Working memory

Working memory is the ability to keep information active for a few seconds while we use it. It’s not just about remembering. It’s about remembering while we think, decide, or perform another task.

We use it when reading a sentence, following a multi-step instruction, doing mental calculations, or searching for something without losing track of what we are looking for.

A Small Mental Table

You can think of it as a small table where we temporarily place what we need to act. If we put too many things on it, some will fall off.

This doesn’t indicate a lack of intelligence or willpower. Sometimes it means the task requires holding too much information at once.

A simple idea: often it’s not the knowledge that fails, but the ability to hold several pieces of information at the same time.

How It Shows Up in Daily Life

It can be noticed when rereading the beginning of a sentence, forgetting the second step of an instruction, losing track in a conversation, or making mistakes when copying a number.

It also appears when there is noise, haste, fatigue, stress, pain, or too many stimuli around. Working memory doesn’t function in isolation: it relies heavily on attention and overall state.

How to Train It

Training it does not mean doing increasingly difficult tasks until exhausted. It involves finding an appropriate level of difficulty: not so easy that it poses no challenge, and not so difficult that it leads to blockage.

It can be worked on with short sequences, visual patterns, simple mental calculations, chained instructions, or comprehension exercises. The difficulty should gradually increase and be able to decrease when fatigue sets in.

Supporting Strategies

• Reduce steps: Break a long instruction into small parts.
• Write it down: Using a short list is not cheating: it reduces cognitive load.
• Repeat: Saying out loud what you are going to do helps maintain focus.
• Pause: Taking breaks can prevent blockage and frustration.

Summary

Working memory allows us to hold information while we use it. It is essential for reading, conversing, calculating, planning, and problem-solving.

Its capacity is limited. Therefore, it is advisable to train with progression, observe fatigue, and adjust the difficulty to the person's current state.

What You Can Train in Reactiva+

Challenges from the catalog that engage working memory:

• Reverse Sequence: retain a series and return it backwards: the classic working memory task.
• Direct Sequence: the same exercise without manipulation, for a gentler start.
• Dual Task: hold information while attending to something else at the same time.
• N-Back Cards: compare with what came out a few steps ago, continuously updating.
• Chain Calculation: keep the result in mind while the next operation is presented.
• Follow Spatial Instructions: retain several steps and execute them in order.