ADHD & Memory - Improving Recall

Improving recall—your ability to retrieve information when you need it—comes down to using strategies that strengthen both memory storage and retrieval pathways. Here are practical, research-backed ways to do that:

1. Use Spaced Repetition

Revisit information at increasing intervals over time. Tools like Anki or Quizlet use this technique to reinforce memory right before you're likely to forget it.

2. Practice Active Recall

Instead of re-reading, quiz yourself. Cover up the material and try to recall it from memory—this strengthens retrieval far more than passive review.

3. Use Meaningful Associations

Tie new information to something you already know. Analogies, metaphors, or linking facts to personal experiences help your brain encode information more deeply.

4. Chunk the Information

Break information into smaller, manageable units or “chunks.” Our working memory can only handle about 4–7 items at a time.

5. Teach What You Learn

Explaining material aloud to someone else (or even to yourself) forces your brain to organize and retrieve it in a more integrated way.

6. Use Multisensory Learning

Engage more than one sense—read it, write it, say it, draw it. This helps create more pathways for recall.

7. Get Good Sleep

Memory consolidation happens during sleep, especially deep sleep. Skimping on sleep sabotages recall.

8. Move Your Body

Exercise improves memory by increasing blood flow to the brain and supporting neuroplasticity.