memory exercises for every day

Mind Power

Yes it is achievable to go through a programme to help you build up mind power and we have some of the greatest here on our site. Nevertheless for those of you who want to have a lighter touch you can help your memory by doing a little fun workout with mind games everyday.

Here are a few ideas to get you going:

Story Telling

Ask your friend to put a few items on a tray and then you have to try and memorize them all correctly. Do it by creating up a story - or even better make up a story about them all with your friend. It isn't cheating! Each of you take a turn telling a story you are just making up on the spot which connects each item with the next one. As you tell the story use your imagination to really create a good image of what is happening in the story. That makes it much easier to remember.

Here is an example of a story about the first three objects on a tray when they are a bowl, a leaf and a pen

Person 1:on the sideboard there is a big tall bowl made of very shiny metal and....
Person 2: John's mother decided that it would look beautiful if she put some small branches with autumn coloured leaves in it so she
Person 1: Decided that she would gather some branches from the park on the way to the supermarket. She took out her pen to write down her shopping list and on it she...
....

Once all the objects have been included in the story, take them away. Now see if you can remember everything. Next try to do it together as you will both probably remember different parts and that will help you get the whole list right.

Matching Pairs

This involves matching pairs of like playing cards when they have all firstly been placed face down. One person at a time turns over a card, lets every person see it and then places it back on the table, face side down again. Progressively the group of players begins to get an idea of where particular numbers or face cards are lying and can locate a matching pair when they turn up a card on their turn.
You can also play with a half deck of cards by removing two suits first and then use the 24 cards left. Once they are face down, move the cards around on the table so nobody really knows what is lying where anymore.