Gateway Student Support Services sponsored “Focus! Improving Your Memory,” a workshop intended to improve students’ memory, Feb. 15. Educational Counselor Phyllis Waldron served as presenter. 

   The workshop focused on the differences between the short-term and long-term memory. Though the former maintains a finite capacity, some experts swear you never forget things stored in your long-term memory.  

   “Don’t study just before a test because it’ll go into your short-term memory and it will be lost,” Waldron said. “The key to success in school is to not rely on your short-term memory.” 

   Waldron said in order for information to be stored in your long-term memory, you must get plenty of sleep and use repetition.  

   “Our brain cells regenerate when we sleep,” she said. “I’ve read that sleeping helps your long-term memory. And the key to storing things in your memory is repetition. In order to wear that path in your brain so you have long-term memory is to review everyday.” 

   The workshop presented students with four general ways to improve their memory: 

• Organize it
• Use your body
• Use your brain
• Recall it

   “Our brain likes order,” Waldron said. “We can learn things better when things are in order. 

   People remember 90 percent of what they do, 75 percent of what they see and 20 percent of what they hear, according to Waldron, which emphasized the importance of using your body. She said you must be relaxed because the body cannot absorb new information when stressed. 

   “You are more receptive to learning when you’re active,” she said. “So try to study standing up and pace back and forth.” 

   Waldron said students should use daylight to their advantage because 60 minutes of daylight study time equals 90 minutes of evening study time. She also said not to rely on marathon sessions as three two-hour sessions would benefit students much more than one six-hour session. 

   “Your long-term memory is like a jungle and once an animal enters this jungle, it never leaves,” Waldron said. “If it leaves a path, that’s your long-term memory. If it just runs through, that’s your short-term memory.” 

   Waldron said she loved to talk about the brain and how it works. 

   “This is a subject near and dear to my heart,” she said. “It’s important so you do well in school.” 

   Gateway Student Support Services will be presenting five more workshops this semester: 

• Feb. 20, 12:30 – Lifting the Cloud of Depression
• Feb. 28, 3:00 – Write It Right! How To Write Anything Better
• March 6, 12:30 – Perfectly Fit: Planning for a Healthy Lifestyle
• March 22, 12:30 – Stop Putting it Off: Avoiding Procrastination
• March 28, 3:00 – Stretching Your Dollars