Top Tips to Study Successfully

Sometimes it best to just go back to basics to get the very best out of your study sessions.

How many of these good practices are you following regularly?

STUDY. TREAT. REPEAT.

- Balance is the key to a successful study routine. Overworking, or working when you are too tired will actually end up having a negative impact on the task itself. So, set yourself time limits on your study periods, and take regular breaks that will give you time to reflect and regroup your thoughts.

- Work for 30 – 50 minutes, and then take a break.

- Sign up to active recall revision. This is when you can recall information without having to use any supporting context. Studies show that this type of revision can increase your memory by 100%!

THINKING FOOD!

- When under pressure from studies, our concentration on what we eat often declines. Picking brain boosting foods can greatly affect your study performance. There are a few foods you can eat to help with concentration and cognitive abilities.

Wholegrain
A slow-energy release food, that will keep you mentally alert over a longer period of time.

Avocado
Essential in maintaining a healthy blood flow and mental alertness.

Oily Fish
They contain natural instant fatty acids with memory retention and brain function.

Pumpkin Seeds
Zinc, like Omega 3, helps maintain a focused mind, and helps with cognitive progress.

Broccoli
Vitamin K contributes to the production of myelin, a chemical that protects your brain cells.

Nuts
Much like leafy green veg, and eggs, nuts are a great source of Vitamin E, which has shown to reduce cognitive decline.

Blueberries
Vitamin C greatly improves mental capacity, but is unfortunately lost a lot of the time during the cooking process, so fruits are a great way to get all you can.

PICK UP A PEN

- The benefits of putting pen to paper when revising are endless. Writing down all your new knowledge can help analyse and refresh existing knowledge and highlight areas that need to be focused on.

- Always take notes to begin with!

- Keep them organised for future referencing

- Produce brainstorms of the most relevant information

- Highlight your notes and colour-code topics

- Make yourself key flash card notes

- Use a checklist to organise your strengths and weaknesses

- A funny poem or anecdote may help you learn a tricky fact

- Relating topics to pictures will increase memory retention

SHUT EYE SUCCESS

- A good night’s sleep can boost your concentration immensely. We often think that cramming before an exam is the best thing to do, but actually a good night’s sleep and an early rise to do some final revision is much more beneficial.

- A good night’s rest consists of 6 – 8 hours of sleep

- 2% of us can actually function with as little as 5 hours sleep

- 2% of us need as much as 9 hours sleep to function properly

SWITCH OFF!

- We’re all aware of the power of modern technology. With your phone beeping every few minutes and so many must-watch Youtube videos, it can be so difficult to avoid distractions. But it is important to get rid of all distractions during exam times!

- Turn won those tunes. Studies have shown that listening to music whilst you study can actually reduce your recall ability.

- Get rid of social media distractions. It might be a good idea to log out of, or deactivate your social media account at the busiest exam times.

- Raincheck that last level. A video game can be a good way to have some downtime, but it is also a dangerous way to lose many hours.

GROUP WORK

- Think about tackling your study time as a team. One topic may not be your strongest area, but it could be your friends.

- Pick your study group wisely. Choose your revision team wisely; make sure they have the same work ethics.

FINALLY…

- Remember to have fun. During exam time and tests, we often forget how exciting and fun learning can really be! Remember why you are studying, and what you hope to, and can, achieve!

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