đź“š 10 Free websites every reader should know, Why We Remember, and more.

A&B #224

January 12, 2025

In partnership with

đź‘‹ Hey everyone,

Here are a few popular posts you may have missed:

PS: Thank you for all the kind words on last week’s newsletter. I may not have time to respond to every comment each week, but I do read them all and appreciate your feedback and support.

Ready to Level up your work with AI?

HubSpot’s free guide to using ChatGPT at work is your new cheat code to go from working hard to hardly working

HubSpot’s guide will teach you:

  • How to prompt like a pro

  • How to integrate AI in your personal workflow

  • Over 100+ useful prompt ideas

All in order to help you unleash the power of AI for a more efficient, impactful professional life.

đź“š Book Summary:

This week’s book is “Why We Remember” by Charan Ranganath PhD.

Dr. Ranganath has studied the brain for over 25 years and is one of the world’s top memory researchers.

In his book, he explains how memory works, the factors that lead to weak memory, useful tips to help us improve our memory, and much more.

Here are 3 lessons from it:

đź“–

1) You Aren’t Meant To Remember Everything

This is an important realization that should also bring you some relief.

“The average American is exposed to 34 gigabytes (or 11.8 hours worth) of information a day,” writes Dr. Ranganath, “It’s not surprising we don’t remember everything. On the contrary, it’s amazing that we remember anything.”

Take a second to think about what your life would be like if you did remember everything.

Chances are 99% of your memories would be filled with pointless or useless information and experiences.

That leads us to the question, why do we remember things at all?

One answer to this question is to recall unique experiences.

Our ancestors had to remember which berries were poisonous, which people were most likely to help or betray us, and which river was infested with crocodiles. These memories helped us stay alive.

But our brains, like all tools, have limits. Therefore, forgetting is not a flaw, but rather a feature.

Forgetting allows us to get rid of ordinary experiences that don’t benefit us (like if we rolled out the trash can or not) and remember extraordinary experiences that allow us to survive and hopefully thrive.

đź“–

2) If You Want To Improve Your Memory, Improve Your Health

When Dr. Ranganath worked at a clinic, many of the patients sent to him were referred for evaluation of Alzheimer’s disease.

However, upon further examination, their MRIs showed no brain damage. Instead, it turned out that they were clinically depressed.

Other health conditions, such as hypertension and diabetes, also have negative effects on memory.

But it isn’t just serious conditions that affect your memory, your daily health habits play a major role as well.

Sleep deprivation and stress can have devasting effects on memory.

The same is true of alcohol–some research even suggests that the effects of a drinking binge can last for days.

So if you want to improve your memory, one of the best things you can do is improve your health.

“Your brain is part of your body, so anything you can do to care for your body is also good for your brain, and hence your memory,” writes Dr. Ranganath.

If you don’t know where to start, start with exercise.

Exercise, such as running, increases the release of brain chemicals that promote plasticity, deliver oxygen to the brain, and reduce inflammation.

Exercise also reduces stress and improves sleep, thereby mitigating two of the most significant factors that might otherwise sap your memory power.

đź“–

3) Record The Moment But Also Experience It

In the book, Dr. Ranganath tells a story about rewatching his daughter’s childhood birthday videos but being surprised that he didn’t remember much from that day.

Because he was so focused on the camera and recording the birthday, he wasn’t nearly as present for the party as he thought.

Ironically, constantly documenting an experience can lead us to disengage from it and interfere with our ability to form distinctive memories.

Now that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take any photos or videos when you go on a vacation or are enjoying a party, but rather that you want to balance being present with documenting the experience.

One helpful tip is to not spend too much time obsessing over getting the perfect photo or video. Instead of turning the trip into a photoshoot, focus more on getting candid photos or recording a raw moment instead of a staged one.

By documenting less, you’ll free your mind and senses to directly experience the trip and pay attention to what’s happening around you–focusing on the sights, sounds, and smells will all increase the chances of you creating lasting memories.

âś… Actionable Advice

1) Forgetting is a feature, not a flaw. Your brain forgets to make space for important information and details.

2) To improve your memory, improve your health: Exercise daily, get 8 hours of sleep, and have a healthy diet.

3) If you want to remember an amazing experience, balance enjoying the moment with documenting it.

đź’Ž Weekly Gem:

App: Margins

Think of Margins as a 10x better Goodreads.

You can use it to track your yearly reading progress, use AI to search books based on “vibes”, set daily reading reminders, and even set a focused reading session that stops you from opening other apps during your reading session.

Thank you for your support, read on everyone!

-Alex W.

PS: Here’s a little reward for reading the entire newsletter…

I’m doing a book giveaway with Morning Brew later this week. If you want to get a head start, you can enter the giveaway by signing up for Morning Brew here (free to enter).

Reply

or to participate.