The Civil Services Exam in India is a nationwide national competitive exam conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). With thousands of pages to read for the multiple classes, finding a creative way to remember everything can be a tricky task.
9 Tips to Improve Your Memory for the UPSC Civil Services Exam
The science behind the memory are placed together in a list of 9 simple ways to improve your memory:
- Exercise regularly, especially before an exam: Exercise can increase the flow of oxygen within one’s bloodstream, which in turn can increase the amount of oxygen reaching your brain. With oxygen comes the valuable nutrients that keep your mind functioning at a high level. Hitting a weekly exercise or yoga class is a great way to incorporate exercise into your weekly routine. Try walking to the lessons rather than hopping on the bus; the walk will get your blood flowing and also release endorphins, which will boost your mood, making your class time more enjoyable.
- Create the visual aids and give your brain another way to “see” what you’re studying: By representing the information that you are considering in a visual format, you are giving your brain a secondary way to connect with the data. Drawing or creating a diagram or creating a “Mind Map” can help you store and later retrieve the information you need to remember. The physical act of drawing a picture will, in and of itself, help you commit it to memory, but it will also help by creating a new connection between your brain and the material.
- Readout loud (not recommended for quiet libraries): Have you ever noticed that when you’re editing a paper or document, it helps to read out loud the sentences? You’re able to hear the things that you may have missed when you were usually reading. This also helps your memory cells. Reading out loud helps your brain picks up on the words faster, and it understands the things you may have skimmed over without ever knowing it.
- Take a shower and then let your brain do the work for you: Science proves it: taking a shower gives your brain a much-needed break, which can allow you to come up with your best ideas or finally find a solution to a stressful problem.
While you shower, your brain wanders and thinks about the stuff that you’ve been thinking about subconsciously (like that physics problem you can’t solve) come to the forefront. - Quiz, yourself and practice by teaching others: Quizzing, is like challenging your brain to think and quizzing yourself on the material you’re studying is one of the best and the most common tricks to help with memorization part. It helps one to identify things like- and one of the simplest ways to do this is through flashcards.
- Watch a documentary and make outside connections: By increasing the number of connections between topics, you give your brain more ways to access that information. Using external information gives you a trigger that can also increase the links.
Watching a documentary on the topic, you are studying is a great way to do this. Documentaries provide in-depth knowledge and information from all the aspects of a particular area, and it gives excellent information that helps create a story-based memory. This hack is unique for visual-spatial thinkers who have more chances to benefit significantly from having a “big picture” to organize their thoughts into. - Allow yourself to take the time for a study break.
- Write it down: the old-fashioned way.
- Sleep and naps: One of the most critical ways that sleep impacts students and children is through memory. As we sleep, our brain processes the information stored in your short-term memory, and then it sorts through what you’ve done on that particular day. So, if you find skip sleeping regularly, it might affect your brain and your learning powers. Take naps during the short amount of periods- Forex twenty minutes is just enough to recharge your batteries but if you’ve got a full 90 minutes, go for it and let your REM cycle help you remember what you just learned in class.
Summary
Follow the tips mentioned, to help you better prepare for the upcoming Civil Services Exam.
Areas covered in this article
- 9 Scientific Ways to Increase Your Memory