How Can I Study and Remember Faster

The way you study has a lot of influence on how much of the information you are going to remember.

Studying techniques that will help you remember faster should be engaging and focused on helping your brain improve its muscle memory. An improved muscle memory automatically translates into better information retention ability.

This guide will outline ways that you can improve your study time and make more out of those study sessions. Read on to discover new ideas to enhance your learning sessions.

Improve Your Study Time

Online learning

The internet has provided us with useful learning tools and online platforms where you can gain new information. Online learning is an excellent choice because the sites are regularly updated with the latest study tools that will enhance your experience.

A good example is the Get better grades now website. You will find courses, classes, and test papers, among other learning materials, to help you study better. The more you do them, the more acquainted you become with your studies, and the better you will be able to remember what you’ve learned.

Moreover, some learning websites can be interactive, which is a much better experience than studying by yourself in solace.

Studying as a group

One of the best things about studying as a group is that you are likely to gain new insights that will improve your learning experience. As your friends contribute to the discussions, you will not only learn new things, but you are more likely to remember what they said.

Reading aloud

As odd as it sounds, research has shown that it is one of the top methods you can use to remember what you’ve learned. If you usually read by yourself at home, this is a great idea to try out.

Reading aloud also helps reduce having to read a sentence over and over to retain it in your mind.

Meditation

All those things you’ve heard about meditation, helping calm the nerves and relax the brain are true. Practicing meditation while you study helps you stay focused, and it minimizes pre-exam stress. It also improves your overall physical and mental health.

Music

Music affects our moods. Playing the right music in the background significantly improves your productivity during study sessions. This is because it elevates your moods and enhances the coordination of your brain activities. The volume should be high enough that you can hear it softly. Loud music will become noise, which will distract you and ruin your learning experience.

Breaks

It is not healthy to study for three hours continuously without a single break in between. Your brain gets tired at some point. When you feel overwhelmed, take a short break. It’s recommended that you take a break after studying for 50 minutes.

Research shows that your brain slows down and stops absorbing information after studying continuously for an hour and a half. You will, therefore, not remember anything or most of the things you read after that.

Breaks refresh the mind, and they improve your concentration when you return to your studies.

Teaching what you’ve learned

Teaching someone else what you have learned is the best way to understand it and gain in-depth knowledge about it. You can teach a classmate or a friend, or get someone from your family to listen to you as you explain the concepts.

Poor study methods to avoid

Some study methods negatively affect your muscle memory and your capacity to recall what you’ve learned. Here are some of those poor study habits that you should avoid at all costs if you want to improve.

Procrastination

If you keep postponing your study time, you will end up affecting the information you remember. When you procrastinate, you encourage your brain to do the activity half-heartedly, and you will find it will be more challenging to remember what you have read.

Create a study timetable with breaks in between and adhere to your schedule. You will achieve more and improve your brain muscle memory.

Highlighting

Many students highlight sentences and words as they read. Highlighting creates an illusion that you are going to remember those words or points because of the color you’ve used. That, however, is not true, but rather a misconception.

What highlighters do is they create a visual impact, but they don’t make the information prominent in your mind. Instead of highlighting, you can use other useful methods, such as taking down notes. Alternatively, you can try testing yourself with quizzes at the end of your study session.

Multitasking

Don’t multitask while you are studying. You will forget half or more of what you’ve read. Sending messages on social media or watching a movie while you study is detrimental to the whole process, and it does nothing to help you remember what you learn.

Set aside time to study and ensure there will be nothing in the vicinity to distract you.

Late-night cramming

The best time to study is during the day, more so, during the morning hours. Trying to cram as much information as you can one night before the exam exhausts your mind and body. A tired mind will not store most of the information it’s fed.

Studying in the morning is the best time because your mind is fresh and ready to take on any information you give it. It will also remember most of the things you will read during that time.

Disorganization

A cluttered desk is a reflection of a disorganized mind. With so much to cover and think about, it’s crucial to keep an organized schedule of how you are going to cover everything, especially when dealing with large topics that need to be broken down into manageable sizes.

Disorganization promotes random scattering of information, and this makes it difficult for your brain to compartmentalize details. You, therefore, become prone to forgetting what you’ve learned.

Use a notebook to keep track of all study schedules, and you will be surprised at how easy it gets.

Conclusion

Improving your study sessions and how you retain the information in your memory is not that difficult a task. If you adhere to the above guidelines and rules, you will have significant improvement in how you remember details.

The Get better grades now website is also a handy tool to consider. They have learning tools and quizzes that will go a long way in helping you enhance your studies and your ability to recall what you’ve learned.