Scientists have been finding out many different ways to improve memory. In January 2019, a team of Japanese researchers revealed that taking a pro-histamine drug can improve people's long-term memory. Although the drug may sound attractive for students looking for help with their studies, the researchers warned that the drug should not be used unless ordered by the doctor. Also, it has not been tested for learning new things.

As for an easy-to-follow way to boost one's memory, Dr. Andrew Parker of Manchester Metropolitan University found evidence of a positive effect of eye movement on memory more than 10 years ago. In 2007, he designed an experiment that would test recognition memory, which is the ability to recognize something that was encountered before. For example, a person may notice a friend's face when they happen to walk past each other in the city by chance. The concept of recognition memory is often compared to recall memory, which is the ability to bring to mind something that people have experienced in the past. For example, this allows a person to answer the question, "What did you eat yesterday?"

In his experiment, Dr. Parker has 102 students listen to a male voice reading out groups of 15 words. After listening to the words, he divided the students into three different groups. The first group was told to move their eyes from side to side. The second group was told to move their eyes up and down. The third group was not told to do anything. He then gave the students list of words and asked them to mark the ones that had been read out. The lists contained a number of "lure" words which were words that had not been read out but were easily associated with the actual words spoken.

The results were impressive. Compared to the others, the first group's results for remembering correct words were on average 10 percent better and their results for mistakenly choosing "lure" words were on an average of 15 percent lower. This meant that they were much less likely to be fooled by related words on the lists. Moving the eyes horizontally can be a simple way for those who want to improve their memories.