How Do We Remember?

Why is it that we can remember the phone number of a best friend but easily forget the number of someone we just met?

That’s because our memory works in three different ways: sensory, short-term and long-term. Sensory memory is used to capture a piece of information at the moment it occurs, and it lasts only a few seconds. Information, like a phone number, would then pass to a ‘sensory store’ called short-term memory, where information can be retained for minutes.

But if we want to ‘remember’ something, it must be captured in the long-term memory, where it can stay for days or even years. The best way to remember a phone number, for instance, is to use it regularly. By repeating it often, the brain holds onto it better.

There are also different types of long-term memory. There are memories that we have to consciously ‘think back’ to recall. There are visual memories based on things we’ve seen. There is also a type of memory that stores facts - like the information you’ve just read!