How to Get a Better Memory

Here's something most people get wrong about memory: they think of it as a single thing you either have or you don't. In reality, memory improvement works on three distinct fronts, and the most effective approach combines all three.

The first is brain health: the lifestyle factors that determine how well your memory hardware functions. Sleep, exercise, nutrition, and stress all affect your baseline cognitive capacity. Get these wrong, and no technique will save you.

The second is memory skills: the techniques that let you encode and retain specific information. These methods have been used for over two thousand years because they work. Roman orators memorized hour-long speeches without notes using the same principles you can learn today.

The third is mental exercise: activities that challenge your brain and may help maintain cognitive function as you age. The research here is more nuanced than the brain training industry would have you believe, but there's real value when expectations are realistic.

This page is your roadmap to all three. Whether you're a student preparing for exams, a professional who needs to retain complex information, or someone who simply wants to stay sharp, you'll find proven strategies here.

Pillar 1: Brain Health

Your brain is biological machinery, and like any machinery, it performs better when properly maintained. The lifestyle factors that affect memory aren't mysterious: they're the same things that affect overall health. But their impact on cognition is often underestimated.

Sleep may be the single most important factor. During sleep, your brain consolidates memories from the day, transferring them from temporary to long-term storage. Cut sleep short, and this consolidation process gets interrupted. Chronic sleep deprivation doesn't just make you tired; it actively impairs your ability to form new memories. Most adults need 7-9 hours per night, and those hours aren't negotiable if you want your memory to function well.

Exercise directly affects brain structure. Research shows that aerobic exercise actually increases the size of the hippocampus, the brain region most associated with memory. This isn't a small effect: one year of regular walking reversed age-related volume loss by one to two years. You don't need to run marathons. Brisk walking for 30 minutes, several times a week, produces measurable benefits.

Nutrition provides the raw materials your brain needs to function. The Mediterranean diet, rich in fish, olive oil, vegetables, and whole grains, is associated with better cognitive outcomes in multiple studies. Staying hydrated matters too. Many people are mildly dehydrated without realizing it, and your brain is sensitive to hydration status.

Stress is a memory killer. Chronic stress floods your brain with cortisol, which impairs the hippocampus and makes both encoding and retrieval harder. Managing stress through exercise, meditation, social connection, or whatever works for you isn't just about feeling better. It's about protecting your cognitive function.

For a deeper dive into each of these factors, see the Brain Health section. If you want to start with one change, prioritize sleep. It's the foundation everything else rests on.

Pillar 2: Memory Skills

Memory techniques are tools for encoding and retaining specific information. They work by transforming abstract data into vivid mental images and organizing those images in structures you can navigate. These aren't tricks or shortcuts. They're systematic methods backed by cognitive science.

The ancient orators who gave stirring speeches in the Roman Forum would have considered it shameful to use written notes. They memorized everything using the same core principles that memory champions use today. The techniques have been refined over centuries, but the fundamentals haven't changed: visualization, association, and structured review.

Encoding techniques solve the problem of getting information into your brain in a form you can retrieve. The Memory Palace (also called the Method of Loci) is the most powerful. You mentally place items along a route you know well, like the path through your house. I used this method to memorize the 50 U.S. states in alphabetical order in about 20 minutes. Weeks later, I could still recite them in any order.

Other encoding techniques include the Link Method for chaining items together, the Peg System for memorizing numbered lists, and the Keyword Method for vocabulary. Each has its strengths for different types of information.

Retention techniques solve the problem of keeping information accessible over time. Even perfectly encoded memories fade without strategic review. Spaced repetition, where you review material at gradually increasing intervals, is one of the most robust findings in learning research. Apps like Anki automate this process, scheduling reviews at optimal times for long-term retention.

Active recall, testing yourself rather than passively re-reading, strengthens memory far more than simple review. The effort of retrieving information is precisely what makes it stick.

For a complete overview of both encoding and retention approaches, see the Memory Skills section. If you want quick wins you can use immediately, start with Quick Memory Tips.

Pillar 3: Mental Exercise

Can brain games make you smarter? The honest answer is: not exactly, but they're not worthless either.

Recent research confirms that brain training games can improve specific cognitive skills like processing speed, working memory, and attention. What they probably won't do is boost your general intelligence or prevent dementia on their own. The improvements are real but targeted: you get better at the skills the games train.

That's actually useful information. If you want to maintain processing speed as you age, games that challenge quick visual identification and rapid responses can help. If you want to exercise working memory, matching games and sequence challenges like Simon target that function. The key is matching the game type to the skill you want to develop.

Beyond specific cognitive benefits, there's value in simply engaging your brain with challenging activities. Puzzles, strategy games, and learning new skills all provide mental stimulation that passive entertainment doesn't. One study found that older adults learning multiple new skills simultaneously showed cognitive improvements similar to people 30 years younger.

The Brain Games section offers over 200 free online games organized by the cognitive skills they exercise. No login required. But remember: brain games work best as one component of an overall approach that includes the lifestyle factors and memory techniques discussed above.

Putting It All Together

The three pillars reinforce each other. Good sleep makes learning easier. Exercise improves the brain's capacity to form memories. Memory techniques let you encode information efficiently. Mental exercise helps maintain the skills you've built.

You don't need to do everything at once. Start where you'll see the biggest return:

If your memory feels generally foggy, start with brain health. Are you getting enough sleep? Exercising regularly? These basics often explain more than people realize.

If you need to memorize specific information, learn a memory technique. The Memory Palace takes some practice but pays off enormously. For simpler needs, the Link Method or basic mnemonic devices might be enough.

If you're studying for exams, focus on retention strategies. Spaced repetition and active recall will help you remember what you learn far better than re-reading your notes.

If you want to stay sharp as you age, combine regular mental challenge with physical exercise and social engagement. The evidence for this combination is stronger than for any single intervention.

Understanding How Memory Works

You don't need to understand neuroscience to improve your memory, but a basic grasp of how memory works can help you use techniques more effectively.

Memory isn't a single system. You have working memory (your mental scratchpad for the current moment), short-term memory (lasting seconds to minutes), and long-term memory (lasting days to decades). Information flows from perception through these stages, with most of it lost along the way. The techniques on this site are designed to move more information into long-term storage and keep it retrievable.

For a quick overview, see How Memory Works. To clear up common misconceptions, check out the Top 10 Memory Myths. And if you encounter unfamiliar terminology, the Memory Glossary explains key terms.

Where to Go Next

This page is a starting point. Here's where to go based on what you need:

Quick wins: Quick Memory Tips offers strategies you can use today.

Memory techniques: Memory Skills covers both encoding and retention approaches.

Brain health: The Brain Health section covers sleep, exercise, nutrition, and stress.

Brain games: Free Brain Games offers 200+ games organized by cognitive skill.

For students: Study Skills focuses on learning and retention for academic success.

Concentration issues: Improve Your Concentration addresses attention, the gateway to memory.

Whatever path you choose, remember that memory improvement is a skill. Like any skill, it develops with practice. The techniques work, but only if you use them.

References & Research

I've reviewed these sources and selected them for their relevance to understanding memory improvement. Here's what each contributes:

1. Rasch, B., & Born, J. (2013). "About Sleep's Role in Memory." Physiological Reviews, 93(2), 681-766. Free full text at PMC
Researcher's Note: This comprehensive review synthesizes decades of research on how sleep consolidates memory. The evidence is overwhelming: sleep isn't just rest for the body. It's an active process where the brain reorganizes and strengthens memories, particularly during slow-wave sleep. If you want to understand why sleep deprivation hurts memory, this is the definitive source.

2. Erickson, K.I., Voss, M.W., Prakash, R.S., et al. (2011). "Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(7), 3017-3022. Free full text at PMC
Researcher's Note: This landmark randomized controlled trial showed that one year of aerobic exercise actually increased hippocampal volume by 2% in older adults, effectively reversing 1-2 years of age-related shrinkage. The hippocampus is critical for memory formation, and this study demonstrates that its decline with age is not inevitable. Walking works.

3. Cepeda, N.J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J.T., & Rohrer, D. (2006). "Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis." Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354-380. Free PDF
Researcher's Note: This meta-analysis synthesizes decades of research on spacing effects. The conclusion is unambiguous: distributing practice over time produces substantially better long-term retention than massing practice into a single session. This is one of the most actionable findings in memory research.

4. Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K.A., Marsh, E.J., Nathan, M.J., & Willingham, D.T. (2013). "Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology." Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4-58. ResearchGate
Researcher's Note: This landmark review evaluated ten learning techniques for effectiveness. Practice testing (active recall) and distributed practice (spacing) received the highest ratings. Highlighting and re-reading, which most students rely on, were rated low utility. This paper fundamentally shaped how I think about learning.

5. Somaa, F., Khan, A., & Arafah, A. (2025). "Efficacy of Brain Training Games on the Cognitive Functioning, Working Memory and Processing Speed of Healthy Individuals: A Meta-Analysis." Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences, 17(Suppl 2), S1719-S1723. Free full text at PMC
Researcher's Note: This recent meta-analysis of 16 randomized controlled trials found statistically significant improvements in cognitive functioning, working memory, and processing speed from brain training games. The effects are real but targeted. Importantly, some studies found aerobic exercise equally or more effective, which aligns with the brain health pillar.

6. Leanos, S., Kürüm, E., Strickland-Hughes, C.M., et al. (2023). "The Impact of Learning Multiple Real-World Skills on Cognitive Abilities and Functional Independence in Healthy Older Adults." The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 78(8), 1305-1317. Free full text at PMC
Researcher's Note: This study found that older adults who learned multiple new skills simultaneously (Spanish, drawing, music composition) showed cognitive improvements similar to people 30 years younger. It suggests that challenging your brain with genuine novelty produces real benefits, supporting the value of continued learning at any age.

Published: 02/01/2006
Last Updated: 12/27/2025