# How to Train My Brain to Improve Memory

> How to train your brain to improve memory: what research actually supports (recall, spacing, sleep, exercise) and what your non-dominant hand can and can't do.

- URL: https://ambidestro.it/en/how-to-train-my-brain-improve-memory/
- Author: Mattia Penna (https://mattiapenna.dev/)
- Category: Ambidextrous Exercises
- Language: English
- Published: 2026-03-01
- Updated: 2026-10-09
- Other languages: [Italiano](https://ambidestro.it/come-allenare-il-cervello-migliorare-memoria.md), [Español](https://ambidestro.it/es/como-entrenar-el-cerebro-para-mejorar-la-memoria.md)

## The honest answer

When I started researching neuroplasticity for this blog, the same question kept coming up: **"How can I train my brain to improve memory?"**

For a long time the answer on this page was the one you find almost everywhere: use your non-dominant hand, wake up "dormant neurons", stimulate the corpus callosum. I went back to the research, and I owe you a correction. **There is no good evidence that training your non-dominant hand improves memory.** What does improve memory is less exotic, and much better tested.

## What actually works

Four habits have solid evidence behind them:

- **Test yourself instead of rereading.** In a classic experiment, students who practised recalling a text remembered far more of it a week later than students who simply reread it, even though rereading made them feel more confident[\[1\]](#fonti "Roediger & Karpicke, 2006").
- **Space it out.** The same amount of study spread over several days beats one long session, and a review of hundreds of experiments found the effect remarkably consistent[\[2\]](#fonti "Cepeda et al., 2006").
- **Sleep on it.** Sleep helps the brain consolidate what you learned during the day[\[3\]](#fonti "Rasch & Born, 2013").
- **Move.** In a randomised trial with 120 older adults, a year of regular brisk walking enlarged the hippocampus by about 2%, roughly reversing one to two years of age-related shrinkage, and improved spatial memory[\[4\]](#fonti "Erickson et al., 2011").

And brain-training apps? A large review found that they make you better at the games themselves, a little better at very similar tasks, and show little evidence of improving everyday memory[\[5\]](#fonti "Simons et al., 2016").

## Where the other hand fits

So what does using your non-dominant hand actually do? It is **motor learning**, and motor learning really does change the brain. In a well-known study, adults who learned to juggle for three months showed measurable growth of grey matter in areas that process visual motion, growth that faded once they stopped practising[\[6\]](#fonti "Draganski et al., 2004").

Notice where the change happened: in the areas the skill uses. That is the pattern across this research. Train a movement and you get better at that movement; a better memory for names or numbers does not come along as a bonus.

The other hand still has honest benefits. Brushing your teeth or using the mouse with it breaks the autopilot and makes you pay attention. It gives you a capable second hand. And it is a cheap daily reminder that the brain keeps learning at any age. Just don't do it *for* your memory.

- **The morning swap:** brush your teeth or comb your hair with the other hand.
- **The mouse shift:** move the mouse to the other side for fifteen minutes.
- **Mirror writing:** write your name backwards with the other hand, just for the fun of it.

## Where my book fits

My book **"How to Become Ambidextrous"** is about exactly that: hands. It has an in-depth test and progressive exercises for writing, drawing and coordination. It is not a memory programme, and I would rather tell you that here than have you find out later.

If it's memory you're after, start tonight: go to bed on time, and tomorrow test yourself on what you want to remember instead of rereading it. If this was useful, share it with someone who is still downloading brain-training apps!

 [ ![Cover of the book How to Become Ambidextrous](https://ambidestro.it/uploads/cover_how_to_become_ambidextrous_135ca3f910.webp) ](https://ambidestro.it/go/ambidextrous?l=en)

 **[Find the book on Amazon and train your other hand!](https://ambidestro.it/go/ambidextrous?l=en)**

Memory is only one door. To see how the two hemispheres really share the work, carry on with [creativity and logic in the brain hemispheres](https://ambidestro.it/en/creativity-and-logic-in-brain-hemispheres/); for the bigger question, read [are ambidextrous people smarter?](https://ambidestro.it/en/are-ambidextrous-people-smarter/); and if you would rather move to your hands, the [exercises to become ambidextrous](https://ambidestro.it/en/exercises-to-become-ambidextrous/) are the next step.

## Frequently asked questions

### What exactly are 'neurobic' exercises?

'Neurobics' comes from a 1999 popular book, Keep Your Brain Alive. The idea, doing routine things in unfamiliar ways, is harmless and can make you more attentive, but no trial has shown that it improves memory.

### Does using your non-dominant hand improve memory?

There is no good evidence that it does. Training the non-dominant hand is motor learning: it improves the hand and changes the brain areas that control that movement, but it does not carry over to memory for names, facts or numbers.

### Is it normal to feel frustrated when starting these exercises?

Yes. The other hand feels clumsy because the movement is new, and that clumsiness is exactly what learning a movement feels like. The goal isn't immediate perfection but a few minutes of practice every day.

### How does the book differ from the blog's free articles?

The book is about training your hands: an in-depth test and progressive exercises for writing, drawing and coordination, organised into a day-by-day programme. It is not a memory programme.

### What actually improves memory?

The best-tested habits are testing yourself instead of rereading, spreading study over several days, getting enough sleep and regular aerobic exercise. Brain-training apps mostly make you better at the apps themselves.

## Sources

1. [Roediger & Karpicke, 2006](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16507066/)
2. [Cepeda et al., 2006](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16719566/)
3. [Rasch & Born, 2013](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23589831/)
4. [Erickson et al., 2011](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21282661/)
5. [Simons et al., 2016](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27697851/)
6. [Draganski et al., 2004](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14737157/)