Working memory allows us to temporarily hold and manipulate information to accomplish daily tasks like following instructions, remembering phone numbers, and shopping. It develops gradually through childhood and relies on key skills like attention, auditory memory, and visual-spatial skills working together. Working memory capacity varies by individual and naturally declines with age, but can be improved through targeted training. Those with compromised working memory struggle with distraction, focus, verbal skills, and storing long-term memories. However, research shows strengthening exercises, memory strategies, brain games, and relaxation techniques can expand working memory at any age. This article explores what working memory is, its impact on everyday functioning, reasons for decline, and science-based techniques to enhance your short-term memory, focus, and attention span.
Understanding Working Memory
Few other cognitive functions have received as much attention in recent neurological research as working memory. Working memory helps us absorb and process the enormous amount of information that we are bombarded with every day.
It also helps us navigate and accomplish tasks in an increasingly complex world without getting confused or overwhelmed. Simply put, working memory is the ability to keep a set of previously learned or newly acquired information in your mind for a short period of time and to be able to use this information in problem solving and task completion.
Imagine that you have just looked up a phone number that you want to call and are now actively searching for your phone all the while keeping that number in mind. Once you found the phone you easily retrieve the needed number. This active dual processing was made possible with the help of your working memory.
In other words, working memory is similar to the Random Access Memory (RAM) in your computer: It is used to load and quickly retrieve multiple units of data relevant for the current action or conditions. Working memory is closely related to attention, executive control, and learning.
Development and Related Decline of Working Memory
Working memory develops gradually during childhood and is one of the first cognitive functions to decline as we age. While working memory capacity varies from person to person, most adults can hold data sets consisting of 5-9 items in their minds.
In early childhood, working memory is limited but expands rapidly between ages 2-6. Growth continues through adolescence as neural connections strengthen. Working memory peaks in young adulthood. Capacity then gradually declines from our 30s-60s due to changes in brain structure and neurotransmitters.
Decline accelerates after age 70. The elderly experience noticeable difficulty retaining information in working memory. However, research shows working memory can be sharpened at any age through mental and physical exercise. Aerobic activity improves blood flow, stimulating the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex which govern working memory. Challenging brain games also activate neural networks, enhancing connections.
Working memory capacity depends on individual brain structure and efficiency of neural pathways. Some young adults naturally have excellent working memory, while others struggle to juggle more than a few ideas at once. Disorders like ADHD, autism, dementia and schizophrenia are linked to working memory impairments. But for most people, judicious training can expand capacity.
Challenges with Compromised Working Memory
However, in some individuals, the ability of working memory can be severely compromised. When working memory is weak, it is difficult to stay focused, ignore distractions, plan your next steps, remember instructions, and start and finish tasks.
People with working memory deficits have selective attention problems, as it is very hard for them to extract relevant data and ignore/block unrelated information (“noise”). Weak working memory also negatively affects verbal ability (e.g. finding the right word when you need it, comprehending speech) as well as the ability to commit new information to long-term memory storage.
Those with compromised working memory also have trouble controlling impulses and emotions. They act hastily without considering consequences, since they can’t hold potential outcomes in mind. Frustration mounts as they forget directions and misplace items. Anxiety increases as seemingly simple tasks like running errands become frustratingly difficult.
Weak working memory also negatively affects verbal ability. Finding the right word in conversation becomes a challenge. Following lectures or stories becomes tiring as key points are forgotten. New information has trouble making it into long-term storage when working memory falters. Reading comprehension and math skills suffer without the ability to temporarily retain and manipulate concepts.
Working memory deficits are common in individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Learning Disabilities (LD), Traumatic Brain Injury, Autism/Asperger, etc. Additionally, working memory suffers due to chronic stress, anxiety, and depression. It has become a question of critical importance for neuroscientists to find ways to improve working memory in individuals who suffer from a deficit, as well as to boost the capacity in the general population.
Cognitive Overload, Management Strategies, and Visualization
If you feel that your working memory is not functioning as well as it has in the past, you might be experiencing cognitive overload. In other words, you might be trying to keep too many informational threads in your active storage.
Perhaps you are engaging simultaneously in a number of different tasks while trying to keep in mind some other important information. It is easy to reduce cognitive overload by delegating some of your memory tasks to calendars, electronic schedules, written reminders and other organization aids.
Additionally, it is possible to train your mind to not think about the tasks you are not currently doing. Cognitive overload is also likely to occur when a person feels worried or upset. Even if you are not aware of your feelings, your mind keeps churning the emotionally charged thoughts, thus taking up precious space in your working memory.
If cognitive overload has become a chronic issue, it is a good idea to prioritize your activities and try to reduce the amount of information that flows through your mind. For example, if you find yourself thinking about work in the evenings and weekends, you can try the following: When leaving your office, imagine a cabinet with many drawers. Visualize taking all your work tasks and images (even images of people), and placing them into one of the drawers and locking it. Then visualize putting the key in your pocket. If work-related thoughts are still bothering you, visualize them and place them in a drawer again. Taking quiet relaxation breaks throughout the day is also very important, “quite relaxation” means you are not checking your messages or chatting with a co-worker.
The Foundation of Working Memory
Working memory relies on several core cognitive skills working together. These key capacities that support our working memory include:
- Attention - The ability to focus on relevant information while screening out distractions is critical. People with strong attention can hold more items in mind without being sidetracked. Those with attention deficits struggle to use working memory effectively.
- Auditory memory - Also called verbal working memory, this allows us to remember instructions, conversations, lectures and more. Challenges with auditory memory make it hard to follow directions.
- Visual-spatial memory - Lets us create and manipulate mental models and pictures. Important for recalling faces, routes on a map and where you left your keys. Poor visual-spatial memory leads to forgetting details and getting lost easily.
- Executive functioning - Enables strategic planning, organizing information, impulse control and more. Allows us to actively manipulate items held in memory to complete tasks. Weak executive function impairs manipulations needed for math, reasoning and managing workflows.
- Processing speed - Quickly encoding information for storage and retrieval aids working memory capacity. Sluggish processing bogs down intake and retrieval, taxing working memory.
While working memory relies on this team of skills working together, targeted training can strengthen specific weaknesses to improve the overall capacity. Understanding your own working memory profile can help guide training.
Strategies to Improve and Use Working Memory Skills
There are many practical techniques you can use to exercise and optimize your working memory:
- Take notes - Don’t rely solely on your memory for things like instructions, lectures, and conversations. Always write down key points to refer back to.
- Use mnemonic devices - Rhyming, acronyms and visualizations give your brain hooks to hang details onto. Create mnemonics to aid recall.
- Visualize completing tasks - Mentally picture yourself going through steps to accomplish goals. Envision where you left belongings. Imagine routes on a map.
- Analyze problem areas - Identify contexts where your working memory regularly fails. Find ways to reduce the load like writing reminders or breaking tasks into chunks.
- Practice retrieving information - Repeat and rehearse important info like new names and numbers aloud and mentally. Retrieval strengthens memories.
- Use to-do lists - Physically writing down tasks helps imprint them into memory. Cross items off as you accomplish them.
- Play memory games - Card games, spatial puzzles and brain training apps engage working memory. Start easy and increase difficulty.
- Practice active listening - Maintain eye contact, reflect back key points, and ask clarifying questions to boost auditory memory.
- Break down tasks - Don’t overload your working memory. Break complex assignments into smaller steps you can focus on one at a time.
- Relaxation techniques - Stress and anxiety hamper working memory. Try deep breathing, meditation and mindfulness to clear your mind.
- Leverage associations - Connect new info to what you already know. Tie names to faces and numbers to visualizations.
Activities to Link and Improve Working Memory
In addition to the strategies discussed, dedicated practice activities can strengthen your working memory skills. Here are some activities to try by yourself:
- Digit recall - Have someone read aloud strings of numbers to you, starting with 3-4 digits. Repeat the numbers back. Increase length as you improve.
- Word sequences - Listen to someone say sequences of random words. Repeat the words back in order. Gradually recall longer sequences.
- Ordering tasks - Have someone give you mixed up multi-step directions. Put the steps back in the right order. Add more steps to increase difficulty.
- Memory cards - Use card decks for concentration games where you have to remember card locations after flipping them over.
- Storytelling - Listen to someone tell a long story with many details. Recap the story, highlighting the key points you retained.
- Drawing from memory - Briefly look at an image then draw it from memory. Increase the complexity of the images over time.
- Mental math - Listen to multi-step math problems like “Add 25, subtract 7.” State the answer without physically calculating.
Regular practice with these kinds of activities activates your working memory networks, gradually improving capacity over time. You can devise customized activities tailored to your needs and interests to reinforce your skills.
Training Programs for Enhancing Working Memory
In recent decades, revolutionary research in neuroplasticity [Doidge et al., 2007] has shown that various brain functions can be trained and strengthened with carefully prescribed rigorous mental exercise [Klingberg et al., 2002]. A number of training programs and applications were developed to improve brain functioning, such as BrainHQ, Lumosity, Cogmed, and others.
Among these, Cogmed is the oldest and most widely-used system. Its primary target is to boost working memory and attention, although other benefits were also reported. Most clients report improvements in academic and professional performance as a result of stronger working memory and attention. Several empirical studies suggest that increases in working memory capacity can be accompanied by improvements in fluid intelligence ([Jaeggi et al., 2008], [Jaeggi et al., 2011] and [Klingberg et al., 2005]), reading comprehension ([Chein and Morrison, 2010] and [Dahlin, 2010]), math competence [Holmes, Gathercole, & Dunning, 2009], and ADHD symptoms ( [Gibson et al., 2011], [Holmes et al., 2010] and [Klingberg et al., 2005]).
Cogmed is different from other training programs, in that it was developed by empirical researchers (Karolinska Institute, Sweden, 2001) and is backed by over 30 peer-reviewed research studies published in independent scientific journals. It has been used extensively in the US and Canada since 2006 and its effectiveness is supported by ongoing scientific research.
Overall, research indicates that 80% of individuals who complete Cogmed Working Memory Training experience significant improvements in their working memory and attention, which are often accompanied by positive changes in their daily functioning. This training is effective for children and adults of the general population, as well as ageing persons and individuals with such conditions as ADHD, Autism, LD, Traumatic Brain Injury, etc. Not everyone is a good candidate for this training and, in some cases, the training can be counter-indicated.
This is why Cogmed training can only be administered by a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist who will assess the candidate’s suitability and insure proper adherence to the program. Today, Cogmed Training is owned and managed by Pearson Assessments, a leading publisher of psychological assessment and therapy materials. It is delivered through a network of trained and licensed professional all around the world. Here you can read more information about the Cogmed training.
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This is an update to the original post "How To Improve Your Working Memory And Attention" published on Nov 27, 2012.
