If you鈥檙e constantly misplacing your keys and forgetting items on your grocery list, you probably just chalk it up to a bad memory. There are, however, steps you can take to improve your ability to retain information. On Tuesday on 四虎影院's Think, Krys Boyd talked to a neuroscientist to get a few tips.
says sleep is like flossing 鈥� many of us think we don鈥檛 really need it, or we know we need it but don鈥檛 do it.
It鈥檚 during that down time, though, that our brains consolidate memories.
鈥淭he things that happen to you during the day are tossed around in your mind while you sleep," he says. "And connections are made between them and they鈥檙e categorized in different ways, and they鈥檙e processed so that you can remember them later.鈥�
So while it鈥檚 important to get a good night鈥檚 rest, say, before a big meeting, it鈥檚 also vital to sleep well after.
鈥淚f your sleep is disrupted or you don鈥檛 get your normal amount of sleep or you stay up late, the events of that previous day can be disrupted for weeks or months afterwards.鈥�
If you find that you鈥檙e still having trouble remembering things, Levitin has another piece of advice: get hitched. Or at least get yourself a significant other.
鈥淯sually on an unspoken basis, romantic partners divide up the memory load for their couple. One member of the couple might implicitly take responsibility for things related to home repair and another related to the social calendar," he says. "It allows us to effectively double our memory capacity.鈥�
So if you鈥檙e single and an insomniac, you鈥檝e got yet another reason to be annoyed by all those well-rested married couples.
The good news is: you probably won鈥檛 remember why they bug you for long.
Daniel Levitin鈥檚 book is called . Think re-airs Monday through Thursday at 9 p.m., or .
