Full Description
In the years since the previous edition of Improving Your Memory was published, technology has dramatically changed how we keep track of life's many details. Appliances and car lights turn themselves off, smartphones and computers remind us of appointments, and Google lets us search for the information that we can't remember. Still, we grow frustrated and anxious when words won't come, when we misplace items, or when we forget meetings, birthdays, names. University of Michigan social workers Janet Fogler and Lynn Stern have completely updated their friendly and usable guide to memory improvement techniques. Recognizing that people worry something is wrong with them when they forget things, Fogler and Stern suggest that the antidote to worry is taking positive actions to help us remember what we want to remember. They provide readers with tools for understanding and improving memory, including sixteen helpful exercises. Simple techniques like writing information down, creating a catch word or phrase, altering something in your environment, and reviewing details in advance can put you actively in charge of retrieving information more easily.
As in previous editions, Improving Your Memory reinforces memory techniques through real-life examples. This accessible handbook also discusses how memory works; how it changes with age, stress, illness, and depression; and why people remember what they do. Many readers will see immediate improvement in their memory after reading the book.
Contents
I. How Memory Works
1. You Can Improve Your Memory
2. Understanding the Components of Memory
3. How We Remember
4. Why We Forget
5. Let's Review
II. How Memory Changers as We Age
6. What Changes? What Doesn't?
7. Problem with Encoding
8. Problems with Recall
III. Factors that Affect Memory
9. You and Your Memory: A Self-inventory
10. Check Your Effort and Attitude
11. Could Your Mood Be the Problem?
12. Ask Your Doctor about Health Issues
13. Let's Review Again
IV. Techniques for Improving Your Memory
14. Exploring Memory Improvement Strategies
15. Improving Your Ability to Encode
16. You Don't Have to Keep Everything in Your Head
17. Did I or Didn't I?
18. Remembering More Than One Thing
19. Improving Your Ability to Recall
20. General Tips for Remembering
Appendix: Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias
Answers to the Exercises
