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{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"FAQPage", "mainEntity":[ {"@type":"Question","name":"Combien de temps par jour faut-il s'entraîner pour entretenir sa mémoire ?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"10 à 15 minutes par jour suffisent, à condition d'être régulier. Mieux vaut un petit entraînement quotidien qu'une longue séance de temps en temps. Variez les types de mémoire (travail, visuelle, chiffres, mots, souvenirs) pour un entraînement complet."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"Les exercices de mémoire fonctionnent-ils vraiment ?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Oui : le cerveau reste plastique à tout âge. Une stimulation régulière et variée entretient les capacités cognitives et renforce la réserve cognitive. Les bénéfices sont réels, surtout combinés à une vie sociale active, une activité physique et un bon sommeil."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"À partir de quel âge peut-on faire des exercices de mémoire ?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"À tout âge. Les enfants dès 5-6 ans avec COCO, les adultes qui veulent rester vifs avec JOE, et les seniors qui souhaitent entretenir leur mémoire avec EDITH. Il suffit d'adapter la difficulté à la personne."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"Un test de mémoire en ligne remplace-t-il un avis médical ?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Non. Un test en ligne donne un premier repère, utile pour se situer, mais il n'a aucune valeur diagnostique. En cas d'oublis fréquents et inhabituels ou d'inquiétude, consultez votre médecin, qui pourra orienter vers un bilan approprié."}} ] }
Memory exercises to do at home: concrete sheets to print
Want to maintain your memory, or that of a loved one? This page gathers, for each type of memory, a ready-to-print sheet with one click (button "🖨 Print this sheet"), a list of other exercises to try, and the right tools to go further — including the training "Maintain your memory daily".
📌 Key points to remember
- Memory is not a single muscle: we train working memory, visual, number, semantic, and episodic memory.
- Regularity is key: 10 to 15 minutes a day is better than a long weekly session.
- Mnemonic strategies (associations, categories, method of loci) multiply the effectiveness of memorization.
- These exercises are suitable for all ages and extend into games: COCO (children), JOE (adults), EDITH (seniors).
- To go further, the online training "Maintain your memory daily" provides a complete method.
The sheets below extend onto tablets, with adaptive difficulty and progress tracking.
📋 Quick access to the 6 printable sheets
Why (and how) to maintain your memory
Contrary to popular belief, memory is not a fixed capacity that inevitably declines with age. It is a set of functions that can be maintained, just like physical fitness. We also talk about cognitive reserve: the more we stimulate our brain throughout life, the more resources we have to compensate for natural aging.
Memory is also not a single "muscle". We distinguish working memory (holding information for a few seconds to use it), short-term memory, visual memory, semantic memory (words, knowledge), and episodic memory (lived experiences). A good training engages all of them, in varied and regular ways.
The key is regularity: better 10 to 15 minutes a day than a long session occasionally. And for it to last, it must be enjoyable — hence the interest in alternating paper sheets, tablet games, and daily activities.
Maintain your memory daily
Understand how your memory works, stimulate and preserve it, with simple and effective methods to apply day after day. A training at your own pace, for families and caregivers alike.
1. Working memory
Working memory is our "mental notepad": it temporarily holds information while we use it — a phone number we dial, an instruction we execute, the beginning of a sentence while understanding its end. It is one of the most used functions daily, and one of the first to tire. Good news: it trains very well.
The list to memorize
📋 List to memorize (30 seconds)
✂️ — — Hide the list — —
✏️ What I remember
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
🔁 Variation: redo the exercise 1 hour later, without rereading the list. How many words remain in memory?
➕ Other working memory exercises to try
- Head shopping: memorize your shopping list and recreate it from memory at the store, lengthening the list each week.
- Repeat backwards: listen to a small series of words or numbers and say them in reverse order.
- The phone number: read a number, hide it, dial it from memory.
- The recipe without looking: read the 4 steps of a recipe, then perform them without rereading.
- The tray game: announce 3 actions to do in order ("touch the table, stand up, say hello"), then 4, then 5.
👶 Children's version
👵 Senior version2. Visual memory
Visual memory allows us to remember images, faces, places, the position of objects. We use it to recall where we placed our keys, recognize a route, or find a word on a page. The famous "Kim's game" — observing objects and then recalling them from memory — is the king exercise to train it, at any age.
Kim's tray
✂️ — — Hide the images — —
✏️ The images I remember
To make it harder: also ask where each image was in the grid (top left, center...).
➕ Other visual memory exercises to try
- The pairs game (memory): find the identical cards turned over — a classic, highly effective.
- The 7 differences between two almost identical images.
- The way home: close your eyes and describe from memory the route from one room to another, the objects encountered.
- The minute photo: look at a photo for 30 seconds, hide it, answer questions about it.
- Where are the keys?: observe a room, leave, then list from memory what was there.
3. Number memory
Remembering a sequence of numbers — a code, a date, a number — involves the memory span, which is the amount of information we can hold in mind at once. On average, an adult remembers 7 numbers forwards; training it backwards is even more stimulating, as it adds a mental manipulation.
The number span
➡️ Forwards (repeat in the same order)
⬅️ Backwards (repeat starting from the end)
My record: I remembered up to numbers forwards, backwards.
➕ Other exercises with numbers to try
- Countdown: from 100 to 0 by 7s — excellent for attention and working memory.
- Family dates: recite from memory the birthdays of loved ones.
- Mental calculation: add up the numbers on a license plate seen on the street.
- Shopping prices: estimate the total of the basket before checkout.
- Remember a code: memorize a new 4-digit code by associating it with an image.
4. Word memory and evocation
Semantic memory is our internal dictionary: words, their meanings, general knowledge. Training it involves actively searching for words — a valuable exercise at any age, and particularly useful for people who have "the word on the tip of their tongue". Category and evocation games are perfect for this.
The category challenge
🏆 My score
| Fruits | Animals | Jobs | Countries | Letter A |
|---|---|---|---|---|
➕ Other evocation exercises to try
- Scattergories: a letter, categories (first name, city, animal, object...), fill them as quickly as possible.
- Proverbs with blanks: "He who steals an egg...", "Like father..." — complete from memory.
- The opposite / synonym: find the opposite or a similar word to a given word.
- Riddles: make someone guess a word from its definition.
- The longest word: from a few letters, compose the longest possible word.
5. Tips for better memorization
We remember much better when we use strategies rather than simple repetition. Three techniques, known since Antiquity and confirmed by neuroscience, work wonders: association (linking new information to something known), chunking (grouping into packets), and the method of loci (or "memory palace"), which involves mentally placing what you want to remember along a familiar route.
The journey method
🗺️ My route and my images
| Route stage | Word to remember | Mental image (funny, exaggerated) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The entrance | ||
| 2. The kitchen | ||
| 3. The living room | ||
| 4. The bedroom | ||
| 5. The bathroom |
Test: redo the route in your head, without looking, and find the 5 words. Then do it backwards!
➕ Other mnemonic tips to test
- Acronyms: remember a list by the first letter of each word (like "SMART").
- Stories: link the elements to remember in a small story.
- Rhymes and songs: set to music what you want to memorize.
- Chunking: break long series into small packets of 2-3.
- Spaced repetition: review at D+1, D+3, D+7 rather than all at once.
Want a complete and structured method? The online training "Maintain your memory daily" details these techniques step by step and how to integrate them sustainably into your everyday life.
6. Everyday memory and memories
Episodic memory is that of our lived experiences: what we did yesterday, a trip, a family meal. Engaging it daily — by voluntarily recalling the course of your day — is a powerful training, and particularly valuable for elderly people. The evocation of old memories (reminiscence) soothes, values, and often brings back words and emotions.
Yesterday's diary
🖼️ An older memory
➕ Other everyday memory exercises to try
- The day's movie: each evening, mentally replay your day in order.
- The memory box: pick an object, a photo, and tell the story that goes with it.
- The big dates: recall the significant events of a year, a decade.
- Old songs: listen again to the music of your youth and find the lyrics.
- The gratitude journal: note three good moments each evening — memory and well-being combined.
Maintain your memory throughout the day
The best training is one that integrates naturally into daily life, without feeling like "doing an exercise". A few simple habits suffice: memorize your shopping list, calculate the change in your head, learn a new word each day, remember a phone number instead of looking it up, or recount a movie you just watched. Add to this the three pillars of a healthy brain: an active social life (interactions are the best memory exercises), regular physical activity (it oxygenates the brain), and a good sleep (memory consolidates at night).
🎓 Go further with the training
"Maintain your memory daily: simple and effective methods" — an online training, at your own pace, to understand and strengthen your memory sustainably.
Discover the training (20 €) →Frequently asked questions
How to download a sheet in PDF?
Click on "🖨 Print this sheet" at the top of each sheet, then choose "Save as PDF" as the printer. The sheet is on your computer in seconds.
How much time per day should be spent training?
10 to 15 minutes a day is enough, as long as you are regular. Better a small daily training than a long session occasionally. Vary the types of memory for a complete workout.
Do memory exercises really work?
Yes: the brain remains "plastic" at any age. Regular and varied stimulation maintains cognitive abilities and strengthens cognitive reserve. The benefits are real, especially when combined with an active social life, sports, and good sleep.
From what age can these exercises be done?
At any age! Children from 5-6 years old (with COCO), adults who want to stay sharp (with JOE), and seniors who wish to maintain their memory (with EDITH). Just adapt the difficulty to the person.
Does a memory test replace medical advice?
No. An online test provides a first benchmark, useful for positioning oneself, but it has no diagnostic value. In case of frequent and unusual forgetfulness or concern, consult your doctor, who can refer you for an appropriate assessment.
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