Have you ever left a pot on the stove and forgot about it? How about letting the dog outside and forgetting that he's out there for an entire night? Yeah, it happens to the best of us. Memory lapses are all too common, but luckily there are some ways in which you can strengthen your memory. Check out this article.

Pay careful attention to what you want to remember to ensure the information is retained in your long-term memory. Distractions, such as music and television, prevent you from paying the required amount of attention to the material. Failure to concentrate will result in the information being lost and not committed to memory.

Your memory is only as good as the effort you put in to maintaining it. If you believe that you have are eventually going to have a poor memory no matter what, then it can become a self-fulfilling prophesy. Give yourself positive reinforcement when you do recall something correctly and forgive yourself if you make a mistake. Your memory should begin to improve in no time. Of course, you also need to be eating and sleeping well - and go easy on the alcohol!

Writing items down is always a good way to assist you in remembering. The act of writing the information down increases blood flow in the areas of the brain involved in memory. Students have been acing exams for years by taking notes, and you too can apply this technique to recall information. Just keep a diary, take thorough notes or even keep things cataloged in your PC's Word program.

Visualizing yourself recalling information is actually a great way in which you can work to recall information. You are basically training your brain to be able to memorize items when you foresee yourself dipping into that memory bank to pull them out at a later date. Think of it like visualizing your hand turning a doorknob before you actually turn it.

We are more likely to remember something that happens to us when we are around other people than when we are alone. People are drawn to others, as a result we remember our time with them, rather than when we are alone. That's why study groups work so well.

If you are in need of remembering something, you should attempt to associate it with something funny, such as a funny song, phrase, or mental image. Jokes and humor make things easier to remember in your mind, as the area reserved for humor in the brain is the same area used for learning.

Exercise regularly as it can improve your memory functions and health. Physical exercises improve your physical look and they also increase the oxygen flow to the brain. A physically well kept body is less prone to catch memory loss causing illnesses and increases the useful brain chemicals' presence in the blood.

Improve in loving memory gifts with mnemonics. Use an acronym to remember lists of related things. For example, 'Homes' is used to remember the names of the Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. The first letter of the words in a sentence can represent a list of letters that you have to remember. For example, "Every good boy does fine" can be used to memorize the notes on the lines of a treble clef: E,G,B,D and F.

A great tip that can help you improve your memory is to start limiting how much alcohol you drink. Drinking too much alcohol can destroy many brain cells over time, which can severely impair your cognitive functions, such as memory. Limit your alcohol to only one or two drinks a day.

If you feel that your memory is suffering, try to reduce stress, anger, and especially depression in your life. One of the primary symptoms of depression is actually an inability to concentrate, which makes it extremely difficult to acquire and retain memories. See a professional if you think this could apply to you.

As you can see, you can employ these small tips and end up with big results. The funny thing about losing your memory is that nothing's actually lost. It's all still in there. You just have to train your brain to access the memories correctly. You can do that by using the tips you have just read here.