How memory works

The memory process has three stages:  Sensory memory, short­-term memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory memory records everything you “sense”; everything you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel. Sensory memory is just momentary.  It lasts only as long as the experience is present.  For instance, if you see a flower, you remember it only as long as it is in your range of vision unless your brain has transferred its image into your short-term memory.  If your attention is drawn to something else right away, you won’t remember what the flower looks like.  In effect, sensory memory works only as long as your senses are experiencing a thing. Whether it is the feel of an object, smell or the perception of anything, it is in the sensory memory for a very brief period; just while that sensation is active.

Short-term memory, on the other hand, lasts a little longer; in fact, as long as you pay attention to something, you will be able to hold it in short-term memory. Whether it is the telephone number that you have been repeating constantly till you write it down, or the image of the bird, it will remain available as long as you actively think about it. Otherwise, it will be erased within 10-20 seconds.  In order to remember something after that, the brain has to transfer it to long-term memory.  The process of rehearsing a phone number is, in fact, a means of passing the number from short-term to long-term memory.

As well, the amount of information you can keep in short-term memory is very limited.  The generally accepted rule is that only five to nine items of information can be in short-term memory at once.  This is the reason that short-term memory is so “short.”  Each time you attend to a new piece of information that is passed from sensory memory, you have to push out something that had your attention before.  If something interrupts your concentration on the telephone number, for example, before you rehearse it into long-term memory, it is likely to get bumped out and you will have to look it up again!

Long-term memory is the mainstay of the memory system and can hold a virtually unlimited amount of information.  Long-term memory contains perceptions and ideas that range from a few minutes old to your earliest months of life.  Long­-term memory is like the huge hard disk of a giant computer where unlimited information can be stored for a lifetime. It is this memory that we build our ideas and experiences on, and hopefully access when we need it!

If this sounds complicated – it is!  Nevertheless, our brains generally accomplish it without a hitch.   Can the process be improved?  Yes, indeed!  Stay tuned.

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Tagged as: Brain, How Memory Works, Improve Your Memory, memory, Memory Aging, Memory Improvement