Improving your memory will lead to improved mental performance. This is something worth remembering, so I will repeat it. Improving your memory will lead to improved mental performance.
Why did I repeat that? Because repetition aids memory. That's something else to remember. Repetition aids memory.
Our memories work by association. I remember my grandfather, and by association suddenly remember his favourite cardigan, then the smell of his pipe smoke and his brown hat, a winter walk we took when I was 5 years old leads me to remember sitting in granddad's chair wearing my favourite pyjamas. They had red soldiers on them. All these memories are associated with each other. I have just taken a mental journey along the pathways of my own brain. The process of remembering happens without conscious effort. We are all good at it, in that everyone can go off and follow a thought which leads to another and another and can carry on doing this for hours.
We forget things when the associations (connections) in our brains weaken. This happens naturally over time, due to lack of use, The processes of dementia, drug abuse and some mental disorders also weaken the connections.
Human memory can be tested in a scientific manner. We devise tests wether a thig is recalled at all and to what degrees of accuracy. Therefore we can 'measure' human memory.
Remember earlier we said that repetition aids memory? Now you know why. Repeating things re-strengthens connections in the brain. The fact that we can measure human memory, means we can prove scientifically that memory is improved by practice.
The really great news is that alongside repetition (which sometimes can be boring) there are cognition tools or techniques to help the brain strengthen connections in many other ways. In other words, you can, if you wish, increase your mental powers by practicing. Mind maps are just one example of the techniques you can use to improve your memory. To find out about them..