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As a student at a University, I feel that studying is a large factor in determining how well you perform. In preparation of going back to school, I thought it would be fitting to share some of the study and learning tips I’ve congregated through the years (week).

Ways to Improve Your Memory:

• Moving your eyes side to side for 30 seconds in the morning can improve your memory throughout the day. You can also do this exercise right before an exam for better information recall; however people around you might think you’re having a seizure or a mental breakdown due to stress.
• Use flashcards — it’s commonly said that repetition helps learning and memorization. Flash cards are effective due to their simplicity and their ease of use. When making flashcards:
  • Keep them simple and short, that means one question and one answer.
  • Keep the questions straightforward (What is my name?).
  • Try not to combine questions (What is my name, age, and gender?)
• Keep stress at a low — stress at low levels isn’t bad and could sometimes be beneficial. High stress can cause major problems, some which are fatal. High stress can cause neurons to stop maturing and developing thus hindering learning and memory recall
• Ever heard the expression “Its at the tip of my tongue” when someone’s trying to remember something? If you get this feeling you should stop trying; studies show that if too much time is spent trying to recall the memory, you will just reach the same feeling again the next time you try to remember. Instead stop trying to remember, or find the information you’re looking for by asking someone or looking it up.
• Colours help — studies show that red ink will improve cognitive memory and blue ink will improve creativity. So choose wisely when taking notes.
• Most, if not all, students will eventually come across a boring lecture when they doze off or get distracted (daydream, etc…); either way the outcome is that you most likely walk out of the classroom with little clue of what just happened in there. A solution to this problem is to doodle; some of my friends worship doodling as the best method of memorization. A study showed that people who doodled were able to recall better than those that did not. The rationalization is that the performance of a second distracting task would improve concentration to the duller primary task thereby stopping the brain from wandering.
• I am not one to forget a name but here’s a tip for those you that have trouble. When conversing with someone just imagine their name on their forehead, this will make the name stick to their face better (no pun intended). In addition to that, you could just repeat their name often when talking to them (eg. Alice is such a nice name, tell me do you know what Alice means? Alice what do you do for fun?)
• Research shows that studying while hungry will help the material stay in your mind better due to certain chemicals and hormones that are released when hunger strikes. Be careful not to starve yourself!

Getting Proper Sleep:

• Cut down on usage of light emitting devices; these items give a self-perceived level of wakefulness that will keep you up even though you might be tired. Some internet surfers have reported that a normal flickering screen is better than caffeine when trying to stay awake.
  • Turn off your screen (TV, LCD, etc) one or two hours before you plan to retire to bed to prepare your brain for sleep.
  • Read a book or listen to some music to tie over the extra time before going to sleep.
  • Adjust the level of lighting in your house or room can also bring you into the mood to sleep.
• If you endured a long restless night or just didn’t get enough sleep, the solution is to take naps. Naps will give you the energy boost your brain needs to be productive. Naps work like caffeine but without the crackdiction you might get. Check out The Guardian’s guide to power naps for more tips. The die-hard caffeine mongers may try this radical method of combining both caffeine and sleep by drinking some coffee (or energy drink) and then quickly taking a nap before the caffeine kicks in. When you wake up, you’ll be energized from the nap and the effects of the caffeine will give you an extra boost to go on. Furthermore, research shows that taking naps allow materials recently learned to consolidate better into memory. Either take a long nap (1-1.5 hours) or take a short one (15-30mins); don’t take a “medium” nap, it will leave you groggy when you wake up.
• Having trouble sleep? try this guide to beat insomnia with meditation “blue energy” from LifeHacker.

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