The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve (Or, Why Can’t I Remember That Joke?)
You learn! You forget! Yes, there are a lot of reasons why we forget, but one explanation could be “The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve.” The good news is that you can improve your memory with a few useful practices.
What is The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve?
Hermann Ebbinghaus, a German psychologist, theorized that “Memory retention is 100% at the time of learning any particular piece of information. However, it drops rapidly to 40% within the first few days.”
He further theorized that “humans start losing the memory of learned knowledge over time, in a matter of days or weeks, unless the learned knowledge is consciously reviewed time and again.”
“The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve” includes the following:
Memories weaken over time. If we learn something new, but then make no attempt to relearn that information, we remember less and less of it as the hours, days and weeks go by.
The biggest drop in retention happens soon after learning. Without reviewing or reinforcing our learning, our ability to retain the information plummets.
It's easier to remember things that have meaning. Things with little or no meaning to you will likely be forgotten faster than if it were on a subject that you found really engaging or exciting.
How you feel affects how well you remember. Ebbinghaus believed that physiological factors, such as stress and sleep, play a significant part in how well we retain information.
To improve your memory, I invite you to do a few simple things:
Make a plan to review data soon after you learn it. Build time into your schedule for reviewing the material within 24hrs of learning it. Making time to review now will save you time re-learning it later.
Make the material meaningful to you. Find a way to relate to the information. Can you make a song out of it? Write it down with colors you love? Create an acronym that is meaningful to you? What personal sensations arise when you think about the information? Use that to help you remember. Be creative!
Review material when you feel calm and rested. The best learning takes place when anxiety is low, so make time to review before stress and anxiety kick in.
While some people have naturally good memories, memory is also a skill set that you can improve. (Ever heard about the World Memory Championship?) Improving yours just takes a little effort and intention, and you’ll remember your jokes in no time.
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