When we experience something, there’s a variety of different factors which determine how well we’ll remember it—and how we’ll feel about it later on. Science has tasked itself with exploring the things which make our memory tick. Here are ten ways you can manipulate this fundamental part of your mind, because 10 things can truly change the way you store and retrieve information.
10 Sounds During Sleep Reinforce Memories
Scientists have discovered that memories linked to sound can be strengthened by playing those sounds softly while we snooze. In one study, participants tackled a Guitar‑Hero‑style game, learning two tunes before taking a nap. While they were in deep sleep, one of the melodies was whispered into their ears. Upon waking, the tune they heard during slumber was the one they could reproduce best from memory.
A follow‑up experiment by the same team asked volunteers to remember the locations of images on a screen, each paired with a distinct sound. When a particular sound was replayed during the subjects’ sleep, they were more likely to recall the original spot of the matching picture. The researchers argue that sleep is a prime time for the brain to consolidate memories, and attaching a sound cue nudges the brain to preserve that specific memory rather than letting it fade among the day’s countless events.
Practical applications are still speculative, but the findings hint that a carefully chosen soundtrack could help us steer which memories stick.
9 Distractions (When You’re Old)
Age‑related forgetfulness can sometimes be mitigated by subtle distractions that reinforce what we want to remember. In a study, two groups—young adults (17‑27) and older adults (60‑78)—studied a list of words, then faced an unexpected second test after a neutral picture‑sorting task. During that interim task, some participants were exposed to background reminders of a subset of the original words.
The older participants who received those background cues showed a striking 30 % boost in recall, while the younger cohort showed no measurable difference. This suggests that surrounding ourselves with passive reminders— even without conscious attention—can bolster memory performance in later life.
8 We Can Practice Forgetting
Psychologist Gerd Thomas Waldhauser has shown that humans can train themselves to deliberately suppress memories. Using EEG scans, he demonstrated that the same brain region responsible for stopping a motor impulse (like catching a ball) lights up when people try to push a memory out of mind. His work indicates that, with practice, we can gain control over this natural suppression mechanism, theoretically allowing us to forget at will.
So far, the technique works only with neutral memories, but Waldhauser speculates that future refinements could help trauma victims and those battling chronic depression by erasing painful recollections.
7 Diet Impacts Your Memory
Nutrition isn’t just about physical health; it also reaches deep into the brain. Diets high in fructose or saturated fat can impair learning and retention. Excessive sugar and bad fats lower levels of DHA, a fatty acid crucial for forming memories. Meanwhile, saturated fat can trigger brain inflammation, further eroding recall abilities.
Boosting omega‑3 intake helps replenish DHA and combat inflammation. While cutting all sweets isn’t mandatory, some studies hint that chocolate may actually support brain function and memory performance.
6 Learning a Second Language
Becoming bilingual, especially from a young age, offers lasting cognitive benefits. Research shows that speaking two or more languages can postpone dementia onset by roughly four years. Bilingual children also outperform monolingual peers on working‑memory tasks— the mental “RAM” that temporarily holds information— and the advantage widens as tasks become more complex.
Beyond memory, bilingualism sharpens focus and improves our ability to filter out distractions.
5 Washing Influences How We Feel About Our Memories
The old saying “wash your hands of guilt” has a scientific basis. Cleanliness can sway how we judge others and ourselves. For instance, being in a foul‑smelling room makes us harsher toward others’ moral lapses. Regarding personal memories, a simple hand‑wash can lessen guilt after a poor decision, as seen in gamblers who, after washing, placed larger bets as if bad luck had been rinsed away.
Conversely, washing after recalling a happy event can dull its emotional impact, showing that physical cleansing can modulate both negative and positive memories.
4 How You Treat A Written‑Down Thought Is Important
Writing notes is a classic memory aid, but the way we handle that paper matters. Ohio State researchers found that crumpling and discarding a note reduces the likelihood that its content will influence later decisions. In contrast, neatly folding and pocketing the paper keeps the thought alive and impactful. Simply leaving the paper on a desk yields a similar benefit.
This suggests our brains respond to physical metaphors—treating a thought gently preserves its influence.
3 Putting Yourself Through Pain Reduces Guilt
Self‑inflicted discomfort can alleviate guilt about past misdeeds. In one experiment, participants wrote about a time they excluded someone, then immersed one arm in icy water while another group used lukewarm water. Those who endured the cold rated their past actions more forgivingly than the warm‑water group.
Interestingly, when participants wrote about neutral daily events and then placed a hand in cold water, they kept their hand in longer and reported more pain than the control group, hinting that the desire for penance drives them to endure extra discomfort.
2 Difficult Fonts Help You Retain Information
Learning material presented in an unusual or hard‑to‑read font can boost recall. Princeton and Indiana researchers gave participants text in either Arial or Comic Sans for 90 seconds. Those who read the Comic Sans version remembered the material better after fifteen minutes.
Extending the study to high‑school classrooms, students who received lessons in a challenging font outperformed peers who studied in a simple font. So, while Comic Sans may be a design faux pas, it might just make your brain work harder and remember more.
1 Drugs Can “Delete” Memories
For individuals battling post‑traumatic stress disorder, intrusive memories can be debilitating. Scientists are developing drugs that interfere with the biochemical process of memory reconsolidation—the phase when recalling a memory essentially rebuilds it. By blocking this process, certain medications can cause distressing memories to fade or even disappear.
Critics argue that erasing memories could alter personal identity, while proponents contend that millions could regain normal lives if harmful recollections are safely removed.
Ready to experiment with your own memory‑hacking toolbox? Dive into these ten strategies and see which ones stick!