Keeping the memory in good condition is a vital part of the brain’s function. Every now and then, our actions greatly depend on a lot of information we retrieve from our memory bank. Such information can either be short term (such as specific tasks that we have to do) or long term (such as the ability to drive a car or repeat an instruction we read from a book). While long-term memory may come spontaneously without too much effort when the need arises, short-term memory requires recalling information from the accumulation of things stored in our memory. This is why you need to keep your memory in great shape to achieve efficiency in your daily endeavors: ·         Keep your attention focused on the needed information to be stored in your memory bank. Even with distractions around you, stay focused on the subject. The more concentrated you are on the information, the better the chances of retaining it in your memory. ·         Utilize the most ideal sense or senses when gathering the information. This what we call acuity in sensing our environment. Be aware of the color or details of a picture, or the particular sound or smell of the thing involved. All our bodily senses are attuned to collect information depending on the circumstance at hand. While our sense of vision may be the most used in gathering information, our senses of hearing, smell, taste, and touch are equally important and helpful in remembering things, situations, and information about something or someone. ·         When you’re not sure that the information you are about to remember would really be retained by your brain, it would be better to write the information. This could be proven effective especially in gathering very long and tedious information like lecture notes or a personal interview. Just be sure you don’t forget that you have a note at hand; and of course, don’t misplace the note. ·         Maintain a balance diet. A well-proportioned diet will result to a conditioned memory. Oily and sweet foods may cloud the memory. If you cannot completely eliminate a bad diet, gradually cut down your intake of these memory-inhibiting foods. Doing it gradually cushions the effect of withdrawal symptoms and you’ll get adjusted to the new lifestyle you are creating. This is not only beneficial to the memory, but we can say you’re on your way to a healthy life. Drinking lots of water brings lots of advantages to your overall health, and memory is not an exception. ·         Don’t deprive yourself with enough rest and sleep. Having enough sleep does not condone laziness; oversleeping does. So don’t feel guilty resting or sleeping as long as it is not overdone. You need it badly to keep you revitalized from the tiresome demand of work. ·         Take time to relax. Breathe deeply if you must. Keep your thoughts organized before acting on them. Keep away from stress and anxiety. It may be impossible to completely eliminate stress since it is part of our challenging generation, but try to keep it down as much as possible. Stress may bring your memory into its inefficient level. Avoid the habit of saying to yourself that you might forget things, because you’re more likely to if you do. This just builds your anxiety level up to its panic mode.  ·         Stay positive, creative, and energetic. Your memory needs to be within a circle of various things. Things that come in various shapes, sizes, and colors can motivate your creativity. This is a positive way of discovering your surroundings in all its variations and diversities. Avoid being enclosed within the four walls of your room just like you’re a prisoner. The only time to be enclosed is when you have to rest or sleep. Don’t be a couch potato. There’s a very exciting world out there waiting to improve your memory. The very best way to improve your memory is between infancy and adolescent. As we grow old, memory starts to fail. But a strong memory that we can develop during the prime years of our lives will definitely enhance us to be good thinkers. This can be done by continuously exercising our memory through reading and other cognitive activities like the habit of solving crossword puzzles. The more you do these, the better memory retention is developed.  As far as health is concerned, high blood pressure can lead to stroke and heart ailments. It also results to poor memory retention. Memory function declines when blood pressure is high. Researchers have observed that people with normal blood pressure, especially at midlife, have a higher cognitive function. Concentration, decision-making, and remembering functions falter as a result of high blood pressure. What is healthy for the body is likewise healthy for the memory.     

If you cannot enroll for a speed reading program, don’t worry. You can learn speed reading at home too! It’s easy and fun.

Develop Your Own Speed Reading Program

The basic step to learning speed reading is to determine what your current reading speed is. How to do that? Well, take a book or magazine. Select the page you want to read. Set a timer for 5-10 minutes time period. Before that, do not forget to choose a quiet corner of your home. Begin to read at your normal speed. Do not try to speed read. Avoid being conscious and read freely. When your timer goes off, mark the page where you stopped to know how much you have read. Now, count the number of words you read during this time. You are now aware of your current reading speed.

Thereafter, set the timer again for the same time period. Begin to read from where you stopped. Do not read the same matter again. This time, you have to read in speed. In the beginning, you will have to consciously make an effort to do speed reading. Read as speedily as you can. And remember, you have to understand what you are reading. Try to retain as much information as you can. Comprehension and reading have to go simultaneously. As the timer goes off, mark the page where you stopped. Count the number of words you read during the set time. Did the word count increase? It may not be a drastic increase, but don’t lose heart. A slight improvement is also appreciable.

Repeat the process once again. Do this everyday. You only need to spare 15-20 minutes daily for your home speed reading program. When your speed gets considerably higher, observe whether you feel tensed or relaxed while reading in speed. Next time, try to keep yourself relaxed while speed reading. Remember, it is possible to achieve amazing speed along with a good comprehension. The brain has tremendous power. You only need to learn to use it.

Practice Is The Key

One of the keys to developing speed reading skill is regular practice. Besides this, you need to have patience and will power to achieve it. You simply cannot get admirable results overnight. And remember; read only that fast that you can understand the matter you are reading. Simply increasing the speed is useless. Reading and comprehension are like a pair of shoes. You just cannot wear one shoe.

So, start your speed reading program from today itself. Good luck!