The Forgetfulness Factor: Why Short-Term Memory May Falter

Maybe you smile and shake hands greeting another colleague, and afterward promptly fail to remember the colleague's name. Or then again perhaps you walk into your kitchen to do … something. What was it once more?

Exasperating as it is, this kind of forgetfulness is usually normal, said Dr. Sharon Sha, a professor of neurology at Stanford University.

At the point when we blank on data we recently learned or thoughts we recently had, it's regularly because our minds didn't save them as long-term memories to begin, Dr. Sha said.

We don't necessarily in every case make memories

While approaching your daily life, your brain holds information in a temporary state called working memory, said David Gallo, a professor of psychology at the University of Chicago. Having a phone conversation while following a dinner recipe, for example, includes juggling multiple tasks in your working memory at once he said.

Most people can hold around four or five thoughts or tasks in their working memories at a time, Dr. Gallo said.

Yet, except if those thoughts go through a brain process called encoding, he added, they won't be saved permanently in your long-term memory.

This works like a computer's "save" function, said Dr. Scott Small, director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Columbia University. "If you're taking notes and you close your computer without saving, your notes are gone forever," he said.

The encoding process includes creating meaningful connections between brain cells and adequate working memory. So if you're preoccupied with introducing yourself to a new person or deciding what you'll say next, your mind will not encode information like the new name you hear — and you'll promptly fail to remember it.

While these lapses may seem to be frustrating at the moment, they're essential for your day-to-day functioning, said Lynne Reder, a professor emeritus of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University.

If our brains encoded everything we saw, heard, smelled, or felt, we wouldn't have any working memory left for things like walking, talking, or listening.

The most effective method to recall:

Sometimes it's easy to remember information, Dr.Sha said. If you feel a strong emotion like fear or trauma at the moment you learn something, for example, you're more likely to recall it later. This explains why many people remember exactly where they were on Sept. 11, she said.

But there are different tricks and tactics, experts say, that can help us purposefully save memories as long as possible.

Repeat and recite:

Repeating information, particularly in new ways, can assist with memory storage, said Ronald Davis, a professor of neuroscience at the University of Florida. When we hear, see, recite aloud, or write down a word, we get several chances to encode that word using various pathways in the brain.

Studies suggest that writing new information by hand — be it written on paper or a tablet with a digital stylus — can activate more of the brain than typing can, further strengthening our memories. The more times we repeat something, the more likely we are to remember it, Dr. Davis said.

Assign meaning:

Remembering arbitrary information can be particularly challenging, Dr. Reder said. That's why it is sometimes simpler to recall names that are associated with specific characteristics or qualities. We could remember a dog named Rusty if it had rust-colored fur, for instance.

"If you meet someone named Michael who's from Florida, you can imagine a Florida beach with a seashell, which sounds like Michael," Dr. Gallo said. "Now you can associate that name with a context, visual image, and rhyme."

Sing along:

On a similar note, remembering can come easier when information is set to tune, Dr. Sha said. You might remember an advertisement jingle, for example, even if it's for a product you'd never buy.

Neuroscientists are still learning why music helps, yet Dr.Sha said that "tagging" memories with tunes might move them into different parts of the brain, making them more likely to stick.

Create a visual or emotional cue. If you're trying to remember to perform a specific task, Dr. Sha said that it can help to imagine yourself doing it or thinking about how it'll make someone feel.

If you need to purchase a holiday gift for your little daughter, for example, you can picture yourself buying the gift, or imagine how happy it'll make your little daughter when she opens the gift.

Focus on sleep and exercise:

As with many things in life, it's more challenging to encode new information when you're sleep deprived, Dr. Gallo said, so you must get enough rest.

Regular activity such as aerobic exercise, weight lifting, stretching, or even short walks can also enhance memory, both in the short term and over time, experts said.

Keeping your heart healthy through exercise helps keep your brain healthy, Dr. Gallo said. "This can help you age gracefully, and keep your memory functioning optimally at any stage of life."