Drifting off while studying or forgetting something you heard a minute ago is a common experience. Citing a Harvard Health Publishing report, Dhaka Tribune lists four everyday habits that can help with concentration and remembering information. The report notes that memory can begin to decline from the age of 45.
The first is to listen closely: look at the person speaking and, if something is unclear, ask them to repeat it or to speak a little more slowly. This matters most when hearing times, places or instructions, because what is not understood at the start is hard to recall later.
The second is to repeat what you heard in your own words, which checks that you understood it. In Harvard's example, if someone says you are due at one place at 7.30 in the evening or another at 7.50, saying back where and when helps fix the time and place in memory.
The third is to read or work somewhere quiet. A television in the background, constant phone notifications or nearby conversation break concentration, so the advice is to switch off the television and notifications while studying and to hold important conversations in a calm setting.
The fourth is to do one thing at a time. Reading, checking the phone and answering messages together keeps attention jumping between tasks. When you sit down to read, read, and if someone asks you something, answer after you finish if you can.
According to Dr Howard E. LeWine, chief medical editor at Harvard Health Publishing, information that is not listened to carefully or properly understood is hard to remember. Practised regularly, these four small habits can help people take in and retain everyday information.
Photo: a student reading in a library (file), Tulane Public Relations / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Source: Dhaka Tribune
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