5 Ways To Stop Forgetting Things

We hate to dispel mom’s wisdom, but that “practice makes perfect” speech? Turns out it’s not doing you any favors.

According to a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, taking breaks in between practice sessions is more effective than working nonstop. Researchers divided study participants into different groups and asked them to learn a difficult computer task over the course of two days. Those who took a one-hour break between training sessions—as opposed to participants who didn’t take a break at all—displayed the most accuracy on the second day. 

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What gives? “Learning a new skill is a process that causes rewiring of the brain,” says lead study author Joel Pearson, PhD, a senior psychology lecturer at the University of New South Wales. If the information isn’t adequately consolidated, or transferred from short- to long-term memory, then learning will be temporary or not occur at all, he says. And in order for that info to make it to where it needs to go in your head, your brain needs a break.

So what should you do if your schedule doesn’t allow, say, hour-long Words With Friends breaks at work? Try these memory-boosting moves instead: 

Be sure to eat breakfast. Mom totally got this one right. With the right foods, you can keep brain cells healthy and help stave off age-related cognitive decline—starting with the most important meal of the day. Check out 9 Breakfasts That Jump-Start Your Brain. 

Hit the sack. “Sleep has been shown to play a crucial role in the consolidation of perceptual skills,” says Pearson. For example, participants who were deprived of sleep after initial training failed to show significant improvement in their computer task. Get a good night’s sleep every time you turn in with 20 Ways To Sleep Better Every Night.

Frequent the gym. A team from the University of Illinois' Beckman Institute recently reviewed dozens of past studies and found that aerobic exercise boosts the speed and sharpness of thought, as well as the actual volume of brain tissue. Even better: Doing as little as 50 minutes of brisk walking three times a week is enough to reap these brain benefits.

Spit out the gum. Researchers from the UK’s Cardiff University found that chewing gum actually impairs your short-term memory. Swap the gum for actual foods that can rev your thinker; see Eat This, Boost Your Memory for ideas.