Being outgoing is good for your life. More outgoing people like to meet lots of people and they have more fun in life. In fact, being outgoing is not as hard as you think. Even shy people can be outgoing.

At first, you can try to be outgoing in front of your best friends or a group of friends. But the real challenge comes when you meet strangers or new friends. Smile more, and usually they will smile to you, too. In this way, you may have some talks.

Start a talk. Just a simple “Hello!” or “How is it going?” is a good start. If you want to make interesting talks, you should read news in newspapers and prepare your views, or surf the Internet for new information and then keep that in mind.

The easiest way to become more outgoing is to go out. This is also the most important step. Go to a park, beach, club, party or any other place that you think can be fun, and you may make new friends there.

Are you good at remembering what you’ve learned at school? Is it an easy process for all people? No one’s memory is perfect. Even the smartest people forget things. This does not mean a person has a bad memory. It means he is not using his mind to his advantages.

The brain has short-term memory and long-term memory. When we learn something new, it stays in our memory for around 20-30 seconds. This is our short-term memory. It can hold a small amount of information. If we repeat it and use it often, this information can move from short-term memory to long-term memory, which is the place where memories are stored for a long time.

The skill for remembering is moving information from short-term to long-term memory. No one knows exactly how this happens. But one thing is for sure—practising, or making repetition of information, is one of the most popular methods of remembering. And scientists say that long-term memory will never fill up completely with memories in one’s lifetime.

Then why do we forget things? Forgetting things that are not important helps our brain to remember things that are important. Our brain is always “cleaning out” useless information to make room for something more useful.

If you are interested in improving your memory, there are lots of simple things you can do, like eating healthily, sleeping well and exercising daily. Besides, it’s also important to challenge your brain. You can play mind games, learn a musical instrument or study a new language. All you need to do is to keep your brain healthy and active.

Most teens need more than 9 hours of sleep each night. 【小题1】 Lack (缺乏) of sleep can affect everything, from our feelings to how well we focus on tasks like studying. It can also influence sports performance, increase our chances of getting sick, and may lead to weight gain in some people.

How can we get the sleep we need? Here are some ideas:

Be active during the day. 【小题2】 Physical activities can decrease stress and help people feel more relaxed. Just don’t work too close to bedtime because exercise can wake you up before it slows you down.

【小题3】 Experts suggest using the bedroom for sleep only. At least shut everything down an hour or more before lights out.

Keep a sleep routine. Going to bed at the same time every night helps the body expect sleep. 【小题4】 Reading, listening to music, spending time with a pet, writing a diary or doing anything else can relax you.

Expect a good night’s sleep. Instead of worrying that you won’t sleep, remind yourself that you can. Say “Tonight, I will sleep well” several times during the day. 【小题5】

Everyone has a sleepless night once in a while. But if you regularly (有规律地) have trouble in sleeping and you think it’s affecting your mood or performance, talk to your doctor.