Need a Memory Upgrade? How to Improve Your Memory, Part 10 of 11

If you are serious about wanting to improve your memory, then you will want to engage the enormous power of your other-than-conscious mind. An easy way to do that is to make use of the time just before you go to sleep.

Whatever you are thinking about or doing before bedtime is what you other-than-conscious mind dwells on as you sleep. Now if this is the latest so-called reality TV show, this is probably bad news for you. On the other hand, if you haven’t been making use of this incredible resource of yours, you are probably already seeing the potential of how powerful using this time can be to improve memory.

If you already have the materials you want to remember in an easy to use format, such as an outline or mind map, or simple notes, then a quick review before you go to sleep can do a great deal to improve your memory of that material. For an additional boost to your memory, review the material once again as soon as you get up the next morning.

When you are doing research, writing term papers or when you have a lot of reading material to cover and remember, it is especially useful to pre-read. First, you make a list of things that you want to know from the reading and write it down. State it in the form of a question whenever possible. Making your list of questions you want answered is essential to getting the most of your efforts, so be sure you do this step.

If you skip this list-making step, then you may as well forget about pre-reading altogether; because when you look at the material without knowing what you want to learn from it, it is like looking at a map and not knowing where you want to go. The route to your destination may be written on the map as plain as day, but if you don’t know your destination it is almost impossible to find your way.

Reading materials are exactly the same. They are full of information, much of it relevant to your search, only you have no idea which information is essential and which is superfluous until you figure out what you want to know from that reading, right? So make your list.

Next, take a look at the beginning and ending of the piece. Usually authors will set up what they want you to know at the beginning paragraph or two of an essay, or in the introduction section of a book. After that, take a look at the end of the piece you are pre-reading. This is usually the last few paragraphs of a chapter or the end of a book, and almost always has summary of the material with the author’s conclusions.

Then lightly skim the materials. This should be very quick. You aren’t reading it; you are merely allowing yourself to see the pages. Your other-than-conscious mind will be extracting the information that you asked it to find by writing the questions you want to be answered from the reading. After that you simply relax and go to sleep, sleep on the ideas until morning.

The next day, read those same reading materials. Much of it will seem familiar to you. You are going to have a vastly greater understanding as you read, and remembering it will be infinitely easier. When you want to improve your memory of something, sleep on it!

Here’s to your success!

Copyright © 2005-2006 by Teresa Bolen. All rights reserved.

Teresa Bolen is a teacher at Todaiji Academy, one of the top 5　schools in Japan, and the author of Master Plan to Master Exams:　How to Discover Your Hidden Abilities to Create the Success You　Desire. You can get her FREE ‘Academic Excellence Report’ at http://www.MasterPlanToMasterExams.com

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