How this man became a legendary memory champion

Nelson Dellis, memory master. Photo / AFP

• Nelson Dellis, 30, has won US Memory Championships three times
• He can recall hundreds of names and long sequences of numbers
• But he says he's not special - anyone can have a memory like him
• He recommends practising by recalling shopping lists and phone numbers
• He was inspired to improve his memory after grandmother had Alzheimer's
• Secret to remembering names and numbers is attaching images to them

Three time US memory champion Nelson Dellis can recite verses of poetry after reading the words only once, recall a list of 1,500 digits and memorise 193 names in 15 minutes.

He sounds like he is super human but the 30-year-old, who lives in Miami, says anyone can train their memory to work as well as his.

He said: 'Anyone can have an amazing memory, after all we've all got basically the same hardware, a simple upgrade of your software can make all the difference in the world.'

By 'upgrading your software', he means training your mind every day.

Just as physical exercise has to be done regularly to keep the body fit, the mind must be exercised every day to keep it sharp.

Nelson does this with a daily mental workout that involves memorising seven decks of cards, as well recalling long lists of random words, names and numbers and reciting lines of poetry.

While memorising a deck of cards or recalling the digits in Pi may not seem like something you can benefit from, the tricks of Nelson's trade could massively enhance your every day life.

You could banish the embarrassment of never knowing the names of the other mothers who chat to you every day at the school gates; get everything you need at the supermarket without referring to a written shopping list; and entertain your child with a narrative poem when no books are handy.

On his blog, Nelson writes of how important it is for the iPhone generation to become better at remembering numbers. What if you lost your phone or the battery died and you needed to get in touch with a loved one - would you know their number to dial it from a pay phone?

Most importantly, Nelson says we all need to improve our memories to slow or prevent the onset of dementia.

This was the memory champion's motivation after watching the decline of his beloved grandmother to Alzheimer's.

After she passed away in 2009, he vowed to train his brain every day to protect his long term mental health.

He also does physical exercise - including mountaineering - to keep himself healthy and eats a diet rich in foods containing Omega-3, such as oily fish and nuts, because it boosts brain power.

Thanks to efforts, he's gone from being someone who would struggle to remember names to a national memory champion.

He's won the US Memory Championship in 2011, 2012 and 2014 and was 7th in the 2012 World Memory Championships.

Nelson is passionate about encouraging other people to train their brains as part of an overall healthy lifestyle.

He's set up the charity Climb For Memory to raise awareness and funds for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's through organising mountain climbs around the world.

While he realises not everyone may have time to sit and memorise packs of cards, they can still practise sharping their minds in every day life by memorising shopping lists, phone numbers, the names in their children's class at school or the lyrics to their favourite song.

Of the secret to a good memory, he revealed: 'The key to remembering things is to make them unforgettable. Turn them into something bizarre, gross, fun - anything memorable or different.'

For example, when it comes to names, picture something it sounds like. So if you meet someone called Brian, picture a brain to help you remember it.

Or link their name to a famous person. So if you meet someone called Elizabeth, imagine them as a queen on a throne with a crown on their head.

When it comes to random words like a shopping list, Nelson recommends imagining all the items in a story where they are all linked together.

So if you need beef, milk, baby wipes and chocolate - picture a cow being milked, which then gives birth to a baby.

Then picture a farmer coming in to wipe the cow's brow after the birth and then rewarding them for the labour with some chocolate.

The story doesn't have to make sense and the more bizarre the better - the important thing is making it memorable.

Attaching images and meanings is also how Nelson remembers numbers. There are the obvious ones like picturing the devil for six and James Bond for seven.

But he's also developed a more complicated system where he attaches letters to numbers eg the number one is 'A' so he then visualises someone with the letter A in their name, like Alice in Wonderland to remember the number one.

He said anyone can remember numbers by attaching something personal or memorable to them.

He explains on his blog: 'Different people might have different associations for numbers and people, so it's not a fixed thing.

Number one might remind someone of George Washington (the first president) while others might see the same number as Lady Gaga because she is always number one, at the top of the charts.'

Nelson believes a good memory is the key to a long and happy life - so doing some sort of brain training every day is definitely worth remembering.

- Daily Mail