Who couldn’t do with a little help in the memory department? Here’s a simple trick offered by researchers at the University of Michigan: Simply talk for 10 minutes. It’s been shown to improve memory and performance on tests.

Study participants from many demographic groups were asked how often they talked each week on the phone to friends, neighbors and relatives and how often they got together. After accounting for variables, such as health, education, race, ethnicity, gender, marital status, income and physical and mental health, researchers discovered that the higher the level of participants’ social interaction, the better their cognitive functioning, regardless of age group.

Source:  Personality and Social Psychological Bulletin, 2008