How to Improve Working Memory: 5 Methods You Should Consider

Ready to challenge your working memory?
We've included an interactive N-Back test at the bottom of this article. Jump to the test ↓

Working memory—the mental workspace where you hold and manipulate information in real time—affects nearly everything cognitive you do. Following conversations, solving problems, learning new material, even reading this sentence requires working memory. So it makes sense that people want to improve it.

But can you actually expand your working memory capacity? The honest answer is: it's complicated. Some methods show promise, others have mixed evidence, and the field is still debating what "improvement" really means. If you're not sure what working memory is or how it differs from regular memory, our guide on what working memory is covers the basics.

Here are five approaches worth considering, along with what the research actually shows.

1. N-Back Training

The N-Back task is probably the most studied working memory training method. You're shown a sequence of items (letters, positions, shapes) and must identify when the current item matches what appeared N steps back. Start with 2-back, and as you improve, progress to 3-back, 4-back, and beyond.

A 2008 study by Jaeggi and colleagues made headlines by suggesting that N-Back training could improve fluid intelligence—the ability to reason and solve novel problems (Jaeggi et al., 2008). This sparked enormous interest and a wave of "brain training" apps.

However, subsequent research has been mixed. Some studies replicate the benefits; others find improvement only on the trained task with limited transfer to other abilities (Melby-Lervåg et al., 2016). What does seem clear is that people get substantially better at N-Back itself with practice—whether that translates to real-world cognitive gains remains debated.

If you want to try it, consistency matters more than intensity. Research suggests 15-25 minutes daily over several weeks is more effective than occasional long sessions. Try the N-Back test at the bottom of this article ↓

2. Working Memory Strategy Training

Rather than trying to expand raw capacity, another approach focuses on using your existing capacity more efficiently. Chunking—grouping individual items into meaningful units—is the classic example.

Consider remembering the sequence 1-9-4-5-1-9-6-9. That's eight digits, likely exceeding your working memory capacity. But recognize them as "1945, 1969" (end of WWII, moon landing) and you've compressed eight items into two chunks.

Expert chess players don't have larger working memories than novices—they've learned to perceive meaningful patterns as single units. This principle applies broadly: developing domain expertise in any area effectively expands your functional capacity within that domain.

You can practice chunking with our Digit Span Test. Notice how grouping digits into pairs or triplets extends how many you can remember.

3. Physical Exercise

This one might surprise people looking for brain-specific solutions, but aerobic exercise shows some of the most consistent cognitive benefits in research. A meta-analysis found that regular aerobic exercise is associated with improvements in executive functions, including working memory components (Smith et al., 2010).

The mechanisms likely involve increased blood flow to the brain, neurogenesis in the hippocampus, and elevated levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). The effects aren't dramatic—we're not talking about transforming your cognitive abilities—but they're real and come with obvious additional health benefits.

What counts as sufficient? Most studies showing benefits involve moderate aerobic activity (brisk walking, cycling, swimming) for 30+ minutes, several times per week. The cognitive benefits appear to be ongoing—they diminish if you stop exercising regularly.

4. Sleep Optimization

Sleep deprivation reliably impairs working memory. Even one night of poor sleep measurably reduces how much you can hold and manipulate mentally. Chronic sleep restriction compounds the problem.

During sleep, the brain consolidates memories and clears metabolic waste products. Shortchanging sleep means shortchanging these processes. Studies consistently show that sleep-deprived individuals perform worse on working memory tasks, with effects comparable to being legally intoxicated in some cases (Alhola & Polo-Kantola, 2007).

Optimizing sleep isn't technically "training" working memory, but for many people it may offer larger practical gains than any training program. If you're sleeping 5-6 hours and wondering why your memory feels foggy, the solution isn't cognitive exercises—it's more sleep.

Curious where your working memory stands? Take the Short Term Memory Test →
A comprehensive assessment of 6 different memory skills

5. Reducing Cognitive Load

This approach flips the question: instead of expanding capacity, reduce demands on it. Working memory is a bottleneck, and you can make tasks easier by minimizing what needs to pass through it.

Practical strategies include writing things down rather than trying to hold them in mind, breaking complex problems into smaller steps, eliminating distractions while doing demanding mental work, and using external tools (calendars, reminders, notes) liberally.

This isn't cognitive improvement in the traditional sense, but it's often the most immediately effective approach. Understanding your limits—which you can explore with tests like the Visual Memory Test or Spatial Span Test—helps you design systems that work within them rather than constantly exceeding them.

What About Brain Training Apps?

Commercial brain training programs often make bold claims about cognitive improvement. The evidence? Mixed at best. A large-scale study found that while people improved on the specific games they practiced, these gains didn't transfer to broader cognitive abilities or real-world functioning (Owen et al., 2010).

That doesn't mean all cognitive training is worthless—it means you should be skeptical of grand promises. Targeted practice on specific skills (like N-Back for working memory updating) shows more promise than generic "brain games."

The Realistic Takeaway

Can you improve working memory? Probably somewhat, through dedicated practice on tasks that stress the system. Will you double your capacity or transform your cognitive abilities? Unlikely.

The most practical approach combines multiple methods: consistent practice with challenging memory tasks, regular physical exercise, adequate sleep, effective strategies like chunking, and smart use of external tools to reduce unnecessary cognitive load.

Perhaps most importantly, understand what working memory is and isn't. It's one component of cognition, not a magic lever that controls everything. Improving it may help at the margins, but it won't substitute for domain knowledge, motivation, or good habits.

Try N-Back Training

The N-Back test below is the training method with the most research behind it. You'll see a sequence of positions on a grid and need to identify when the current position matches what appeared N steps earlier. Start with 2-back—it's harder than it sounds—and work your way up as you improve.

Remember: consistency beats intensity. Fifteen minutes daily will likely serve you better than an hour once a week.