You KNOW you know ….
That word
That name
That number

You just can”t THINK of it.

So what’s happening??

Brain overload?
Too many things in your mind at once?
Too many drinks?
Didn’t take enough notice in the first place?
Exhausted?

These are all likely causes or short-term memory loss.

Given space to think and recall – or sleep – that lost thought will most often come back to you.

Lack of sleep could be the main culprit.

Sleep researchers say for every two hours we spend awake, the brain needs an hour of sleep to sort out the meaning of all that we’ve experienced. To read more about this study

Sleep not only helps store facts, it also helps make connections between them.

Sleep-deprivation experiments show that a tired brain has a difficult time capturing memories of all sorts, and an even tougher time making decisions.

Look after your brain to protect it against short-term memory loss.

It’s not fatal – but it can be darned embarrassing!

To find out about other ways you can sharpen your memory skills, sign up for Brain Tune. It’s a six-part memory training course that is easy, fun to do and hundreds of our readers tell us it has worked for them. It’s also free because we want everyone to have the opportunity to build a buffer of new brain connections. Research tells us that is the best, non-prescription protection against Alzheimer’s.

We will never reveal your details to anyone else.

With a bit of space to think and recall, I could begin to organize combinations of garments in my mind and, even better, after a decent night’s sleep, my mind was clear. I didn’t need either of them because I found a skirt in the wardrobe that I had scarcely worn that was a better match. Well, I guess this doesn’t count as a life-changing event but it reminded me that sometimes, under pressure, it is hard to sort out and combine all of the thoughts you have that are relevant to the problem in hand.

That sleep I had was important in helping me sort out what I wanted to do as well. It was no surprise, then, to find out that sleep researchers believe that for every two hours we spend awake, the brain needs an hour of sleep to figure out what all the experiences we have engaged in mean.

Sleep not only helps store facts, it also helps make connections between them. It’s the time when the brain’s two memory systems—the hippocampus and the neocortex—”talk” with one other, which plays a crucial role in constructing meaning in our lives.

Conversely, sleep-deprivation experiments have shown that a tired brain has a difficult time capturing memories of all sorts, and an even tougher time making decisions. We need our sleep.

“Relational memory is a bit like solving a jigsaw puzzle,” explains senior author Matthew Walker, PhD, Director of the Sleep and Neuroimaging Laboratory at BIDMC and Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School (HMS).

“It’s not enough to have all the puzzle pieces — you also have to understand how they fit together.”

Researchers Walker and Jeffrey Ellenbogen, MD, a postdoctoral fellow at HMS and sleep neurologist, hypothesized that relational memory develops during “off-line” periods and that, like procedural memory, it would be enhanced following a period of sleep.

They tested 56 healthy college students, each of whom was shown five pairs of unfamiliar abstract patterns — colourful oval shapes resembling Faberge’ eggs. The students were then told that some of the patterns were “correct” while others were “incorrect,” but were not told that there was a hidden “hierarchy” linking all five of the pairs together. The three groups were then tested for their understanding of the larger “big picture” relationship between the individual patterns. The results showed that the students who had had periods of sleep between learning and testing, significantly outperformed the other groups.

“This strongly implies that sleep is actively engaged in the cognitive processing of our memories,” says Ellenbogen.

“Knowledge appears to expand both over time and with sleep.”

Help Short Term Memory

Walker added, “These findings point to an important benefit [of sleep] that we had not previously considered. Sleep not only strengthens a person’s individual memories, it appears to actually knit them together and help realize how they are associated with one another.”

And this may turn out to be the primary goal of sleep: You go to bed with pieces of the memory puzzle, and awaken with the jigsaw completed.”

Never forget again!

Most people want to know how to improve their brain. Trouble is, most want improvement without actually having to do anything! And they want it NOW.

Well, there are some quick fixes that you can do today – and there are hints about some ways of doing things that will give you longer term improvement. No-one has to accept forgetfulness as a way of life, particularly if you are entering your 50’s and 60’s.

Scientists have now shown that building up a `cognitive reserve’ will give you a buffer against memory loss of the minor kind and may even delay the onset of actual memory diseases like Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

So, here’s the plan:

1. Believe that you have a good memory that can and will improve. Too many people let themselves off the hook by saying things like, ‘I’m no good with names’, “I’m having a senior moment’. And they leave it at that. Don’t let that be you. Persist until you remember whatever it was. Be determined and positive and be pleased with yourself when you succeed. Keep motivated and don’t say negative things about your memory.

2. Keep challenging your brain. Like any muscle in the body, regularly “exercising” the brain keeps it growing. New nerve connections develop and they improve your chance of remembering. Complex tasks such as learning a newcomputer program, language or musical instrument—keep your brain active and improve its physiological functioning. Your brain can regrow!

3. Regular aerobic exercise of at least 20 minutes a day improves your circulation throughout the body, including in the brain, and can help ward off the memory loss that comes with aging. Exercise also makes you more alert and relaxed, so your mental processing will be more effective.

4. Reducing any serious stress you are experiencing will improve your memory. I know it is easier said than done but stretching, relaxation exercises and any form of meditation will allow for more effective thinking processes. While chronic stress does not physically damage the brain, it can make focus, observation and remembering much more difficult.

5. A healthy diet will support your healthy brain, and a well-nourished brain functions much more efficiently. Include in your diet, foods containing antioxidants, like broccoli, blueberries, green tea, spinach, and red berries as well as Omega-3 fatty acids. Your brain also needs Thiamine, Vitamin E, Niacin and Vitamin B-6. Grazing, eating 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 large meals, also seems to improve mental functioning (including memory) by counteracting dips in blood sugar, which may negatively affect the brain. Supplements often purport to improve memory but only ginkgo biloba and phosphatidylserine have shown improvements in clinical trials.

6. Consciously practise your skills of observation. Notice details. Ask questions. Express an interest and actively attempt to learn something new. I have been the world’s worst at noticing details but I am making a conscious effort to overcome this tendency because I have found the more precise attention I pay, the better I remember.

7. Give yourself at least seven seconds of processing to form a memory. Memories are very transitory in the short-term, and distractions can make you quickly forget something as simple as a phone number. Focus on what you want to remember without distractions, all the while noticing details, repeating or connecting the new information.

8. Use all of your senses when forming these connections. Create for yourself vivid, memorable images because you remember information more easily if you can visualize it. Some people imagine quite bizarre happenings to connect ideas – it is up to you!

9. Repetition is memory’s friend. The more times you hear, see, or think about something, the more likely you are to remember it. When you want to remember a phone number, url or your colleague’s birthday, repeat it, either out loud or silently. Try writing it down; recite it again in ten minutes and half an hour later.

10. Categorizing individual things, often called chunking, will help you remember seemingly random items on a list. Practice with your shopping list.

11. Get organized. Have a designated place for items that you frequently need, such as keys and wallet. Use an electronic organizer or daily planner to keep track of appointments, due dates for bills, and other tasks. Improved organization reduces distraction and improves concentration.

12. Getting a good night’s sleep – a minimum of seven hours a night – may improve your short-term memory and long-term relational memory, according to recent studies conducted at the Harvard Medical School.

14. Find out about different skills and techniques for remembering. Mnemonics, memory structures and graphic organizers will visibly improve your memory. Seven Second Memory Plus Six Other Powerful Memory Techniques: Rewire your brain for a youthful mind. will start you on your improving your brain. Try it now.