5. Closing Your Eyes Boosts Your Recall Ability
5.闭上双眼，找寻逝去的记忆

We often close our eyes when deep in thought or when trying to recall a piece of information, and science suggests this act might actually make it easier to successfully remember an idea.
当你陷入沉思或是回忆某些事时通常会下意识地闭上眼睛，科学表明此种行为事实上可以更容易地帮助你回忆。
A study conducted by researchers at the University of Surrey found that asking a participant to close his or her eyes helped him or her recall correctly 23% more of the questions asked. The research was actually comprised of two distinct studies, and each study showed that the act of closing one's eyes was key to helping the brain recall an idea or answer a question. The first study required participants to watch a movie and recall distinct visual details from the movie, such as the writing on a vehicle. The second study went a step further and asked participants to recall things like dialogue and other auditory details.
英国萨里大学的研究人员做过这样一个研究，这项研究由两个不同的研究项目组成，这两项目都表明，闭上眼睛能很有效地帮助大脑回忆或回答问题。第一项研究要求受试者观看电影，并回忆起电影中不同的视觉细节，例如在汽车上写作的镜头；第二项研究更进一步地要求受试者回忆诸如影片中的对话及其他听觉细节。研究表明，闭上双眼后测得的记忆能力提高了23%。
In addition to asking some participants to close their eyes when attempting to remember certain details of what they had seen or heard, they also asked participants to build a "rapport" during the experiment. Interestingly, building rapport seemed to increase the success even more of a person's ability to recall certain details. The study was published in the journal "Legal and Criminological Psychology." Given the study's results, it would seem police officers investigating a crime could glean more information from a witness by building a rapport with the person and then asking them to close their eyes during questioning. Not surprisingly, the technique could also come in handy for the general public in attempting to remember specific details from a past experience.
此外，受试者们还被要求在实验过程中建立一个和谐关系，以积极配合的态度完成此项研究。有趣的是，这种融洽的关系似乎更能提升一个人回忆细节的能力。研究结果也于《法律和犯罪心理学》上发表。鉴于此，如果警方能与证人建立一个融洽的关系，并要求证人在盘问期间闭上眼睛，那么警方往往能搜集到更多的线索。当然，这个方法也适用于普通百姓，可以帮助他们拨开过往云烟，找寻逝去的记忆。

4. Micro-Cramming Could Create Permanent Memories
4.“重要的事情说三遍”

A study in the "Journal of Neuroscience" suggests rehearsing new memories for just a few seconds could help transform them into permanent memories. The research, entitled "Consolidation of Complex Events Via Reinstatement in Posterior Cingulate Cortex," found that participants could more accurately recall an event if they rehearsed the memory quickly after first experiencing the event. The study asked participants to watch several video clips and then asked participants to recall what they saw in the clips. Some participants were asked to recall details aloud, and others were asked to recall details silently while receiving an MRI scan. Participants who actively rehearsed the video clips remembered far more details after a week than participants who didn't rehearse what they saw immediately after watching the videos.
《神经科学杂志》中的一项名为“通过大脑后扣带回（扣带回是位于大脑内侧的一个解剖结构，是大脑边缘系统的一部分。其功能牵涉情感、学习和记忆。）的修复加强对复杂事件的记忆力”的研究表明，大脑在接收信息后的几秒内不断重复同一概念，有助于形成永久记忆。研究人员给受试者播放了几段视频短片，看完之后即让受试者一边接受核磁共振成像扫描，一边回忆刚才的短片内容。一部分人大声地说出回忆内容，另一部分人则静静地回忆。一周后再次对他们的记忆内容做了测试，结果表明那些在看过视频后进行短暂回忆的人几乎记住了所有内容，而没有立即回忆的人则基本上遗忘殆尽。
The results of the study suggested that participants could remember a much greater level of detail whether they silently thought about what they just saw or whether they had a conversation aloud about the video. Does this mean that you could study for a test 40 seconds before the start of it and expect to remember everything necessary to pass the exam?
此项研究结果表明，受试者大脑在接收信息后是静静思考还是激烈讨论，决定了他们能记住多少东西。这是否意味着考前四十秒的临时抱佛脚能帮助你记住所有的内容，然后顺利通过考试呢？
Probably not, but if you spent more time during your study session going over an educational video you just watched, it's possible you could retain greater details about the video when test day arrived. Like other studies about making memories, the technique of reviewing events a person just experienced could also help a witness recall specific events after seeing a crime take place.
答案是，想！得！美！但如果能在复习期间仔细研究看过的教学视频，那倒是有可能记住很多内容，在考试时大展身手的。这项研究成果还可以适用于事故或犯罪现场目击者，帮助他们准确回忆一些重要场面和细节。

3. Drink Coffee and Enhance Your Memory
3. 喝咖啡有助于提高记忆力

Research conducted at Johns Hopkins University suggests drinking coffee, brewing a cup of tea, or consuming caffeine in some way could enhance your memory. The team of scientists at the university found people could improve long-term memory for about 24 hours after consuming caffeine. In the study, the researchers compared memory strength between participants who were given a 200-milligram caffeine tablet and other participants who were given a placebo. Participants were not regular caffeine drinkers outside of their participation in the study. Researchers showed participants images and then asked them to come back the next day to see how many images they could recall. The researchers showed participants some images they'd already seen, as well as new images and pictures that were just a little different.
约翰斯·霍普金斯大学有项研究表明，喝咖啡、冲杯茶或以其他方式摄入咖啡因都可以提高记忆力。摄入咖啡因后，人们往往有长达24小时的记忆保鲜期。研究人员针对那些不经常喝咖啡的人做了个实验：其中一部分人吞下了一颗含有200毫克咖啡因的药片（相当于一大杯咖啡的咖啡因含量）；另一部分人吃下的是一片不含药理成分的安慰剂。之后，研究人员给他们看了一堆图片，并在第二天让他们进行图片识别。（其中一些图片选自于第一天看到的，另一些图片是新加入的，和先前的图片略有不同。）
The interesting part of the study is that it showed that caffeine drinkers could identify when images they were shown on the second day were similar but not exactly the same as the initial images showed to them. Specifically, this ability to engage in successful "pattern separation" was a sign of better memory retention. Researchers at Johns Hopkins suggest previous studies were more simplistic than the Johns Hopkins study and their simplicity is why researchers observed no measurable improvement in memory with caffeine consumption. The government's Food and Drug Administration suggests around 90% of people around the world use caffeine in some form, and about 80% of people consume caffeine in the United States every single day. There's a good chance you already drink caffeine, so you might already be enjoying the memory-boosting benefits of drinking that morning cup of coffee.
有趣的是，研究表明，喝了咖啡的测试者能够辨认出图片中有些和第一天的某些图片很像，但又略有差异。更确切地说，此种“模式分离”的能力正是记忆力好的表现。霍普金斯大学的研究人员称以前的研究过于简单，这也是以前在咖啡因摄入领域毫无实质性进展的原因。美国食品药品管理局称世界上约90%的人以一些特定形式摄入咖啡因，约80%的美国人每天都摄入咖啡因。好啦，放心吧，天天早起喝咖啡的你不用担心记忆力跟不上啦。

2. Climbing a Tree Could Boost Your Memory and Cognitive Skills
2. 爬树可以提高你的记忆力和认知力

A study conducted in 2015 at the University of Florida concluded that climbing a tree, as well as walking on a balance beam, could noticeably improve a person's cognitive skills. In "The Working Memory Benefits of Proprioceptively Demanding Training: A Pilot Study, " researchers at the university's Department of Psychology examined the working memory benefits of adults who engaged in demanding activities like climbing trees against other participants who engaged in calmer activities like yoga. Like other studies examining the benefit of exercise on the brain, researchers found that just a few hours of strenuous activities were enough to produce noticeable gains in memory. Study participants were well above the traditional age for climbing trees and ranged from 18-years-old to 59-years-old.
佛罗里达大学2015年一项研究表明，爬树、走平衡木可以大大提升一个人的认知能力。“经自身严格训练后对工作记忆的好处”的试点研究中，该大学心理系的研究人员称：那些喜欢爬树等激烈运动的成年人比喜欢瑜伽等静态运动的人记忆力更好。研究参与者年龄介于18至59岁之间，早已过了爬树闹腾的年纪了。实验结果表明，只需几小时的激烈运动就能显著提升记忆力。
Proprioception, which is a person's ability to know where his or her body is positioned and oriented, has already been connected to memory. Researchers wanted to investigate this connection and see if activities, where a participant needed to remain aware of his or her posture, could increase the memory benefits. After a few hours of participating in activities like climbing trees and crossing a balance beam, researchers found that working memory capacity increased by a whopping 50% when participants were tested after two hours. The researchers concluded that participating in activities that required a person to think and which wouldn't allow someone to "zone out" during the activity were excellent for boosting memory. Reaching back into your childhood to participate in time-honored activities like climbing trees could very well give you a better memory.
研究人员认为本体感受（Proprioception，是指人在不同的状态下感知身体各部位置的能力，例如，人在闭眼时仍能感知身体各部的位置）和记忆力存在着一定的关系，并想通过对其进一步的研究来探索那些需要时刻注意体位、姿势的激烈运动是否能提高记忆力。研究人员让受试者进行了像爬树、走平衡木等克服障碍的活动，两小时后进行工作记忆力检测，发现这些受试者的工作记忆力提高了50%！原来那些需要动脑、需要集中精力的活动是提升记忆力的利器。倘若你在童年时期能多多参与这种很有年代感的活动，你的记忆力可能会更好哦！

1. Writing It Down May Help You Remember It
1. 好记心不如烂笔头

In the digital era, it's common for people to go several days without using a pen or pencil, and we might be making things tougher on our brains by taking notes with a computer rather than with a pen and paper. Teachers have long advised their students to take notes during class, as well as during study sessions to improve knowledge on various subjects, but a recent study on writing called "Handwriting versus Keyboard Writing: Effect on Word Recall" may prove what teachers have been saying for decades. After examining the results of study participants writing in three different ways, researchers found that handwriting words led to stronger memories. The different ways participants were asked to record information included typing on a normal keyboard, using a virtual keyboard such as one on a tablet computer, and writing by hand.
在数字化时代，几天不写字都是司空见惯的。我们可以用电脑记笔记，而不是用笔记事。老师早就说过，学生应在课上、研讨会上做笔记，扩大各科的知识面。但近日有个叫“手写和键盘打字对记忆力的影响”的研究证实了这么些年来老师苦口婆心的念叨是有道理的。研究人员把受试者分成了三个小组，分别用键盘打字、用平板电脑上的虚拟键盘打字以及手写，结果表明手写组更胜一筹。
While the scientists who created the study couldn't pinpoint the reason for the discrepancy in memory between keyboard typing and handwritten writing, they suggested it could have something to do with the split attention span required to type on a keyboard. A person must occasionally glance at a keyboard and then back to the screen when typing while a person using a pen and paper need only look at the paper while recording information by hand. Another hypothesis suggested by the researchers was that writers could create better visual memories by staring at recently handwritten words than they could words typed via a keyboard.
虽然发起此项研究的科学家们尚且无法准确指出键盘打字和手写之间存在记忆差异的原因，但他们认为这可能和键盘输入时会分散注意力有关。如果是键盘打字的话，就得在键盘和电脑屏幕之间游离；手写就不存在类似问题，在记录时只需看着纸就行。另一个假设是书写过程会促进对文字的视觉识别，而这种感觉是打字者无法体会的。
Whatever the reason, you might want to pick up a pen and paper the next time you need to remember a phone number without having to look at the contacts in your phone.
不管原因是啥，下次需要记电话号码时，你一定会自觉拿起纸和笔了吧？不必依赖你的手机通讯录啦！
So, do you need to employ all of these techniques at once to create the perfect memory? Should you wake up with a cup of coffee, take a barefoot morning run, go write down a few things you want to remember, and adopt a heart-healthy Mediterranean diet? Is it necessary to start lifting weights, climbing trees, and engaging in self-actualization? Will these techniques truly give you a perfect memory? Can you become Dr. Spencer Reid from "Criminal Minds" with an eidetic memory and an 180 IQ?
想要一网打尽所有改善记忆的技巧吗？难道非得要每天清早一杯咖啡、赤足晨跑、记录每日事项，养成地中海饮食习惯来保养心脏？难道真的有必要开始举重、爬树、奋力实现自我吗？这些林林总总的手段，真的能带来完美的记忆力，让你和《犯罪心理》里的斯潘塞·瑞德博士一样，拥有超级精准的记忆力和180的超高智商吗？
The Mayo Clinic reveals there's no guarantee when it comes to memory loss and dementia but that engaging in memory-sharpening techniques can help, as well as knowing when to seek help from a doctor for memory problems. Simply socializing regularly, getting organized, and getting enough sleep can have a positive impact on your memory, which means adding these scientific techniques for improving your memory could be the icing on the cake when it comes to remembering the name of your new coworker, your significant other's birthday, and exactly where you put your car keys.
梅奥诊所相关人员指出，记忆减退或者痴呆症是毫无征兆的，但是这些加强记忆的技巧可以助你早日发现端倪，及时就医。简化社交网络、生活作息规律、睡眠充足都能有助于提高记忆力，再加上这些科学技术那无疑是锦上添花，再也不用怕记不住新同事的名字、某某重要的生日、不用怕忘了车钥匙到底放哪儿了。
They were on your bedside table next to your smartphone, right? Or were they on the kitchen counter where you dropped them after bringing in the groceries last night? Fortunately, you don't have to be a savant, experience life-changing head trauma, or have a genius IQ to improve your memory. Trying out these 10 scientific secrets to a perfect memory might be all you need to remember everything you want to remember.
拥有这些技巧，你可以清晰地记得钥匙就在床头、手机边上，或者昨晚买了东西进来顺手扔在了厨房柜台上。为提高记忆力，不用非得经历颅脑损伤之后才能改头换面、重拾记忆，也不用非得成为一个高智商的天才。试试这十个能提高你记忆力的科学奥秘吧，说不定就能让你记忆力飞速提升了呢。