Classification

Your memory can be categorized into 8 different types: Episodic, Factual, Semantic, Sensory, Instinctive, Skill, Collective, and Past Life memory. These different parts describe the function that every single part of the memory is responsible for. For example, factual memory is responsible for remembering facts such as the date of Christmas is the 25th of December. Skill memory is interesting, in that every type of skills involve your memory as well. Learning to ride a bike, or baking, involves using your brain to remember each particular skill.

One other way of classifying your memory is in terms of duration ? Short term, Long term and sensory memory. Short term memory refers to the recent memory, and is usually only held for a very short period of time. A common example would be when you meet many new people, cursorily introduced at a party. Long term memory, on the other hand, can be also casually referred to as a database where all the information that you have learnt is kept. Sensory memory is conveyed through your senses of sight and sound, where you keep these ?images? in your mind.

Brain

Fast learners or people who are able to remember many facts are normally classified as the more intelligent group. However, is intelligence and memory even related at all? There is not much difference between you and your neighbor, or someone else half the world away. What then accounts for this difference in intelligence? Your memory plays a key role in acting as a resource for you to be able to dig deep and use the knowledge you have acquired, and place them together to reason. Through the use of memory together with new experiences, you will find that an individual who learns from mistakes will not repeat a similar mistake again. Again, this is the memory at work, giving you the ability to remember and hence avoiding the error.

Aging

It is absolutely essential to possess a clear mind. Whilst older people are more prone to suffering dementia, it can be reversed before it reaches an advanced stage. Keeping a healthy diet, exercising, sleep and having the right amounts of nutrients can prevent you from having dementia. Elderly people are less likely to have severe problems with memory improvement skills if they have faith in their abilities and strive to improve their recall. Just as physical exercise increases your muscle mass, constant exercising of your mind will help you to improve your brain.

Learning

When studying or learning something new, it is always helpful to have another person to learn it together with. By sharing knowledge, engaging in discussions and teaching each other, it sends a signal to your mind that the information is helpful and this helps you to store it in the long term memory. Bear in mind that systematic learning does not equate to memorizing by rote, rather it is more like developing a process that will help you to remember the information that you have learnt easily. There are many methods to help your brain create such linkages.

Confidence

Lastly, confidence is an essential factor when aiming to improve your memory. Being more confident, you will be able to overcome momentary lapses of memory. Confidence can transform the way you learn, and makes a significant difference to your learning process

Always start by first identifying what type of memory you want to improve, and then asking yourself how to go about doing so. Your mind has different types of memory, and exercises to improve one type may not be effective if it is not the right memory classification that you want to work on.