How to memorize things faster (and remember them for longer)
TutorAura guide · Updated
The fastest way to memorize something isn't to read it over and over. It's to test yourself on it, space your reviews over days, and connect it to what you already understand. These techniques take a little more effort per minute than rereading, but you need far fewer minutes to remember the same amount, and the memories last (Dunlosky et al., 2013).
Here's how to apply them to vocabulary, formulas, dates, definitions and anything else you need to know by heart.
Key takeaways
- Test yourself instead of rereading: it's the most efficient way to memorize.
- Review over several days with growing gaps.
- Understand it first; meaningful information is easier to remember.
- Use mnemonics for lists and orders, and get enough sleep.
1. Test yourself from the start
Look at the material briefly, then cover it and try to recall it. Check, correct, and try again. Recalling something strengthens the memory much more than reading it again (Roediger and Karpicke, 2006). Flashcards are ideal: say the answer before you flip the card. See active recall.
2. Space your reviews
Ten minutes a day for five days beats fifty minutes in one evening for anything you need to remember beyond tomorrow (Cepeda et al., 2006). A simple pattern: review the same day, the next day, a few days later, and a week later. Drop items you know well to longer gaps; keep the hard ones close. See spaced repetition.
3. Understand before you memorize
Information that means something is much easier to remember than information that doesn't. Before memorizing a formula, understand what each part does. Before memorizing a date, place it in the story of what happened before and after.
Example: the area of a triangle, , is easy to remember once you see that a triangle is half of a rectangle with the same base and height. You'll rarely forget it again.
4. Use mnemonics for lists and orders
Mnemonics help with arbitrary lists, where understanding doesn't help:
| Mnemonic | Helps you remember |
|---|---|
| SOH CAH TOA | Sine = Opposite/Hypotenuse, Cosine = Adjacent/Hypotenuse, Tangent = Opposite/Adjacent |
| PEMDAS / BIDMAS | The order of operations |
| Never Eat Shredded Wheat | North, East, South, West, clockwise |
Researchers rate some memory techniques, like the keyword method for vocabulary, as having limited usefulness for most school learning (Dunlosky et al., 2013), so use mnemonics for specific lists rather than as your main strategy.
5. Make it active and varied
- Say it out loud or explain it to someone.
- Write it from memory, for example a labelled diagram on a blank page.
- Use it: solve problems with the formula, write sentences with the vocabulary.
- Mix it up: review different topics together so you learn to tell similar things apart. See interleaved practice.
6. Sleep on it
Sleep helps consolidate new memories, and teenagers need a lot of it: expert guidance recommends 8 to 10 hours a night for ages 13 to 18 (Paruthi et al., 2016). Staying up late to cram trades tomorrow's memory for tonight's study time, often a bad deal. Review the hardest material in the evening, then sleep.
Putting it together
A simple routine for anything you need to know by heart:
- Understand it first, with an example.
- Make questions or flashcards for the key facts.
- Test yourself the same day, correcting mistakes.
- Review the next day, a few days later and a week later, focusing on what you missed.
- Use it in practice questions or sentences.
- Sleep well, especially before a test.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fastest way to memorize something?
Test yourself on it repeatedly with short spaced reviews over several days, rather than rereading it many times in one sitting.
How can I memorize something in one night?
Test yourself rather than rereading, focus on what you get wrong, and get some sleep. But spacing reviews over several days works much better for anything important.
Do mnemonics work?
They help for specific lists and orders. For most school learning, testing yourself and spacing reviews are more effective.
Does sleep help memory?
Yes. Sleep helps consolidate what you've learned, which is why all-night cramming often backfires.
Sources
- Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest (Dunlosky et al.), 2013.
- Test-Enhanced Learning: Taking Memory Tests Improves Long-Term Retention. Psychological Science (Roediger and Karpicke), 2006.
- Distributed Practice in Verbal Recall Tasks: A Review and Quantitative Synthesis. Psychological Bulletin (Cepeda et al.), 2006.
- Recommended Amount of Sleep for Pediatric Populations: A Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (Paruthi et al.), 2016.
Keep reading
Active recall: the study technique that beats rereading
Why testing yourself beats rereading, and five practical ways to do it for any subject.
Spaced repetition: how to remember more by studying less at once
Why spreading study over time beats cramming, and a simple schedule you can start today.
How to learn vocabulary in a new language (and keep it)
High-frequency words first, spaced flashcards, using words in sentences, and lots of reading and listening.
How to study for a test: methods that actually work
Test yourself, spread it out and mix topics: a research-backed method with a 7-day plan and a one-day emergency plan.