You’re blank. Every pencil is moving except yours. You crammed all last night and now ... nothing.

Memory can be the bane of a student’s existence. When you blank on a test or a job interview, you look like an idiot. So why can’t you just remember everything? Well, remembering is difficult.

“It’s hard work ... we’re all lazy,” says Susan Kemper, professor of psychology. People try to take shortcuts, such as cramming, and are often left empty-minded, Kemper says.

We also spread our attention over many areas, Kemper says. Multitasking gives us only a fraction of our attention to something that requires all of it.

Kemper says research shows humans don’t multitask well. When your attention is divided between many areas, you can’t focus. If you are listening to music, listening to your friends, checking Facebook and studying, then your memories will be tied to that context, Kemper says. When you take a test, you aren’t multitasking, so your chances of remembering what you studied are slim.

“Do one thing and do it well,” Kemper says.

Another factor in memory is repetition; the more you go over the information, the better you will remember it.

John Colombo, professor of psychology, says “spaced practice” is the best method of remembering something. Spaced practice requires that you get started early, because you study a little bit each day. Plan ahead and stake out time to study with moderate intensity, and you’ll remember more than if you were to study with high intensity over the a single period, Colombo says.

But how should you study? Two types of memorization strategies, mnemonic and elaboration can help when you hit the books.

Mnemonics

Used since the days of Aristotle, mnemonics are the best-known way to remember something. Mnemonics (“neh-monics”) use acronyms to group facts together in a meaningful way. An example: “Richard Of York Gained Battles In Vain.” This mnemonic helps you remember the colors and order of the colors in the visible spectrum: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. The mnemonic functions by relating a memorable sentence with information contained in it; in the example, the first letter of each word helps you remember the first letter of each color.

Mnemonics should be visual, outlandish and weird, Melinda Gaddy, psychology graduate student, and Kemper say, because these attributes make them easier to remember.

Elaboration

The other method of memory recall is elaboration, or depth of processing. With it, you create relationships with everything you need to remember. This makes more neural pathways, and the more neural pathways you have, the better your memory. You might not remember what exactly you wanted to remember, but you’ll eventually remember it through remembering something else.

Gaddy suggests mnemonics for visual learners and elaboration for verbal and auditory learners.

Stimulation

Cigarette smokers, caffeine addicts and Adderall abusers benefit from boosts in short-term memory whenever they smoke, swill or swallow.

Kemper says users gain a short-term advantage, but they may “flame out” and are faced with serious consequences later, such as addiction and poor health. However, some students use stimulants anyway.

Paul Kubicki, Kansas City, Kansas, freshman, smokes before tests because nicotine makes him feel more alert and focused. Mickey Ceser, Lawrence graduate student, says he felt mentally slow when he tried to stop smoking.

“I felt healthier, but I also felt like I was wearing a goldfish bowl over my head,” Cesar says. “I couldn’t think my way out of a wet paper bag.”

Brigid Dunn, Topeka senior, says she drinks black coffee when studying and drinks lots of water so she doesn’t crash. She says it helps her focus.

These methods for focusing can heighten short-term memory, but not long-term memory. Also, if you don’t normally take stimulants, they could disrupt your sleep, which is a major factor in recollection, Melinda Gaddy, psychology graduate student, says.

Because of the major consequences, Kemper does not endorse using stimulants to aid memory.

“I do not recommend someone borrow their friend’s Adderall to get through their bio exam,” Kemper says. JP