Just because studying is an unavoidable part of the college experience does not mean that it is easy. Whether working your way through a hard-to-memorize formula or preparing for finals, the very thought of intensive study is enough to make most students shudder.
With that in mind, there are a few tips you can use to help break through the dreaded study fatigue, where anything you learn falls out of your brain as soon as you read it.
Before we begin, note that this isn’t a list on how to cram, which has been shown to be usually ineffective, as reported by the BBC. Instead, take your time and approach the problem long before the due date. This will make these suggestions all the more helpful and will offer massive payoffs for stress reduction
1. Make a Recording for Exercise or Downtime
Exercise keeps you healthy, and it can also give you time to work on remembering specific pieces of important information. Using a phone, you can record yourself reading the information you have trouble memorizing. Once this is done, place the audio tracks on your phone as you would do with music, and play them back when exercising.
Exercise can stimulate while also distracting the trapped parts of a thought process. This is a two-birds-with-one-stone approach and can be useful for those periods that don’t require your absolute attention.
2. Spend an Hour on Games
No, we don’t mean fall into an all-night session of “Black Ops.” Instead of dropping everything you are doing and abandoning study altogether, approach smaller gaming sessions as a reward. Not only can they take your mind off of a stuck loop, but they can also help you recharge and activate other parts of your brain.
In terms of mental relaxation and stimulation, puzzles like sudoku or crosswords can be perfect. Online casino games, like those found at https://www.casinowings.com/casino-sites/, can also help recharge your batteries. Many of the online slots and table games available even come with free spins and bonuses, which can help contribute to the ever-important positive mood. Just remember to watch the clock, and play responsibly.
3. Take a Nap
And yes, we mean a nap, not a sleep. Studies performed on sleepy astronauts by NASA determined that a short, 50-minute nap improved performance by 34 percent and alertness by 100 percent. Other benefits can be found here.
Effectively, a nap can act as a miniature reset button, allowing you to come back to study at full power. Exhaustion is an unfortunately common part of the study life, so don’t underestimate the advantages of catching a few Zs. We would also recommend using a noisemaker, like a sound machine combined with headphones, to generate the ideal sleep environment.
4. Rotate Study Topics
The final important part of combatting fatigue is the simple rotation of study topics. Moving your mind from one topic to another can help activate different parts of the brain, allowing overworked portions to rest.
Rotation can also help prevent boredom, which we all know can be an enormous issue. Just don’t do it too often — 1.5 or 2 hours per topic is enough to help you focus on the task at hand.
The most important part of fighting study fatigue is to know that it’s natural and is something all but the most fortunate among us have to go through. Study fatigue means you are human and have solidarity with almost everyone who has ever gone to college.
Remember the above tips, find those that work for you and you’ll be well on your way to a more productive study experience.
