Customer Reviews

Improving Your Memory For Dummies

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a mental health professional I am always looking for practical information and techniques which are accessible and understandable to the average patient. This book provides many accurate and useful facts about memory in an organized and interesting format. It speaks to the concerns of many who would benefit from specific exercises to enhance memory. It also cautions against the all too tempting urge to find a "quick fix," such as inappropriate and/or exclusive reliance on vitamins or suppliments. This book encourages a balanced and effective response to concerns about memory.

It definitely takes the technicality of some memory books I've read. It is very basic and a good start for anyone interested in improving their memory whether you're a student, adult, or elderly. It lays the basis for good health and tricks so your mind can be at its sharpest. I think anyone interested in this subject might want to try this book first then move onto more complicated and technical books.

Some things this book tackles is some memory myths out there and gives you a clearer understanding of how your brain works, its parts and how they communicate as a whole to provide you with your memories. A con with this book is that it bombards you with nutritional information for three chapters. It goes through all the vitamins and lists all the foods that have them. Why couldn't the author just say "take a multivitamin, eat a balanced meal, and stay away from this and that...etc." in a couple of pages with some nice neat tables? This isn't Nutrition for Dummies, but maybe I'm being too critical. Anyways, besides that, the rest of the book gives you some really good association systems, such as PEG or loci, and many examples that you can use them with in everyday life. It also helps you plant the seed for better self awareness, such as defusing stress, and gives you tips on how to improve your life such as having the right attitude and avoiding multitasking. It also suggests ways to deal with memory suppressors such as job related stress or dealing with technology. It also gives you some tips for school. That's what I got out of it anyway. It's a pretty quick read too. I give it a thumbs up.

If you expect tons of memory excercises, this is the WRONG book for you. This book is about keeping your brain healthy, in shape. It's about UNDERSTANDING MEMORY, ESTABLISHING MEMORY, PRESERVING MEMORY and last but not least, EXERCISING YOUR MEMORY. My best take-aways;

- non-sense and truth about the aging brain
- the danger of drinking coffee on an empty stomach
- when to take Calcium & Magnesium best
- memory and motivation
- the effect of sleep & excercises on memory
- protecting your memory from overload in a high-speed world

Fantastic book for everyone interested in taking care of ones brain/memory health.

This is a great book, teaching in typical "for dummies' fashion about a complex topic in simple and vivid language. I consider it both a great stand-alone reference book (if you're going for a basic understanding of how memory functions, how to improve it, and a bit of technical knowledge on the side), as well as fabulous "jumping point" for pursuing a more in-depth study of the topic (starting from scratch to medium-scratch). I have already studied the topic, and still found the book enlightening, practical, and so easy to implement into my life. As a college student needing to remember everything, this has been a very valuable book for me.

Very good book. This books offers a good and realistic methods to improve your memory.

John Arden is a psychologist who oversees twenty training programs in as many medical centers. He has worked in the mental health and education systems for twenty-eight years and is the author of four other books

I think I'm being pretty generous for giving it 3 stars. I realize that there are as many opinions as there are ppl but other than some general good advice on lifestyle change and communication with ppl, I didn't find this book to be very conductive to memory improvement. The book is very lengthy and doesn't grip you, which makes it very difficult to not loose attention. But the worst part is that when it finally comes to suggesting some techniques on memory enhancement, the explanations aren't very clear at all. So, I spent a lot of time reading the book and didn't take too much out. Sorry to say that.

Do not buy this book. It is hopelessly padded and repetitious, and forgets to keep the promise of its title.