Closing your eyes helps to recall memories better, study finds

RESEARCHERS at the University of Surrey have found that blocking off your vision helps to boost the ability to remember events more accurately

Closing your eyes helps to recall memories better, study finds GETTY

New research has found that closing your eyes can help you recall memories better

Struggling to find your house keys? Can't remember where you left you left your wallet? Close your eyes.

A study by the University of Surrey has found that memory is more accurate when we block off our vision.

Researchers believe this method could help witnesses to crime remember more about what they saw and that this technique should be used during the interview process.

The findings also discovered that those who build a good rapport with the person questioning are also likely to remember key facts.

Study leader Dr Robert Nash said: "It is clear from our research that closing the eyes and building rapport help with witness recall.

"Although closing your eyes to remember seems to work whether or not rapport has been built beforehand, our results show that building rapport makes witnesses more at ease with closing their eyes.

"That in itself is vital if we are to encourage witnesses to use this helpful technique during interviews."

In the first of two experiments, 178 volunteers were asked to watch a film depicting an electrician entering a property, carrying out jobs, and stealing possessions.

Participants were then asked a series of questions about the film, such as "what was written on the front of the van?".

The questions were designed to test their recall.

Those who closed their eyes while trying to remember answered 23% more of the questions correctly than those who did not.

For the second experiment, volunteers were shown a Crimewatch reconstruction of a burglary in which an elderly man was attacked in his home.

This time participants were asked to remember what they had heard as well as what they had seen.

Closing the eyes helped them recall both visual images and sounds.

The research is published in the journal Legal and Criminology Psychology.

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