You don't need pills to boost your memory, for all that is needed is shifting your eyes from side to side for as little as 30 seconds.

Scientists at Manchester Metropolitan University have found that moving their eyes from horizontally helped a group of volunteers recognize significantly more previously studied words than those who did not.

These volunteers also made fewer errors while recalling the words, the researchers noted.

Study author Dr Andrew Parker said that the discovery was "quite exciting", for he thinks that the method might prove extremely useful to people, especially students cramming for an upcoming exam.

"That such a straightforward experimental manipulation can bring about enhanced memory for studied information and lower the number of memory errors is quite exciting," the Telegraph quoted him, as saying.

"It may help someone recall an important piece of information for an exam," he added.

The researchers are now planning on carrying out more tests to extend their findings.

"We are conducting more research to clarify and extend the current findings," Dr Parker said.

The findings are reported in the latest issue of the journal Brain and Cognition.