How Does Writing Improve Memory?

Improving memory can be done by writing purposefully.

Distraction, stress, and a lack of repetition all prevent items of information from being stored within memory for later recall. Writing about the relevant subjects can prevent a lack of focus and make it more likely that select information will be available when needed most.

Types of Memory

Short-term memory allows people to hold things in mind for a set amount of time and to use that information for solving problems and making decisions. To be useful full time, memories must be stored in a concrete memory bank. Developing long-term memories allows memory to be stored for retrieval days or weeks later and provides a foundation on which to build new memories.

Spaced Repetition

Writing out a piece of information repeatedly is an age-old study habit meant to result in quicker retrieval of that information. Research suggests that writing something once is not enough. Write about the piece of information you want to remember, than wait 20 or 30 minutes and write about it again. Researchers at McMaster University claim that the trick is to allow enough time between considering and writing information so your brain cannot immediately remember the previously learned information.

Association

Remembering a specific event or fact is easier when the brain is able to make associations between events. Think of your memory as a piece of string; memories can surround each other but may not touch. Once intertwined, memories are harder to break apart. When writing to remember a select piece of information, include other relevant facts or events in your writing. The "law of vividness" claims that the pieces of information that make the most striking impressions are the ones best remembered. Write about things you know well in association with the new information, integrating new information into the old.

Focus

Writing about a piece of information, versus thinking freely about it, can allow for greater concentration. Distraction keeps an person's mind from absorbing the single piece of information by diverting the attention elsewhere. Studies demonstrate that distraction during the process of learning kept study subjects from recalling information. As the number of distracting items presented during learning increased, the ability to recall the information decreased.

Ability to Recall

The subconscious and intricate design of memory allows people to store information that they often cannot consciously recall, leading to a sense of having a "bad memory." Keeping the information that is necessary to remember easily accessible is easier done when writing about it. You can form "working memory," meaning memory being used actively, when the information is processed while learning. Elaborating, considering and even opposing and then reconsidering the information allows it to work itself into the practical working memory.

Diminished Stress

Research has shown that stress receptors called corticosteroids negatively affect the ability to think clearly. Writing, when used as a general stress reduction technique, can boost the overall cognitive capacity and thus the clear storage of memories. Expressive writing, applied in a number of research studies, has been helpful in diminishing stress and increasing coping ability while decreasing stress.

Conclusion

By writing repetitively and with focus about topics that need to be remembered, while connecting the information to information already known, the ability to recall and store information will be improved.

References

• Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior; When forgetting helps memory; an analysis of repetition effects 1982
• Prog Brain Res; What are the Differences between Long Term, Short Term, and Working Memory?; 2009
• Cogmed; About Working Memory
• Academy of Management Journal; Expressive Writing and Coping with Job Loss; 1994