How to Improve Your Memory: 5 Surprising Brain Hacks from Keynote Speaker Dr T
Did you know that your brain processes 70,000 thoughts per day, yet forgets up to 80% of what you learn within 24 hours?
It’s not that your memory is broken, it’s just overloaded, under-trained and misunderstood.
Dr Tharaka Gunarathne, better known as Dr T, is a Consultant Psychiatrist and award-winning keynote speaker who helps people unlock their mind’s full potential. Drawing on neuroscience and behavioural psychology, his keynotes have captivated corporate audiences and TEDx stages, proving that memory isn’t a gift, it’s a system.
Here are five of Dr T’s most eye-opening and practical tips to rewire your memory and function at your best both in work and in life.
1. Your Brain Believes What You Tell It
Your internal dialogue directly shapes your brain’s performance. Tell yourself “I always forget names,” and your brain obliges.
Dr T says: what you say to yourself becomes your brain’s operating system. Repeating negative beliefs literally rewires neural pathways to follow those patterns. Flip the script, and your brain rewires again.
Takeaway: Start saying “I’m training my memory,” and your brain will begin to act like it.
2. The Cloakroom Trick: Turn Boring Lists into Unforgettable Stories
Dr T’s keynote audiences are often stunned when they remember 10+ random items in perfect order within minutes, using this mind-bending technique.
It’s called the Cloakroom Trick, and it turns forgettable facts into vivid, mental images placed in familiar spaces, like pegs in your hallway.
It works because the brain doesn’t forget images and stories, it forgets abstract data. Turn information into a journey, and memory becomes instinctive.
Takeaway: Visualise your shopping list hanging on coat hooks: a giant banana in your hat, a carton of milk dripping on your scarf. Weird = memorable.
3. Mild Dehydration Shrinks Your Brain (Literally)
Just 1–2% dehydration can shrink brain tissue, impair focus, and reduce short-term memory by up to 20%. Dr T calls water “brain fuel” for a reason, as without it, neurons slow down, concentration dips, and recall becomes patchy.
It’s no wonder that the best memory athletes in the world are obsessive about hydration.
Takeaway: Want to remember more in meetings? Drink a glass of water before walking into the room.
4. You Don’t Learn While Awake. You Learn While You Sleep.
Dr T debunks a major myth: that learning happens in the moment. It doesn’t. Real memory consolidation happens after you switch off.
During deep sleep, your hippocampus (the part of the brain which controls memory) plays back the day’s learning, just like hitting “save” on a computer. Without sleep, your brain simply loses the file.
Takeaway: Skipping sleep to work late doesn’t make you productive, it makes you forgetful.
5. Your Brain Loves Novelty
Routine is the enemy of memory. Dr T explains that the brain thrives on novelty, variety and challenge. Doing the same things in the same way causes cognitive stagnation.
To keep your memory sharp, change the input: take a new route to work, learn a language, do a puzzle, switch hands brushing your teeth. Every unfamiliar task strengthens neuroplasticity.
Takeaway: Stretch your brain daily. The more variety, the stronger your recall.
Who is Dr T?
Dr T is a keynote speaker, a mind coach, a TEDx favourite, and a Consultant Psychiatrist with a rare gift: making neuroscience fun, practical and unforgettable.
Through his live keynotes, he equips audiences with tools to:
- Learn faster and retain more
- Reduce mental fatigue and distractions
- Build confident, high-performing habits
- Function at their best, in every area of life
Whether he’s speaking at corporate conferences, wellbeing events or leadership retreats, Dr T leaves a lasting impression.
Get in touch today to enquire about his fees and availability for your next event.
