Neuroscientist shares the brain exercise she does for a stronger memory — and the mistake that can 'harm' it

Memory can be tricky. We assume that we'll remember much more than we actually do. Then we run up against a moment of struggle, failing to pinpoint specific details of an event we've experienced, and we wonder how much of our lives we are fully taking in.

You might make a mistake because something you know doesn't surface in the moment you need it; you have a frustrating, fuzzy sense of . Why does our ability to "record" sometimes fail us, and what can we do about it? 

Training your brain to remember better requires focus

What we think is a memory problem is often actually an attention problem. As a neuroscientist and professor of psychology who studies attention, I've found that there are three critical things you must do to successfully remember something:

1. Rehearsal

Use your attention to trace over the information — the name you just heard as a new colleague introduced herself; the most important facts from the work training you're in; the details of a fun experience you just had. 

In school, when you studied with flash cards, that was a rehearsal; when you review the nuances of a joyful moment (e.g., a family wedding — the toasts, the taste of the cake) or a painful>Being too task-focused can harm our memory and creativity

At the grocery store, you fill your cart and head to the checkout line and pull out your phone. There's a work email and a personal data-test="Pullquote">And this downtime has another important benefit, too: It supports memory consolidation. 

We value and prioritize being continuously task-focused. And we don't see mental downtime — when we purposefully disengage from finding, gripping and tightly directing our attention to some occupying task — as a valuable thing to do. And why should we? If focusing our attention, as well as using it to rehearse and elaborate supports successful memory, why shouldn't we aim for all focus all the time? 

Consider your direct experience for a moment. Have you ever had a great idea in the shower? Perhaps it wasn't because the shampoo's scent inspired you. It's that the shower forced mental downtime. You couldn't take your phone or computer in there. You were trapped in that small, wet box with nothing demanding your attention.

Task-free downtime can lead to some of our most creative, generative moments — novel connections are made, new ideas are born, daydreams may appear that are not only satisfying, but also personally or professionally supportive. And this downtime has another important benefit, too: It supports memory consolidation. 

So remember to pay attention when you , but also let the mind roam free more often — to remember better!