We all know that it is important to get exercise to keep our bodies in good health, but what most of us don't know is that our brains also can get the same kind of benefit by doing mental exercises. Like a muscle, your brain must receive a workout from time to time to keep fit. You can keep your brain in shape by doing some of these exercises for short term memory.
For instance, we might use short term memory to remember phone number s just long enough to dial it or to remember the names of the people we are meeting just once. Short term memory is quickly cleared out so that we have more space, and to rid our mind of information that we deem unimportant, but you'll find that with exercises that you can make your short term memory hold more information and hold it in such a way as to make it more useful.
The Picture Game
The picture game, which is a lot like the game we play with children called "peek a boo" asks you to look at a picture. It can be from a book or a magazine or any other source where the picture will stay the same. Look at it for a few seconds and then look away.
Try to list as many details about the picture as you can, as quickly as you can. What details did you miss, and how many did you get wrong? The more you play this game, the better at it you will get, and you will find that this is a great one to share with your whole family.
Listening Games
This works much like the picture exercise. Using audio clips can be a good way to exercise your short term memory too. Any sort of audio clip will work fine; a clip from the news or talk radio, the top ten countdown, whatever you prefer. Be sure to record the audio so it can be rewound however.
Try to remember all the details you can by writing them down after the clip is over. Then, rewind and see how many details you got right. By practicing over and over, you will increase your short term memory power and this will increase your ability to remember things you hear.
These are just two of the games that you can play that will help you keep your short term memory in shape, and you'll find that they can be played anywhere, at any time. This is instrumental towards keeping your memory healthy and to helping you hold on to information.