As translators, we need our memories to operate at a certain level in order to remember vocabulary, rules, collocations, maxims, exceptions to rules, etc. A few things that can help us with our memories comes from a great website known as The Brain Power Pages (where you can also find tips on taking full advantage of your brain’s capabilities, exercises, intelligence tests, riddles, puzzles and more).

Steve Gillman (creator and author of the site) has a special recipe for improving one’s memory which includes these ten tips:

1. Repeat: repeating a telephone number in your head over and over again will help you remember it. It’s even better if you “sing it” in your head. If you do this everyday, you’ll remember things long term as opposed to short term.

2. Write it down: “Let the paper remember it for you.” Besides having the info handy for later, the act of writing it down will help it “stick” in your head.

3. Clear your mind: relax and clear your mind (take three deep breaths through your nose as you relax your muscles) as often as you can, as this allows things we need to remember to “come” to us.

4. Feed your brain: we have to feed our bodies with good proteins and complex carbs to give the brain more energy and allow it to function better: granola, cereals, trail mix, fish. What’s more, being hungry can distract you and interfere with your ability to remember things.

5. Drink enough liquids: dehydration can distract us, keeps us from thinking clearly and restricts our memory. Try drinking a glass of water and see if your brain seems a little sharper.

6. Exercise: physical exercise gives the brain oxygen: it improves the brain’s functioning both immediately (after ten minutes on the treadmill, for example) and in the long term.

7. Learn Mnemonic Techniques: mental associations to remember names, numbers, lists of items, etc. are usually quite useful for making things “stick.”
8. Imagine how you will use it: if you think of how you could use the info, you have a better chance of remembering it later. For example, if you are learning an algorithm in class, imagining that you’re using it during an exam can help you remember it better. Or if you’ve just learned someone’s name you can imagine running into them again and calling them by their name.

9. Avoid toxins: smoking is the most obvious one. Although some feel that it helps them concentrate in the short term, the subsequent damage affects the brain in general, including the memory. The same goes for some medications and of course illegal drugs.

10. Reduce stress: when you’re stressed, your body releases cortisone (or hydro-cortisone), which at high levels interferes with the part of the memory that holds recent memories. Things like meditation and mind control techniques can help with this.
Will our translations be better with these tips? Will we actually remember to use them? I guess we’ll see…

According to recent research from the University of Virginia (reported at BBC online and mentioned by Steve Gillman on The Brain Power Pages), a great deal of our mental abilities can reach their top potential by the age of 22, and begin to deteriorate at the age of 27… Bad news.

But all’s not lost. Gillman himself has provided tons of advice on maximizing mental capabilities through his website devoted to teaching people how to better use their brains, stimulate their minds as much as possible and more.

We’ve talked before about how learning another languages helps us keep our neurons in good shape. Yes! We’re already on the right track!)
The expert’s “tip of the month” is useful for a lot of people, including translators who frequently spend eight, ten, twelve hours seated in front of the computer… and it never hurts to sharpen our mental abilities.

Sit up Straight!
Posture affects the thought process. You can check this yourself next time right from your chair. Try and perform some math problems in your head while slouched in your chair, head drooped and mouth hanging open. Now, do some mental math while sitting up straight, with your mouth closed and your eyes pointed straight ahead or slightly above your plane of vision. Gillman is a firm believer that it’s much easier the second way and says that if you need to concentrate, you should  “close your mouth and sit up straight!”
In my next couple of blogs I’m going to pass along some of Gillman’s tips on improving your memory (if I remember to do so…)