
Ask HN:augmenting working memory ? - ippisl
What are some the tools (like google is for long term memory) , to help , and increase the ability of working memory ?
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pasbesoin
Sleep. Seriously. Also, "downtime". During both of which you integrate short
term memory into long term memory. and also form associations that you can't
consciously control.

I find that when I'm rested, I can maintain several more items in my working
memory. It also frees up your working memory to take on new items, with the
previous material now ensconced in long term memory.

Health. If you are feeling poorly, it's going to be distracting. Also,
exercise is increasingly shown to have a large positive effect upon mental
function.

Eliminating negative distractions -- even those you may be unaware of.
Anecdote: Back in college days, a friend pursuing a chemistry major used to
study with music on. One time, he deliberately avoided the music -- perhaps I
or someone convinced him to give it a try -- while studying for the next exam.
He did significantly better in the exam, by his own evaluation, and was quite
surprised by this.

I'm not saying everyone reacts the same way to music; rather, you need to be
aware of your own, personal reactions. And sometimes this is not obvious.

I've reluctantly begun taking a low dose of Adderall, recently -- partly in
response to some chronic health problems that I won't go into. It helps a bit
in some ways, but also hinders me in others. It does NOT produce the deep,
rapid, and highly insightful quasi-fugue / focus state that I could get into
-- with some effort -- when I was younger and particularly in better health.

Perhaps some of the newer nootropics are better -- they are quite expensive in
the U.S. and I haven't given them a try. But my general impression is that
there is not much in the way of real shortcuts. You build up and protect your
foundation of physical health, and this provides the brain the resources that
enable greater critical thinking, including working memory.

I guess I should add in a specific reference to stress. Acute, limited
duration stress can increase my focus in a certain domain. Chronic stress and
particularly negative acute stress short circuit my working memory more than
anything else.

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Rickasaurus
Caffeine, Flash Cards, Also see:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nootropic#Memory_enhancement>

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subud
Blueberries can help:

[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080410115405.ht...](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080410115405.htm)

