How To Enhance Your Episodic Memory To Recall & Understand Past Events

Think back to your last vacation. There's a good chance specific events come to mind, such as boarding a plane with your friends or eating lunch with your partner. In either case, you probably remember how you felt, what you smelled, and what you heard—and it's all thanks to your episodic memory.

Episodic memory allows you to explicitly recall past experiences. It's also what makes it possible to remember (and understand) the events that have shaped your life.

After all, when you unpack an episodic memory, it can often be expressed as, "I did this, in that place, at this time." It encompasses an event that occurred in your life, from your own unique perspective.

Integrative neurologist Romie Mushtaq, M.D., explains further: "Episodic memory is your unique ability to remember your emotions and experiences around a specific event or situation in your life. [It] helps construct your sense of self, [as] it is unique and personal to you."

While episodic memory involves recalling detailed personal events, semantic memory3 is the ability to remember general knowledge. It involves information that isn't associated with a certain time or place—like facts, names, and dates. Semantic memories are so disconnected from a specific moment in time or location that it can be difficult to pinpoint where you obtained each piece of info in the first place.

Consider this: An example of an episodic memory is remembering where you parked your car. You might also recall how you were feeling and what was happening around you (like the SUV that took the spot you wanted or the song that was playing when you pulled into the parking lot). On the flip side, semantic memory helps you remember and understand what a car is and how to go about parking it.

Compared to other forms of memory, episodic memory is more likely to change as we get older. That said, it's worth exploring how to support episodic memory, no matter your age.

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One of the best ways to nurture your noggin is to get enough Zzz's. As Mushtaq explains, consolidation and storage5 of a memory—including episodic memories—happens during sleep. However, "all types of memory are affected by lack of sleep. [In fact,] retrieval of any type of short-term memory will be impacted if you lose sleep for one to two nights," explains Mushtaq.

From heart health to mood support, there are plenty of reasons to stay active—including healthy brain function and episodic memory. In fact, according to a compelling 6Acta Psychologica6 study6, a single session of strength training can positively affect episodic memory.

Much like the rest of the body, the brain is inextricably linked to the foods we eat, says Naidoo. Brain-supporting nutrients help support myriad functions, including mood, cognition, and memory. Naidoo expounds further: "A diet rich in healthy fats and powerful antioxidants help the brain remain healthier and tamp down pro-inflammatory pathways," which is key for protecting the brain over time.

Journaling is an excellent tool for supporting episodic memory because it requires you to reflect on specific events. Naidoo explains that when writing in a journal, you'll have to recall things like specific facts and what you felt during the event.

According to Naidoo, challenging your brain via puzzles and games can support healthy memory and cognition, especially as you age. Such activities exercise the brain's ability to coordinate communication across its various parts, which reinforces pathways of memory and makes brain-cell-to-cell communication faster, she explains.

Maintaining healthy episodic memory isn't just about remembering your first kiss or the beater car you drove in college. It's about using your brain in a way that supports overall cognitive function and brain longevity.

As mentioned, episodic memory taps into many different brain regions, thereby increasing activity between them. It also requires "a certain amount of emotional control because you have to go through everything that happened without [focusing too much] on any one particular detail," notes Carmichael. This puts your executive functioning skills to work, as it involves attention control, she says.

From the perspective of mental and emotional wellness, episodic memory is essential for creating the richness of your past experiences, shares Mushtaq. She goes on to add that "episodic memory is personally important to each individual because no two humans experience one event the same way." Episodic memory, after all, is what will help you personalize a certain event—from the sounds you heard to the emotions you felt.

Episodic memory allows you to remember specific events. It helps you recall the emotions, sensations, and experiences associated with each event, particularly when it's highly significant or meaningful. 

To improve episodic memory, aim to nurture memory in general. This includes strategies like getting enough sleep, staying active, eating a healthy diet, and challenging your brain. Some daily practices, like journaling and taking a premium nootropic supplement, can target episodic memory specifically.*