What Would You Do to Remember a Forgotten Memory?

Here are three tips to retrieve a forgotten memory (Watch here.)

1) Know your memory style

Need help remembering a forgotten memory? A recent study found that your “memory personality” can make a difference. People who remember a lot of details are more likely to forget, while those who remember facts can remember more. This memory trait may protect against memory loss in later years. People who are used to retrieving richly detailed memories may be very sensitive to subtle memory changes as they age, whereas those who rely on a factual approach may prove to be more resistant to such changes.

2) Work backward

Memory is reconstructive, and it works backward when we have to remember something that is more abstract and gist-like. So if you are trying to remember something, start from the most recent fact and work backward.

3) Emotions matter

Our memory is not an accurate snapshot of what to remember but selects meaningful memories to save for later. A new study reported that the brain automatically preserves memories for important events and filters out the rest. It's interesting that men remembered more than women! When researchers asked men and women to write about their memories, men produced more memories.