There are two types of memory. There is short-term and long-term. Our memory is facinating and if we know about it, we can improve it so we can retain more knowledge.

Short-Term Memory

Everyones short-term memory can hold 7 items, plus or minus 2. The items we have in our short-term memory is kept there for up to three days. The items we have in our short-term memory can either be replaced which means we forget something to remeber something else, or it is stored in our long-term memory. The items that are stored here are things we have come across or learned in the past 24-48 hours. Unless something significant has happened a week ago, and it just stands out in your short-term memory that you remember it. Something that would stand out would be, you saw your favorite car drive by you and it is very rare to see. So a week later you can tell your friends that you saw it, and maybe remember which day.
That is why when someone asks you to look at a list of words for 30 seconds, one minute or even two minutes. We can only recall 7, plus or minus two, words. While you are looking at the words and you have read over them, you will only remember the first few and the last few. It is really hard for you to remember the middle words because they are not that significant.

Have someone make a list of these or other words. There should be atleast 20 words and no more than 40. You want to be able to read all of them atleast once. Time yourself, either 30 seconds, 1 minute, or 2 minutes.

Long-Term Memory

Long-term memory is different, everything in out long-term memory has been processed through short-term memory and stored. Anything that enters our long-term memory, stays there forever. You might think, forever? but I used to remember the capitals of all the states. Yes, they are still there. The problem is, you are having a tough time retreiving the information. They are stored somewhere, you just need to work on pulling that information out. You can do this by going over the capitals one more time, or really thinking about the states. Also, things that we remember fairly easily and are usually stored right away into our long-term memory are things that are so significant that you think about that moment for a long time. An example would be, you won the lottery. You most likely will never forget that day, you will remember how much you won, where you were, the first person you told, and anything else that was significant in that moment of time.

How to make your memory better

To improve your memory you have to practice everyday. The things you read or what to remember, repeat to yourself. Say it to yourself, you want to get it in your head so you should say the information outloud. Saying information outloud helps your brain recall it because not only do you repeat it, you hear the information. You also want to practice retrieving the memory, after learning something, ask yourself “What did I just read?” You should retreive the information twice a day. Quiz yourself, it takes two days for information to get stored.

Now go out there and practice! Train your memory, and share the wonders of our brains.