Easy Short Term Memory Games Can Boost Your Recall

If you want to get a better working memory, why not try some short term memory games and have fun while you're doing it? Working memory and short term memory are actually the same thing. This is the part of the memory that stores information that was received very recently, like dates and times. Think about it as your brain's scratch pad. Working memory has the ability to store, at the most, seven bits of information at a time, according to the experts.

You need a good working memory for solving problems, reading activities, and dealing with numbers. You can improve your attention and focusing abilities as well when you improve your working memory skills. According to specialists, playing certain games can improve a person's working memory. Some of these short term memory games will be explored here in further detail.

One of the best games to improve memory is chess. To be a winner at the game of chess, you need to understand how different bits of information relate to one another, which is required in order to be able to plan more than one move in advance. This function takes place in the same area of your brain that contains your working memory.

The card game Memory, also known as Concentration, is true to its name by being a great short term memory game. Cards are arranged face down on the table, and then two of them are turned over a time. The player will be able to keep both cards if matching cards are turned up. If it's not a match, the cards are put back, and the next person takes a turn. The winner of the game is the one who collects the majority of the cards. As the game goes on, more and more of the cards have been flipped over; this is when memory comes into play, because you must remember where each card goes.

Scrabble and other word games that require you to understand words and letters also exercise the short term memory. Combining letters in different ways to form words and bringing them from long term memory into working memory can further assist your visual and spatial abilities, as this causes you to generate patterns in your brain.

Another game that is useful for an improved memory is the card game bridge. Duplicate bridge, the game played when there is a tournament, is better suited to accomplish this than normal rubber bridge. Why is this? Because in duplicate bridge, you have to remember previous bids, but rubber bridge is more a matter of luck than ability.

Short term memory games can be as simple as studying the objects in a room, then closing your eyes and attempting to remember where they were. Or someone can make a list of random objects, give it to you to study for a few minutes, and then you have to recall the items in the right sequence. Use your imagination; you can probably come up with other ideas for games to improve your memory.