✨ 5 Study Tips To Improve Recall ✨
1. Take regular breaks ☕️🍩
Taking short breaks every so often, letting your brain rest by doing as little as possible, has been shown to improve your memory of newly learned information. So there's no need to feel guilty for zoning out every so often when revising.
2. Test yourself ✍🏻
Numerous experiments over the past few years have shown that the best way to build new neural pathways is to try and recall it afresh, helping subjects remember more than twice as much, over the long term, than just passively reading the material; self-testing also turns out to be more effective than creative techniques like drawing diagrams and mind maps.
You can practise this either using old-fashioned techniques, such as covering information with your hand or a piece of paper, or using more modern approaches like the apps Memrise and Cerego.
3. Space your studies 📚
It's best to space your studies so that you don't spend too long on one topic. If you spend too long on one topic, you won't stay engaged. The best way to cement information in your mind is to relearn it when you've almost forgotten it. Learn quickly, then come back to it later.
4. Talk to yourself 🗣
Many people have difficulty remembering information they have read silently, but they are much better at remembering things that they have said. You may seem crazy, but talking to yourself about what you have learned can help improve your memory.
5. Sleep well 😪
Your brain needs a rest to commit facts to memory, and there is no greater form of rest than sleep. As well as proving the importance of getting good sleep for memory, studies have also shown that information learnt before bed is better remembered. Those who stay up late to study for an exam the next morning may actually be harming their chances.
