In view of the maturity, a precious overview of tricks and advice to focus and memorize better, based on your type of memory and on scientifically proven techniques.
Maturandi, the high school exam is approaching and the question “But how do I study everything?” you buzz you on your head?!? Don’t worry, this article by Elisa Venco, taken from number 380 of Evidence Networkoffers valuable advice. You will discover that there is no universal study method, but that the key lies in understanding your type of memory: visual, auditory or … kinesthetic. In addition, the article reveals the importance of regularity and … a method that will help you optimize time and avoid distractions!
“You never stop learning”, says a said common. However, no one teaches to do it, illustrating which techniques are more effective in memorizing and developing information in sight, for example, of an examination. Perhaps it happens because in reality a method valid for everyone does not exist. Much depends on the motivation and from the characteristics of each student. For this, first of all it must be understood What is the type of memory which distinguishes each of us.
There is not only one system. Those who love to watch TV series, movies, or exhibitions are very likely to have a good visual memory, like 65% of the population. In this case, schemes, maps, diagrams and photos help to learn. And it also affects how the textbook is paginated (titles, subtitles and highlighted characters). Who instead prefers music and love to feel stories instead of reading them, It has a mainly auditory memory, like 30% of the population. Better then put it to good use by listening to the explanations and questions and repeating the lessons aloud by yourself or with a partner. Finally, those who are never stopped, love sport and manual activities, It is likely that it has a kinestical memory, that is, linked to movement, as it occurs in 5% of the population.
The ideal then can be taken notes, sketches, or repeat walking. As it was just discovered by some neuroscientists of the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Then there are individual differences in the ability to remain attentive despite the distractions. Since the neurons that deal with maintaining people concentrated in these cases (and who are in the lateral prefrontal cortex) do not have the same efficiency in all individuals. There is no lack of studies that highlight the usefulness, for this purpose, of activities … unsuspected, like chewing a chewing gum.
Two things are needed. That said, to overcome the school or university tests unscathed two things are needed: the first is the regularity in the study, because Research shows that students who are drunk drowned in the days before an exam or a class task get lower votes than those who prepare more slowly. And even those who simply propose to overcome the sufficiency need a second element: a method.
A phase that begins giving priority to the subject that creates the most problems.
Otherwise, relegating it to the last place of the subjects to be faced, you risk that alone the average of the votes. Then: you need to give yourself the right times. For example, marking on the diary when the question is provided (or the date of the university appeal). You have to divide the pages for the days available in order to find the number of pages to be studied every day. You can study more, not less. And the procedure must be repeated for all staggered subjects, without however abandoning those in which there are no great difficulties.
The tomato technique. At this point, always about time for the study, a timer takes. There are various hypotheses on the ideal duration of the learning session, but all agree that moving forward for hours is not productive. A technique recommended by some American universities, such as Cornell University, is that called “of tomato”, by the shape of the kitchen timer present in many houses.
It consists in carrying out an activity without getting distracted for 25 minutes in a row, before taking 5 minutes by pause to scarabocchiare, shelling your legs, or peeing. Every 4 “tomatoes”, or after 100 minutes of study, the break can stretch up to 15-30 minutes. At least 50% of the study time, however, must be dedicated to the active reworking of what has been read: the book must be closed and it is necessary to try to mentally repeat the meaning of the pages. And if more than 20% of the main points escapes the memory, it means that the material read before recalling it to the mind was too much.
Temptations … And as long as the daily study program is finished, We should resist the temptation to control the phone, emails or to go on social media, Because this practice generates what Larry Rosen, professor of Psychology of California State University, calls “continuous partial attention”. In practice, even if you have the impression of remaining careful, Move the attention back and forth between the study and various forms of technology makes the concentration lose on average after about three minutes. Also forbidden to study with the TV on or listening to Podcast. The reason is that “the brain simply cannot carry out two complex tasks at the same time”, explains David Meyer, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan (USA). «Listen to the dialogue of a TV series while writing, or doing homework and staying on Instagram: each of these actions uses the same area of the brain, the prefrontal cortex.
And It is a mistake to think that the mind can perform two demanding tasks at the same time ». In fact, adds Annie Murphy Paul, learning expert scholar, students who make multitasking “first, take more time to finish the study program, due to the time spent in activities they distract, after which the subject must start again to concentrate. Secondly, The mental fatigue caused by abandoning and repeatedly resuming a mental thread leads to more errors. Thirdly, dozens of laboratory studies have shown that, When our attention is divided during the memorization of information, we remember the latter less well or not at all». The listening to music is more controversial during the study. Research shows that much depends on favorite genres: the classic can help, for example.
The cognitive exhaust. To influence the performance in the study are not only external distractions, But also concern for other things to do, how to make a phone call or feed the cat. “When you are trying to keep in mind something, as an email to send or a job to be carried out later, you are in difficulty in focusing on the book. The trick is simply writing what you need to do and go on with the study“States cognitive psychologist Stefan Van der Stigchel of the University of Utrecht (Netherlands).
Technically, it’s called “cognitive discharge”: Remove the thought from the internal memory free the brain and helps him to concentrate on the rest. Another trick to stay concentrated lies in remembering what we “earn” to study (a prize for a nice vote or more likely in accessing courses subsequent to limited number) instead of paying attention to the effort required. The neuroscientist Michael J. Frank of the American Brown University states that the “cognitive motivation” is essential to engage in an activity, and that dopamine (not surprisingly component of drugs against ADHD, attention deficit disorder) It focuses the brain on the advantages, rather than on the disadvantages, of a situation, thus encouraging it to complete difficult tasks. Another useful strategy lies in clearing the desk and the room from things that distract or are not needed.
How much disorder! According to Sabine Kastner, professor of Psychology in Princeton (USA), Disorder attracts brain attention, making it more difficult to focus on a task. So the more visual stimuli you have in front of it, the more difficult it becomes to work.
And it is worth tingling the desk, if you want an easier life. Having said that, a research by the University of Minnesota in 2013 discovered that Volunteers who worked in disordered rooms were more likely to find creative ideas compared to those who sat in ordered offices. Therefore, disorder is a disadvantage when trying to memorize something, but it can become an opportunity if you draw or focus on creativity. A further advice to be more productive at the desk is to … leave it. A study published in the Journal of Science and Medicine magazine in Sport and conducted on Dutch schoolchildren has discovered that alternating lessons or study hours with 20 minutes of aerobic activity improves the ability to pay attention.
So it could be a good idea to walk or ride a bicycle at lunchtime, To be productive in the afternoon. However, as the psychologist Van der Stigchel suggests, it serves the foresight not to listen to a podcast or a radio program while moving: only in this way, if it does not pay attention to other words, the mind is free to wander so that the levels of concentration can “recharge”. And a recent research of the University of Sydney shows that much less could be enough: only 5 minutes of pause used to think about something else. Finally, to increase the duration of the concentration, or find it when it is lost, two help can be used. One is caffeine. A 2020 study from the University of Arkansas (USA) found that the participants who consumed a caffeine pill at 200 mg (more or less equivalent to a cup of strong coffee) were able to solve the problems much more Quickly compared to the volunteers to whom a placebo has been administered. The second help is to make short meditation sessions.
A stop. Daniel Goleman, an American psychologist and scholar of emotions, claims that Bringing attention back to the breath every time you feel the mind wandering during meditation helps to strengthen brain circuits “for focus”. Translated into daily life, one becomes more skilled in returning rapidly to the task to be carried out after an interruption as a message or a thought extraneous to the study. In addition, meditation also has an effect on the decrease in stress. Which returns good when, after studying, the time finally comes to test.
