Experts say the average American is exposed to more than 100 thousand words of information in a single day.
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So your brain sometimes shifts into a distraction mode.
But, there are a few memory hacks that may help you improve your ability to recall.
Here's one. If you want to remember where you are placing an object, give yourself a play-by-play. Say out loud: "I'm putting my keys on the counter." You're more likely to remember what you say out loud.
One other tip: Try chewing gum. Why does that work? One theory is chewing gum leads to increased blood flow and brain activity.
But there may be something else also going on, as well. Your brain may associate that memory with the gum chewing.
Here's another trick. Close your eyes. One study found when people shut their eyes, they were able to answer 23% more questions correctly about a movie they had just watched.
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Regular exercise may also help memory by improving the function of the brain's hippocampus, which is the center of memory storage.
And if you've ever walked into a room and forgotten what you went there to get, you may have experienced the so-called "doorway effect."
That happens when you change your physical environment at the same time you're trying to remember something.
So for example, you are in your car when you realize you forgot something you need for work. The bigger purpose, in your brain, is getting to work. So when you get out of your car, and walk into your house, your brain temporarily gets distracted.
The trick is to realize that may happen, and focus on the short term task at hand: retrieving the object.
One last great memory hack: to remind yourself of something routine, like paying bills give yourself an unusual reminder. Leaving the bills out on a desk won't be unusual enough to jog your memory, so stick an out-of-place object, like a piece of fruit or your shoe, on top of the bills. It may sound odd - but you'll be more likely to remember when you walk by.