Forgetting Curve

Back in 1885, the German psychologist, Hermann Ebbinghaus created the Forgetting Curve that demonstrates the concept of how we forget information.

• Ebbinghaus believed that physiological factors, such as stress and sleep, play a significant part in how well we retain information.

• After we learn something, it naturally starts to fade from our memory over time.

Prevent Forgetting and Boost Your Memory

We can stop this decline by reviewing or refreshing the information in our mind.

• Spaced Learning

Reviewing and refreshing information regularly halts the Forgetting Curve. Although forgetting starts again after each review session, it’s slower than before.

The gaps between your review sessions can be longer as time goes on. So, you might refresh your learning from a lecture the following day, then two days later, then after a week, then after 30 days… You’ll also discover any gaps that you need to focus on and relearn

Exactly how you time and space your review sessions will depend on a number of factors: the type of material you’re learning, how much detail you need to know, and how long you want to keep it fresh in your mind.

• Overlearn

Another strategy Ebbinghaus explored was “overlearning” – that is, putting in more than the usual amount of effort when you learn something. He found that doing this improved retention, and slowed the steep drop seen on the Forgetting Curve

The Forgetting Curve is an influential memory model. It shows how learned information slips out of our memories over time – unless we take action to keep it there. Other strategies you can use to improve your memory are: overlearning information, making what you want to learn meaningful, and challenging your memory regularly. [4]

The Limits of Our Memory

One of the most highly cited research papers in psychology suggests the number of objects an average person can hold in their working memory is 7, plus or minus 2.

We tend to store verbal memories from the information that we heard in the left side of the brain. We tend to store visual memories from the information that we saw in the right side of the brain. One way that we can help our memory is by using both sides of our brain during memory tasks.

We can help our verbal memory by taking the information that we hear and creating pictures in our mind of the information.

Similarly, you can bolster your visual memory with your verbal memory. For instance, you could try to remember where you parked your car at a store. In this example, you might look at the spot while telling yourself, “I am parked by the red pole, two spaces from the large concrete block.” Your sight would provide the visual memory and the words would add the verbal memory. [3]

Memory Tips

Highlighting - Re-reading - Re-writing - Summarizing - Don’t multitask - Play brain games - Use your learning style - Chunking - Chew gum - Take a Break [2]

Write down: what needs to be memorized over and over. lecture notes by hand instead of typing them out on a computer helped students better recall the lesson content.

Stay away from multitasking: multitasking undermines our efficiency — particularly for complicated or unfamiliar tasks