because that seems to be the case with me. This morning when I woke up I remembered something that I read in a magazine MANY years ago. I don't know why — it simply popped into my mind. Yet, I usually can't remember what I did during the last few days.
Is there a way to improve one's short-term memory? Like taking a certain vitamin or supplement?
It is definitely possible. Different areas of the brain are involved in each type of memory. This is why sometimes people with certain types of brain injury can completely lose one type of memory but not the other.
There is a process to get information into long term memory. I don't know enough about it to give specific advice, but I do know that if you take the time to notice whatever it is you want to remember, it helps. (For example, I've learned that when I put my keys down, I need to stop, take 5 seconds to look at them and say to myself "the keys are on the kitchen table"…and it makes a huge difference for me…I rarely lose them now. But it only works when I pause and take notice.)
The more you think about whatever it is, the more it is to get into long term memory.