Memory Exercises To Improve Brain Function

Short answer: The memory exercises that work best for students are self-testing (recalling information without looking), spacing reviews over several days, chunking information into groups, using visual tricks like the memory palace, and teaching the material to someone else. Commercial “brain games” mostly improve the games themselves, not schoolwork.

Most students who “forget everything on the test” did learn the material. What they did not practice was pulling it back out of memory. The exercises below train exactly that, and they work for short-term recall in class and long-term recall on exam day.

Key points

• Testing beats rereading: Recalling information from memory strengthens it more than reviewing it again.
• Space it out: Several short reviews over days or weeks outlast one long cram session.
• Working memory is small: Young adults hold roughly 3 to 5 meaningful chunks at once.
• Chunk and picture it: Grouping and visual images let you hold more in mind.
• Teach it back: Explaining an idea in your own words exposes what you do not know.
• Be skeptical of brain games: Research finds little transfer from brain training to everyday thinking.

What types of memory do students use?

Working memory is the bottleneck. Psychologist Nelson Cowan’s research suggests young adults can hold only about 3 to 5 meaningful items in mind at once, and that the famous “seven plus or minus two” reflects tricks like rehearsal and grouping (Cowan, 2010). The exercises below either make better use of that small space or move information into long-term memory, where space is not the problem.

Do brain-training games improve memory?

Mostly they make you better at the game. A large scientific review of brain-training programs found that practice reliably improves the trained tasks, but found little evidence that it improves distantly related tasks or everyday cognitive performance (Simons et al., Psychological Science in the Public Interest).

That is good news for students. The most effective memory exercise is practicing recall of the material you actually need to know.

What are the best memory exercises for studying?

1. Self-testing (retrieval practice)

Close the book and write down everything you remember, answer flashcards, or redo a problem from scratch. In a well-known experiment, students who repeatedly tested themselves remembered a passage much better after two days and after one week than students who repeatedly restudied it, even though restudying looked better five minutes later (Roediger and Karpicke, 2006).

A major review of study techniques rated practice testing and spaced practice as high utility, and rereading and highlighting as low utility (Dunlosky et al., 2013).

2. Spaced review

Instead of cramming, return to the same material at growing intervals. A simple schedule for a set of math formulas:

1. Right after learning them. Write each formula from memory once.
2. Before bed. Recall them again without notes.
3. The next day. Use each one in a practice problem.
4. One week later. Self-test, and redo any you missed.
5. Three weeks later. A final check before the unit test.

Tutor tip: Our SAT tutors recommend a small daily habit, such as five practice questions a day, over occasional long sessions. The same idea works for any class: a few minutes of recall every day keeps old material fresh.

3. Chunking

Because working memory holds only a few items, group details into meaningful units. A phone number is ten digits but three chunks: 415, 555, 0123. In chemistry, learn polyatomic ions as families; in history, group events by cause.

4. Visualization and the memory palace

Pictures stick. Pairing words with an image or diagram gives you two ways to recall the same idea, a principle often called dual coding. The memory palace takes this further:

1. Pick a familiar place, such as your home.
2. Place each fact on an object. For a history exam, put a key date on the clock, a change in leadership on a chair, and a major storm on the refrigerator.
3. Walk through it. On the test, mentally walk the route and “see” each fact where you left it.

5. Mnemonics and acronyms

Mnemonics link new information to something you already know. Acronyms use initials (NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Acrostics turn initials into a phrase: “Never Eat Sour Watermelon” gives the compass points north, east, south and west in clockwise order.

6. Teaching it back

Explain the idea out loud, in simple words, to a friend, a parent or an empty chair. This approach is often called the Feynman technique. Wherever you stumble is exactly what to review. It works especially well with a tutor, who can tell you whether your explanation is actually right.

7. Understanding where it comes from

Facts with a reason behind them are far easier to recall than isolated facts. In math, that means deriving a formula once instead of memorizing it cold.

“Once you go through this process, you’ll never forget πr² again.”

Sean Alexander, founder of Alexander Tutoring

Sean says this after showing students where the area of a circle comes from. Our post on how to memorize math formulas applies the same idea to other formulas.

Which everyday exercises help short-term memory and focus?

These will not replace self-testing, but they train attention, which short-term memory depends on.

• Mental math. Add 47 + 38 as 47 + 30 = 77, then 77 + 8 = 85. Multiply 25 × 16 as 25 × 4 × 4 = 100 × 4 = 400. Work out a 15% tip on $42 as 10% ($4.20) plus 5% ($2.10) = $6.30.
• The “four details” exercise. Look at an object or scene for a few seconds, look away, and name at least four details: color, shape, size, texture.
• Retelling. At the end of the day, recall a class or conversation in as much detail as you can, out loud or in a journal.
• Active listening. In class, listen for the main point and restate it in your own words before writing it down.
• Mindfulness. A few minutes of focused breathing can help you notice and set aside distractions. See our mindfulness activities for students.

Do exercise, music and breaks help memory?

They play a supporting role. Short breaks between study blocks make it easier to stay focused, and the research on exercise and music is more nuanced than most headlines suggest. For the details, read does exercise improve memory? and does music help with memorization?

Tutor tip: If you freeze on tests even when you know the material, practice recall under light time pressure at home. Our guide to identifying test anxiety covers what else can help.

How can a tutor help strengthen memory?

A tutor makes retrieval practice routine. Each session can open with a few quick questions on last week’s material, revisit older topics on a spaced schedule, and ask you to explain your reasoning instead of just giving answers.

That steady recall under mild pressure builds confidence for tests. For more techniques, see 8 memorization techniques every student should use.

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