Optimal Times To Memorize

Optimal times to memorize:

• Before bed. Review memorized information 10 minutes before turning out the light to go to sleep. Do not do anything else like get up to brush your teeth. It must be the last thing you do before falling asleep. Your brain consolidates best the information it receives right before sleep. And of course, make sure you get enough sleep, not only so you aren't tired but also so the neural connections that were made have time to grow stronger!
  
  
• On your way to something else. Review the information while you are walking around. Try to remember the info when you walk your dog or cross the street or when you are on your way from one class to another. This is another time when the brain consolidates the information best.
  
  
• To memorize vocabulary - Let your family do the work for you. Post several words you don’t know on large cards in high traffic areas such as your kitchen. Ask your family to use the words in context of talking as often as possible. It takes 30 repetitions of hearing or seeing a word before you can use it as part of your everyday language. So 15 repetitions are probably enough for you to be able to recall the word on a vocab test. If your family does this, you don’t have to expend any time or energy memorizing but you will learn the word even better than if you tried to memorize on your own.

Paired Associations

Procedural Storage 

Explanation of Memory