It is normal to forget things from time to time, especially as you age.
The “forgetting curve” was discovered by a German psychologist called Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909) in the 19th century.
He tested his own memory over several periods, and found out the following:
- You retain 100% of the information straight away, as it is still in your short-term memory.
- Within two days, your memory retention drops to 40%.
- Still afterwards, it decreases even further, until it drops down to only 10% retention after just one week.
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We forget things at such an exponential rate because our brains operate on a strict “use it or lose it” way.
Research suggests that on average, 50% of information is forgotten after one hour, 70% in 24 hours, and 90% in a week.
This is because most of the things we remember are of only short-term importance, and our brain needs to make room for memories of more immediate value.
For example, when you talk to someone, you take in 60 bits of information.
Your brain can only take in 120 bits of information each second.
That is why it is so difficult to retain information from a conversation with even two other people at one go.
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It is true. We are bombarded with a lot more information nowadays that is competing for our attention and memory.
Research has shown that we receive five times more information per day than we did just over 30 years ago, thanks to social media and all the things we are dealing with in any given minute.
There is way too much for us to process, so our brains compensate by rapidly losing it.
Compared to my wife, I still feel I have more of a memory problem though.
There are seven types of memory problems:
> Transience
This is a tendency to forget facts or events over time.
It is actually good for you as it clears the brain of unused memories, making way for newer, more useful ones.
However, memories that are used frequently are unlikely to be forgotten.
> Absentmindedness
This happens when you don’t pay close enough attention, such as forgetting where you parked your car because you didn’t focus on where you parked it in the first place, or forgetting an appointment because you were distracted by your phone when agreeing to the date and time.
You were probably thinking of other things, so your brain didn’t put in the information securely.
> Blocking
This happens, for example, when someone asks you a question and the answer is “right at the tip of your tongue”, but you just can’t recall it properly.
This is because you have in your brain, a memory similar to the one you’re looking for, and you retrieve the wrong one instead.
Memory blocks become more common as you age.
That is why older people have trouble remembering other people’s names.
> Misattribution
This is when you remember something accurately for the most part, but misattribute some small detail, like the time, place or person involved, to something else.
An interesting kind of misattribution happens when you believe a thought you have is totally original, when actually, it comes from something you had previously read or heard, but had forgotten about.
That is why so many people are accused of plagiarism!
Again, it becomes more common with age.
Your older memories in particular, are more liable to be misattributed.
> Suggestibility
This happens as your memory is vulnerable to the power of suggestion.
For example, information that you learn about something after it happened becomes incorporated into your memory of the actual incident.
> Bias
No memory is perfect in every detail – that is why witnesses have trouble recalling everything in court!
In your memory, your perceptions are filtered by your personal biases, such as your beliefs, experiences, education and mood.
Your biases get encoded in your brain as part of the memory.
That is why different people at a scene of an accident can remember things differently.
> Persistence
Memories of traumatic events and negative feelings tend to get encoded in your brain more deeply, such as for people who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
This is a different kind of memory problem!
You need to combat your brain’s natural forgetting curve.
Here are some ways to do so:
- Reinforce your learning so that the information becomes more and more familiar to you over time.
Regularly go back to that information to embed it in your memory.
- Simplify your information by splitting it into sections, diagrams and colours.
Break it up into different numbered paragraphs.
This allows your brain to process less data.
- Mentally challenge your memory by testing yourself.
- Associate your memory with other things by using all of your senses – sight, smell, taste, touch.
Don’t forget that as with anything and anyone, if you do not use it, you will lose it!
Dr YLM graduated as a medical doctor, and has been writing for many years on various subjects such as medicine, health, computers and entertainment. For further information, email starhealth@thestar.com.my. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only, and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Neither The Star nor the author gives any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to such information. The Star and the author disclaim all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.
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