I tried unconventional study tips and they worked
‘Listen exclusively to mind-numbing EDM’
It’s that time of the semester when everyone begins to feel despair. Somehow you wake up and it’s week ten, but the amount of content in your brain is somewhere closer to week two. Round two of midterms is rapidly coming and going and final projects are starting to get assigned.
So you start to do what any sane student does: you google “how do I learn a semester’s worth of stuff in 24 hours” and wait for the magical results. Unfortunately, there aren’t any. But I’m here to tell you that some of those “alternative” study tips actually do work. And others are complete busts.
Exercise before you study
Verdict: Toss-Up
Unsure if I’m tired because I never sleep enough, or because I went to the gym for no reason
This idea is good… in theory. There’s often nothing more stress releasing than a good workout, but when our days are scheduled down to the minute, finding time to go for a run isn’t always feasible. Even worse, if you manage to eke out an hour to head to the gym, you (okay, maybe it’s just me) end up feeling guilty for wasting it on physical and mental health when you could be using it to stress out over an assignment instead. In actuality, I did feel more clear headed and relaxed when attempting my work after the gym, but I just couldn’t shake that feeling I should’ve spent the time on something else.
Meditate
Verdict: Success
My junior year I took a one unit class titled “Theory and Practice of Meditation” (mostly to reach the required enrollment minimum) and I ended up getting some valuable insights. Meditation requires a complete sense of calm, even if your surroundings are not. I admit, this is not my forte. At best, my personality is erratic, at worst, I’m extremely erratic. However, meditation can actually help with that! Start with closing your eyes and envisioning your breath as a physical object of your choosing– starting at the tips of your toes, and leaving the top of your head. In a minute, with some concentration, you’ll be calmer, and studying will be all the more productive.
Eat sushi
Verdict: Bust
Learning can be fun!
Apparently the Omega-3’s in sushi can help you retain more information, because they boost memory. Armed with this knowledge, I set off to eat all the salmon I could find. Can’t say I felt an immediate spike in knowledge levels, but in general sushi makes me happy, and happiness equals learning, right?
Listen exclusively to mind-numbing EDM
Verdict: Success
When someone’s playlist name just gets you
This one I can attest to. Whenever a deadline is looming and there are only 200 words on the page where there should be 2000, the best route to success is music with a heavy beat and no words. Trust me, I’ve written more papers in the hour before the deadline than I care to admit. The science behind this is probably that it blocks out all other sound, and provides you a theme song to kick some learning ass.
Laugh
Verdict: Toss-Up
Apparently, if you study using laughter, it helps with your recall. Experts suggest remembering facts for big tests by making jokes about them– because isn’t it always true that you remember the meme you looked at last night and not what the name of FDR’s post-depression plan was? (Great Depression? “New Deal” with it.) This actually is not a bad idea, so I figured I’d see how long I could remember that terrible FDR joke. It’s been three days. I think it’s in there for good.
Hang upside down
Verdict: Publicly Shamed Bust
My head hurt after approximately 2 seconds
“Science” says that if you hang upside down while reading study material, more blood will rush to your head, and the information will stay memorized for longer. My roommate is convinced that I made this up in order to justify my own stupid antics, but I swear I read it on the internet, and the internet never lies. Usually. My experience with this was an intense headache, several confused stares, and no ability to recall the last three words I’d read. Do not attempt.
Study amid the books
Verdict: Bust
Even someone as brilliant as me struggles with diplomacy
That same “science” also says that if you’re interested in learning by diffusion or absorption, you must study amongst the material you hope to memorize. I took this to mean spreading out in the hall of a comfortable library and getting down to mastering diplomatic relations. While I’m 98% sure there is no real scientific backing to this, I could see how you could convince yourself that it works. Maybe. Perhaps it would be better to try in a carpeted library.
Study out loud
Verdict: Success
This doesn’t refer to sitting in a mostly silent library and reciting your flash cards at screaming level- just in case you were about to try that. Instead, try teaching a friend the concept you just learned in class, or rereading a few passages from your book that you just can’t wrap your head around out loud at home. Last night my roommate taught me about diabetes, and I have to say I learned as much as she did, and also I am now scared I’m going to get diabetes.
Make a ‘mind map’
Verdict: Success
Just a typical mind map
Mind maps are both informative and aesthetically pleasing- my favorite combination of adjectives. When done properly, they have the ability to help you solidify material you already sort of know, and learn things you’ve not yet figured out. When done improperly, you have a mess of lines and information that no one can decipher. Mind maps work best for subjects like science and history, which are more fact based. Leave long conceptual explanations for study outlines!
But, if all else fails, remember that a single test isn’t tied to your self worth, or even your final grade (unless your professor’s a sadist) and just do your best. AND if even that doesn’t work, just sleep through it all. Always works for me!