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Studying can be hard on its own, but if you don’t know what you’re doing – it is a nightmare! While your online tutors can help you in lots of ways, they can only do so much, right? Well, you’ll be happy to hear that there are countless scientific studies focused solely on trying to make studying more entertaining and efficient, so why not make the best out of them?
There are lots of methods that you could utilize in your studying technique that will make remembering and revising the material a breeze!
This is exactly why we prepared a list of the top eight scientifically proven hacks for the next time you study. Whichever type of a learner you are, they will definitely prove themselves to be of great use for acing your exams!
1. Change your fonts
You probably didn’t expect this one, but changing your fonts while studying can go a long way! If you choose a font that is harder to read, your brain will retain the information you’re reading more easily.
A study conducted by the world-renowned psychologist Daniel Oppenheimer proved just that! Changing your regular fonts into a font that may be a bit harder to read can greatly improve your memory, resulting in recalling the material you prepared for the exam!
2. Chew gum while studying
A couple of years ago, there was a lot of talk about a research that was conducted in order to explore whether chewing gum can help improve our memory. This study has shown that chewing gum allows us to concentrate for a longer period of time and actually improves intellectual performance in visual and audio tasks.
It also increases alertness, so the moment you get sleepy while studying, make sure to grab a piece of chewing gum!
3. Go offline
If you are anything like me, these are the two words in the English language you hate hearing most. However, studying on a laptop can be tricky if you just can’t control yourself and have to check your social feed every other minute.
Moreover, writing down the material for your next exam (using a paper and a pen, of course) can prove itself to be quite beneficial as well! Our brains understand heavier concepts easier when they are written down as notes. So, the next time you’re studying, leave the simple facts for your laptop, and the heavy questions for your notebook!
4. Review the material as soon as you come home after class
Have you ever heard about the Curve of Forgetting? Simply put, each student knows 0% of the material before the lecture, and 100% as soon as the lecture finishes. As time passes, it will get harder and harder for you to remember the lecture and if you don’t review the material in the next 30 days – it will be almost as if you have never heard the lecture in the first place!
Additionally, you could forget up to twenty percent of the material if you decide to leave reviewing it for tomorrow! This is why doing it sooner rather than later is definitely the smartest move you could make, especially a few weeks before your exams!
5. Exercise before studying
This scientifically proven hack is quite simple – exercising gets your blood pumping, and this extra blood in your brain is rich in nutrients and oxygen. While this occurrence is beneficial on its own, let’s not forget that exercising is also considered one of the best ways to reduce stress.
We all know just how stressful high school and college can get, so what better way to calm down before you sit down and study than to blow off some steam!
6. Long study sessions are a thing of the past
Procrastinators tend to leave all their studying for the last moment, which often means that they lock themselves up with a book for days before the exam!
However, even a study session that is longer than an hour can be unproductive, so rather than spending all your time behind the desk trying to remember all at once – make lots of short breaks. The reward system definitely comes in handy during those short breaks, so choose the reward that you’ll look forward to most – be it a snack or an episode of your favorite show!
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7. Leave your revising for when you’re tired
This one probably doesn’t make a lot of sense right now, but give it a shot! Do some studying and reviewing the material during the day and leave the revising of the material that you found harder to understand for before you go to bed.
You’ll find that your brain can get a better grasp of more difficult concepts when you’re tired than it usually would, so make sure to try this hack for studying as soon as possible!
8. Play your favorite music
We’ve all been hearing about how beneficial classical music is in terms of memory and brain development for as long as we can remember, right? However, some studies have shown that we don’t always have to be listening to The Magic Flute in order to be productive, we can just play our favorites instead! As long as you enjoy the music you’re listening to while studying, your brain will be alert as ever!
These eight scientifically proven hacks will definitely prove themselves helpful the next time you take up studying. However, it is also important that you understand the material you’re studying to the fullest extent, so don’t be shy and look up the best online tutors that will help make everything more clear right away!
