Though most doctors agree that you don't need any formal mental gymnastics to keep your brain fit and functioning, many people have found that certain techniques or activities have helped them sharpen their memory. The simple techniques offered here can give you a leg up in bolstering your ability to learn and recall new information.

Tips for Capturing Information

Imagine this scenario: You're getting ready for work in the morning, and one of those morning news television programs is chattering away in the background. You hear one of the announcers mention a product development that gives you an idea for one of the projects your team is involved in at work. You tell yourself you're going to research the product further once you hit the office and discuss your ideas with your team. But by the time you're backing your car out of the driveway, you've put the whole thing out of your mind. When you get to work, you have a sense that there's something you were going to do, but…

Events, ideas, information that pass into the hippocampus will pass right on out again — unless you do something to lock them down by associating them with other memory that is already safely stored and ready for retrieval. The more associations the memory is tied to, the more likely you are to be able to store and retrieve it later. In psychology, this technique of associating new information with a range of memories for stronger recall is called elaborative encoding. It takes place in your frontal lobes — an area of your brain that always can use a good workout. Over time, people have used a number of memory devices to aid this process:

• Use the “Roman Room.” Ancient Romans used this practice to help them memorize long speeches, lists of objects, city names, and so on. To try it, envision a room. Then place around the room visual cues that remind you of items from your to-do list, shopping list, or other types of information. A coat draped over a chair reminds you of the dry cleaning. A pair of skis leaning in the corner reminds you to call the travel agent about your winter vacation. Travel around the room in your mind, and make a mental note of sensory cues given off by the items — the colors, sounds, and smells of the items, how they coexist with each other, and any reaction they evoke in you. Make the images as vivid and compelling as possible. The room should exist in your mind as a real place, with each of its furnishings a reminder of the things, people, or events you want to lock in your memory.

• Group or “chunk” ideas and information. If you break down information into manageable “chunks” it is easier to remember. For example, a phone number, such as 1234567, is easier to remember when hyphenated: 123-4567.

• Cue Yourself. If you are driving and want to remember to run an errand or call the plumber, think of something that represents that task with something unavoidable. Think of pulling into the driveway and seeing a mailbox in the way (mail that letter). Or picture the toilet sitting in the middle of your front porch (call the plumber). These visual associations can help you hang onto your thought until you can do it or write it down. Another cue can be a verbal cue, like the ones we use to remember common things (“I before E except after C” or “Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosey” for which direction tightens or loosens caps, screws, etc.)

• PQRST. For complicated tasks like learning how to add numbers to your cell phone or using voicemail in a new job, you can follow these five steps: Preview, or skim the text of the instruction manual. Develop Questions that sum up the main points you need to learn. Reread the information again to answer these questions. Study the answers until you understand them. Test yourself by trying out the process — enter some numbers into your phone, or leave yourself messages on voicemail and then retrieve them.

• Go into training for long-term lockdown. When you have stored information in your long-term memory — not just until you leave work or get through tomorrow's meeting — put your memory technique into a training program. Review the information you need to remember at least three times a day for the next three to five days. At the end of your training program, you should have the information safely in the vault.

Organization Can Help Too

Maybe you are pretty good at making lists and using other tricks for grabbing that idea as it darts through your mind, but you need to set up a bit of structure to make that job easier. Here are a couple of organizational suggestions that may help:

• Use external aids. Keep tools around that make jogging your memory easy. Writing pads, lists of emergency numbers, appointment books, a personal digital assistant (PDA) with all your information in one place, timers, and an “outbox” to put things that remind you of outside errands. If you need to “take notes” in places like the car or the bus, many cell phones,PDAs, and MP3 players have a digital recorder on which you can dictate thoughts for later.

• Organize the environment. Arrange items in your environment to help you remember common things — for example, hang your keys on a hook just inside the door and put your medication next to your toothbrush where you can't miss it in the morning.

Most of all, work hard at preserving and building your cognitive functions, but try to enjoy the ride. After all, if you're worried about your memory, you probably aren't too far down the forgetfulness trail to get your ability to store and recall new information back up to speed.