According to a study, there is an easy method to improve your long-term memory, and it involves reading.
We may all have a way that we think is more or less effective for remembering certain things. Consult them once a day, or on the eve of a duty. But is there a virtually foolproof way to permanently mark information in our minds? A study published in 2017, and jointly conducted by Professors Noah D. Forrin and Colin M. MacLeod, delivers a seemingly very simple method to strengthen his memory.
The survey, published in review Memoryreveals that the most effective way to remember information is to speak it out loud. To reach this conclusion, the scientists compared different ways of learning written data: by reading it silently, by listening to someone else read it, by listening to a recording of oneself and, finally, by s listening to them read in real time.
Easier memorization because involving one’s own person
Reading aloud in real time has therefore proven to be the most effective method. The authors of the study indicate that “the production is memorable in part because it includes a distinctive, self-referential component. This may well explain why repetition is so valuable for learning and memorization: we do it ourselves, and we do it with our own voice. When it’s time to retrieve information, we can use this distinctive component to help us remember.”
Other means may give good results
Even if being visibly the best of all for better learning, hearing oneself read is not the only method to give satisfactory results according to these researchers: “Mumbling, writing, and typing words have also been shown to be memory-enhancing productions, and drawing pictures has been proven to help as well.”