--- title: Memory: Closing Eyes Really Does Help Recollection, Says Study description: U.K. researchers find subjects had more accurate recollections of visual and audible memories when they closed their eyes during testing canonical: https://time.com/3671204/memory-recollection-closing-eyes-study-research/ author: David Stout article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-16T10:01:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:38:18.529Z article:section: Health og:title: Here's a Simple Way to Improve Recollection og:description: It works for both visual and audio memories, U.K. researchers find. og:url: https://time.com/3671204/memory-recollection-closing-eyes-study-research/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's a Simple Way to Improve Recollection twitter:description: It works for both visual and audio memories, U.K. researchers find. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Yes, Closing Your Eyes Really Does Help You Recall Things Better by [David Stout](https://time.com/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Jan 16, 2015 10:01 AM UTC by [David Stout](https://time.com/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Jan 16, 2015 10:01 AM UTC A new study [suggests](http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30834038) that closing one’s eyes actually does help an individual recall things in more accurate detail. According to research findings published in the journal _Legal and Criminological Psychology_, subjects who participated in a recent study at the U.K.’s University of Surrey had more accurate recollections of visual and audio memories when they closed their eyes during testing. The survey also found that individuals who had better rapport with their interviewers scored higher on tests, reports the BBC. Closing one’s eyes will “help people visualize the details of the event they are trying to remember,” lead researcher Robert Nash told the BBC. He added that it could “help focus on audio information, too.” \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30834038)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3671204/memory-recollection-closing-eyes-study-research/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3671204/memory-recollection-closing-eyes-study-research/"},"headline":"Yes, Closing Your Eyes Really Does Help You Recall Things Better","datePublished":"2015-01-16T10:01:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:38:18.529Z","description":"It works for both visual and audio memories","url":"https://time.com/3671204/memory-recollection-closing-eyes-study-research/","keywords":["Research","health","memory"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3671204/memory-recollection-closing-eyes-study-research/","name":"Yes, Closing Your Eyes Really Does Help You Recall Things Better"}}]}] ```