Shifting eyes horizontally can enhance your memory

A new study has found that moving your eyes horizontally for as little as 30 seconds can boost up your memory.

Scientists at Manchester Metropolitan University found that the group of volunteers who made horizontal eye movements before they were asked to recall words, recognized significantly more previously studied words than those who did not made any such eye movement. They also had fewer errors in their recall.

Study author Dr Parker said, "That such a straightforward experimental manipulation can bring about enhanced memory for studied information and lower the number of memory errors is quite exciting."

He further added, "It may help someone recall an important piece of information for an exam."

The researchers are thinking of conducting more tests to extend their findings.

"We are conducting more research to clarify and extend the current findings," Dr Parker said.

The findings are reported in the latest issue of the journal Brain and Cognition.