece, I aimed to highlight key concepts in under 15 minutes.
Working memory is a valuable mental resource for everyone since it defines our personal and professional success, helps us interact with others, and keeps us healthy and fit, providing life satisfaction.
You might be wondering what working memory is. As a result, for those who are unfamiliar with the notion of working memory, I'd want to introduce it briefly.
What exactly is working memory?
"Working memory is the essential function by which we break out from reflexive input-output reactions to obtain control over our own thoughts," according to this research on Neuron. It has two types of mechanisms: online information maintenance and volitional or executive control."
Working memory, as part of our cognitive system, allows us to temporarily alter and store information while executing tasks that demand mental effort. As a result, working memory is critical for thinking, learning, and problem solving.
The term "working memory" was coined in the early 1960s by Galanter Miller (Cognitive Psychologist) and Karl Pribram (Psychiatrist and Psychologist). Their idea portrayed the brain as a source of information processing and linked cognition and awareness to produce symbolic computation.
Many researchers have studied the subject from various perspectives throughout the previous few decades. In recent years, notable psychologists such as Walter Kintsch and Anders Ericsson have contributed important studies to the field.
Working memory was once thought to be a type of short-term memory by cognitive scientists. Recent research suggests that it is a sort of long-term memory with the usage of short-term memory. Because the theories are complicated, the general public should not be concerned.
The essential point, however, is that while we require short-term memory to do mental and physical tasks, we rely on long-term memory to process and complete them as intended.
Working memory can be measured by combining memory span with concurrent processing tasks. For example, the more mental tasks we can complete at one time, the greater our working memory will be.
How does working memory work?
Human memories, contrary to popular perception, are not the same as computer memories. Humans and machines learn and store information in different ways. Emotional elements are the key distinction. Memory, to me, is a muscle, not a mysterious black box.
Emotions are used by the human brain to capture and remember memories. Computers, on the other hand, register memory based on data structures. As a result, as I shall explain in the next sections, we remember emotionally charged experiences and events much more easily.
Human working memory's job is to retain information relevant to the task at hand while concurrently analyzing, manipulating, and storing information. Working memory is responsible for keeping information active and accessible.
When solving a business problem, for example, we must keep the issue in mind, extract relevant information from long-term memory, evaluate or conduct calculations, and store the outcome in working memory until we document it.
Human working memory can be improved in the same way as computer random access memories can. However, unlike machines, there are no established norms, and methods may differ from person to person. The human mind, unlike computers, is a psychological entity.
Techniques that work for one person may not work for another. As a result, I concentrate on principles rather than specific methods applications. My goal is to provide readers with customisable alternatives.
So, rather than going into theoretical specifics and individual implementation pieces, I've chosen to introduce practical strategies and principles behind them, along with real-life examples, to increase working memory using lifestyle habits that can provide several benefits to us.
The following are the 12 Steps to Improving Working Memory.
1 — Study and work in a state of flow.
Internal and external distractions are the most dangerous enemies of working memory. Discomfort, agony, tension, and anxiety can all be internal distractions. Noise, interruptions such as a phone call or a doorbell, and extreme heat or cold are examples of external distractions.
In my experience, studying and working in a flow state is the most effective means of improving and retaining working memory. The reason for this is that in a flow state, the body and mind are in sync. This state occurs when we eliminate all internal and external distractions.
A flow state is a psychological concept that can be achieved by practicing mindfulness concepts such as living in the now, removing mental clutter, practicing self-compassion, focusing, paying attention to one thing at a time, and switching tasks effortlessly. Flow state is a mindfulness method that is related to the following points.
2— Practice mindfulness and meditation on a regular basis.
Meditation and mindfulness activities can indirectly improve working memory. However, as I saw and witnessed, these techniques make a significant contribution to working memory.
Because working memory is dependent on other cognitive capacities, such as focus and attention, mindfulness techniques, particularly meditation, can play an important role in enhancing it and producing cognitive flexibility.
There are two critical cognitive aspects that can be improved through mindfulness activities to increase working memory. The first is to improve focus and attention span. The second is brain adaptation to stress.
Mindful living and meditation exercises can greatly reduce stress and increase working memory flexibility. Working memory formation is directly tied to focus and attention. Meditation can help to improve them, and it can also help to increase working memory.
Mindfulness and contemplative focus are natural methods for improving working memory. As a result, I meditate three times a day to maintain my focus, attention, task switching, and working memory.
Meditation comes in a variety of forms and techniques. It is up to you to select a meditation technique that fits your personality and goals. The key thing is to make meditation a habit, a hobby, or a way of life.
3 — When dealing with powerful emotions, use various senses.
Human memories, as I indicated in the start, are coded using emotions. Emotions, unlike computer memories, cause neurochemicals in the brain to be released. Thus, combining many senses to boost working memory can be an effective method.
People have distinct cognitive styles and use different senses. Some people solely focus on dominating emotions in order to use and code short-term memories. Adding extra senses, however, can dramatically improve memory coding, processing, storage, and retrieval.
When we are performing specific tasks, adding emotions to them allows us to more efficiently register those memories. As a result, retrieving emotionally charged memories is also quicker and easier. We can speed up the coding and retrieval process by using diverse emotions.
Emotions that are frequently utilized and compounded might draw on resources from several brain regions. As a result, we can effortlessly enter the flow state by using the entire brain.
In a flow state, chores can be more manageable and enjoyable. Memories, for example, flow with the help of pleasurable feelings.
Using numerous emotions with childish curiosity was one of the most successful techniques for me to increase my working memory. This method also boosted other cognitive skills, providing me greater cognitive flexibility and increasing my cognitive reserves.
4 — Deconstruct and reassemble data.
Working memory capacity is limited. It can only handle a little quantity of data at a time. To access long-term memories, we need working memory with good task switching.
Working memory can often manage seven to nine chunks of the digit at a time, as cognitive scientists have discovered over the previous century.
There are some exceptions to this rule. Some people, for example, can handle 50 to 100 digits as numerals or sentences at the same time. They are, however, in the minority. However, I witnessed persons who improved their digit count from seven to twenty in a matter of years by employing numerous memory enhancement strategies, which I outlined in this post.
One of the most important discoveries was that these people can swiftly deconstruct information into smaller bits in order to speed up the retention process with rapid task switching and enhanced focus.
Working memory can be taxed when reading long words and calculating huge figures. As a result, when processing information, we need design ways for splitting long words and enormous numbers. This is referred to as deconstructing and reconstructing information.
To digest a paragraph, for example, we must first understand each sentence and connect their meanings. The following practical tips can be used as a useful strategy for this aim.
5— Make graphic representations of items and occurrences.
Visualizing objects and events and mapping them to well-known locales such as a house or an office is one strategy for increasing working memory.
When learning new information, for example, I see rooms in my house or workplace as components and tiny elements of objects, processes, or occurrences.
Then I arrange the pieces in a chronological order depending on specified dates. For example, a birthday, an anniversary, a graduation day, or other occasions with strong emotional overtones. Emotions are essential to the memory-making process and memory coding.
Working memory is dependent on visual cues, which is why illustrated mental maps with location and time are used. Imagination is a cognitive capacity that can help you increase your working memory.
Working memory can be improved by disciplining our imaginative process. As a result, employing self-disciplined and ordered imagination can be a powerful strategy for improving working memory.
6— Pay close attention and read with enthusiasm.
Sound is the next most essential sense for working memory after visual cues. As a result, attentive listening can help to strengthen working memory. Working memory is dependent on focus, attention, and task switching.
The more we pay attention to a conversation partner's remarks, the faster we may switch tasks, resulting in later processing, coding, retaining, and retrieving memories.
Reading is a cognitive skill as well. Passionate reading with high interest, like careful listening, can improve working memory.
Thus, active listening and focused reading are key skills that can strengthen our working memory by retaining our attention in the reading or listening tasks.
7— In a second-person narration, teach or explain what you've learned.
Explaining processes, concepts, and things to ourselves and others has been shown to improve memory.
Using a specific approach (changing from first-person to second-person narrative) might positively reinforce memories. Instead of saying, "I did this," you may construct a character that says, "John said this or did this by doing XYZ."
For memory usage, this strategy can employ both visual and auditory clues. This method can help us reinforce working memory and code them better with a distinctive structure.
In my experience, sharing what we learn to others is one of the most effective strategies to strengthen working memory and reinforce learning.
Teaching information to others can improve working memory capacity, increase retention of long-term memories many times, and allow for quick recall of material.
I usually find people to teach at work, in my family, or in my community. When I don't have somebody to teach a new topic to, I try to teach it myself. In an article titled Here's Why Talking to Myself Is Not Crazy But Clever, I documented the therapeutic and cognitive importance of self-talk.
8 — Develop meaningful relationships with people.
The brain uses neuronal connections inside the dark skull to make sense of the surroundings. Meaningful interactions with people can improve working memory capacity.
Neuroplasticity is the brain's method for strengthening neuronal links and relationships. When the brain is used, it is always developing. Meaningful connections with people can both reinforce and build new brain pathways, a process known as neurogenesis.
The bottlenecks between distinct brain areas are the major limitations of working memory. Strengthening connections across brain regions is therefore crucial to improving our working memory.
Thus, meaningful social connections allow us to effectively utilise multiple brain sections and reduce the gaps that cause bottlenecks in communication across brain regions.
According to my observations, socially active persons have stronger working memory. They may, for example, digest names rapidly and recall them better in the future.
9 — Turn daily tasks into neurobic activities.
Consistent usage of neurobic exercises is one of the most effective strategies to engage multiple brain regions and rewire brain circuits. Using a habitual task in varied ways and styles is a hallmark of a neurobic activity.
Brushing our teeth, for example, is a habit. If we are right-handed, we can attempt brushing with our left hand until it feels normal, just like brushing with our right.
Neurobic activities can improve working memory capacity and develop cognitive reserves by stimulating different brain regions and creating new neural pathways. Daily activities serve as brain stimulants for me.
After a few years of engaging in neurobic activities such as dexterous writing, I observed a significant improvement in my working memory. My behavior exhibited new brain connections.
10 — Learn to play an instrument or play computer games.
The brain enjoys pleasurable activities and responds favorably to the formation of new neural pathways. One notion is that stress reduction causes the brain to develop.
I discovered a plethora of recreational and instructive computer games that explicitly focus on strengthening working memory. For example, I spend about 15 minutes each day playing Elevate and Lumosity games.
Playing chess with friends was beneficial, but playing chess with computers in various apps and with IBM's Blue Gene boosted my working memory tremendously.
A new game model can be unsettling at first. This suggests that neurocircuits are evolving and changing. These games become easier and faster to accomplish after a few days.
You may easily modify the levels in computer games starting from a comfortable level. They can be far more adjustable and manageable than traditional sudoku games or paper-based puzzles.
You can stay at a level for as long as you wish until your working memory can handle more information and new brain connections are formed to improve the process.
During my studies, I observed musicians and assessed their cognitive ability. Those who could play an instrument had improved working memory compared to those who couldn't.
Playing games and musical instruments can also help to improve focus, attention, task switching, and problem-solving skills. As a result, they help to increase working memory.
11 — Consume or supplement critical brain nutrients.
The preceding ten points discussed the psychological aspects of memory. The brain, on the other hand, is a biological, chemical, and electrical organ capable of processing, retaining, and retrieving memories.
As a result, what we eat is important for the brain to function and perform well. The brain requires proper amounts of various nutrients for energy and neurotransmitters.
The most important include micronutrients like minerals and vitamins, as well as macronutrients like amino acids, glucose, dietary fats like omega-3s, and fat metabolites like ketone bodies. In a previous piece, I detailed seven beneficial nutrients for the brain.
If we don't get enough of these nutrients, our cognitive health and performance can decline, hurting our working memories. One of the core causes of neurodegenerative illnesses such as dementia is nutritional insufficiency. I discussed the conditions that cause memory problems.
12 — Move quickly and sleep soundly.
Movement, sleep, and fasting all have the potential to alter brain chemistry, so impacting our cognitive health and performance.
For example, regular exercise, restful sleep, and time-restricted eating can enhance BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor), putting the brain in a growth state, and preventing deterioration.
Movement can improve blood flow to and oxygenate neurons and neurocircuits. In addition, movement can decrease toxins via the lymphatic system and allow the neurons to activate properly.
Fasting and sleeping can also help to cleanse pathogens and detoxify brain cells. Fasting can also cause ketosis, activate autophagy, and signal genes to reduce cellular inflammation in the brain.
These chemical and electrical activities from exercise, sleep, and fasting can improve cognitive health and help to increase working memory capacity.
Conclusions and Key Points
As these 12 steps demonstrate, our memories require both physical and psychological care. Memories are physical and mental entities that undergo emotional processing.
Even though memory is important in establishing our identities, we cannot rely solely on it. After several decades, a computer correctly recalls what is kept in memory. However, most of them are forgotten or just partially remembered by humans.
Working memories accurately mirror reality. Long-term memories, on the other hand, are always filtered and may not always reflect reality. Furthermore, as dementia sufferers demonstrate, memories can become twisted or misplaced with time.
Surprisingly, the brain perceives reality as a relative phenomenon. It generates an image that is similar to an illusion. The colors we see, for example, are inaccurate. There is no such thing as a blue sky, according to science. That meaning is provided by the brain.
In this story, I emphasized working memory as an important survival tool. Working memory is critical to our personal and professional success. Working memory is thus a crucial mental resource.
Unfortunately, it has a limited capability; nevertheless, with constant practice, it can be improved. We feel well, love our work, and create well when we have a good working memory. The inverse is also true.
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