Scientifically Proven Study Tips

By: Sonia G.

Studying can feel like a chore. Some students study for hours and cannot seem to improve their grades, while other students do not study at all and easily maintain “perfect” averages. There are many myths around the topic of studying, but have no fear, scientifically proven study tips are here.

1. Study before you sleep

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What do you do before you go to bed? Many people wind down by reading or listening to music, but it might be worthwhile to try studying. In a 2012 study by the University of Notre Dame, psychologists studied 207 students who habitually slept for at least six hours per night. Participants were randomly assigned to study different types of word pairs at 9 a.m. or 9 p.m. and returned for testing 30 minutes, 12 hours or 24 hours later. At the 12-hour retest, memory overall was much better following a night of sleep compared to a day of wakefulness.¹ So next time you learn a difficult concept in class, consider studying before you go to bed.

2. Study out loud

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Talking to yourself can feel weird. People tend to look at you and you draw a lot of attention to yourself. But when it comes to studying by yourself, you may study better when you study out loud. One study shows that people who explain ideas to themselves learn almost three times more than those who don’t. The Harvard Business Review stated that “talking to ourselves is crucial to self-explaining and generally helpful for learning. For one thing, it slows us down — and when we’re more deliberate, we typically gain more from an experience.” ² When University of Illinois psychologist Brian Ross enrolled in a computer course, he found it hard to keep up with his younger counterparts. After reading assigned texts, he asked himself, “What did I just read? How does that fit together? Have I come across this idea before?” This helped him guide his self-studying, and these same questions can be used as you self-study. Next time you study, consider studying out loud (just not in the library).

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3. Exercise before you study

Do you like going for a jog in the evening? Do you like to do yoga before bed? No matter your answer, you may want to incorporate some exercise into your studying schedule. Exercise stimulates a brain structure called the hippocampus, which research has shown is important for reasoning and memory. Besides short-term boosts in cognition, regular exercise can help slow down the shrinkage of the hippocampus that comes with age. Additionally, exercise helps reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol. By doing just 20 minutes of physical activity before studying, you not only get in a good workout, but you also harness the stress-reducing, positive cognitive effects that can assist you as you study.³

As you read this, it is my hope that you will consider incorporating these tips into your study routine. You may find that after using these tips you will see an improvement in your grades, or your study time will become more efficient. Even if you feel comfortable not studying, it is still a skill that can help you in the future by helping you become more confident in your answers. By making the most of your study time, you may grow to appreciate it and might actually learn something new. Studying is a good skill to hone in high school and can be helpful throughout your future career and other endeavors, if you do it correctly.

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¹ University of Notre Dame. “Sleeping after Processing New Info Most Effective, New Study Shows.” Notre Dame News, 23 Mar. 2012, https://news.nd.edu/news/learning-best-when-you-rest-sleeping-after-processing-new-info-most-effective-new-study-shows/.
² Boser, Ulrich, et al. “Talking to Yourself (Out Loud) Can Help You Learn.” Harvard Business Review, 25 Sept. 2017, https://hbr.org/2017/05/talking-to-yourself-out-loud-can-help-you-learn.
³ Pittman, Olivia, et al. “5 Study Hacks Proven By Science.” College Raptor Blog, https://www.collegeraptor.com/find-colleges/articles/tips-tools-advice/5-study-hacks-proven-by-science-and-why-they-work/.

A New Theory on Memory

By: Austin S.

Some people think that science is relatively static, that it rarely changes. However, contrary to popular opinion, science is the most dynamic field of expertise. Every field of science has experienced a change in the commonly accepted theories. These changes may soon include a change in the accepted theory of how memory works. For a long time, people thought that memory was separated into short-term and long-term memories. With this, people came to the conclusion that, after a while, you can never recall any short-term memories. Now, after my analysis of memory recollection and research that has already been done, I have created a new theory: the theory of constant memory.

"Neurons, confocal fluorescence microscopy" by ZEISS Microscopy is licensed
under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 

About the Theory

The theory of constant memory means that no memories are ever lost, only that lack of usage of these memories decreases the ability for these memories to be recalled. In a way, they get “buried underneath” other, more important memories. This also means that either the brain is constantly growing or that it originates with enough neurons to hold a lifetime of memory.

The Old Way of Thinking

For a long time, people thought that the brain was static.¹ After the discovery of adult neurogenesis,² this mindset was changed completely. People began to realize the dynamicity of the human brain: the brain is constantly changing. However, many scientific assumptions about the brain that were created before this discovery still remain. For example, short-term and long-term memory were originally thought of as separate categories of memory before the discovery of adult neurogenesis. People today still believe that the brain simply filters through unimportant memories³ and discards them but keeps the important memories.⁴

The Transition to the New Theory

Now, you may wonder why the old theory is inadequate at describing how people learn and why it should be replaced with the theory of constant memory. Have you ever tried to recall something, but failed until you saw something that reminded you of that memory? This is known as prompted recall. You may wonder how this relates to the new theory. It appears that prompted recall only shows how the brain remembers things. However, it also happens with seemingly unimportant memories, which should be discarded as short-term memory. Other times, you completely forget something and don’t even recall it when the memory is prompted by an external stimulus (sight, smell, sound, etc.). The old theory of memory explains this as a memory that has lost its neural connections due to lack of use. However, hypnosis seems to magically allow you to remember what you have forgotten.⁵ If the memory was discarded, no trace of it should be found, let alone the memory itself. So, how is hypnosis possible if neglected memories are simply removed? What if, instead of memories being discarded, they were ordered by importance in the brain? The less important memories would be “buried underneath” the more important ones, meaning that they would be more difficult to recall. Working memory⁶ would be at the bottom, followed by memories originally defined as short-term, and finally, long-term memories. With this, you may wonder why working memory is easy to recall while in use. This is because the brain is constantly re-ordering memories based on importance. While in use, working memory is highly important and is easier to recall, while it would otherwise be practically impossible to do so.

The Theory and Neurogenesis

This new theory also suggests that neurogenesis plays an important role in memory. The theory shows that every moment in a person’s lifetime is recorded in memory. The original theory of a static brain suggests that the brain would most likely not provide enough neurons to store this vast amount of information. Therefore, neurogenesis must help provide space for new memories. This correlation between neurogenesis and memory capacity may also explain some mental diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

The Application of the Theory in the Treatment of Mental Diseases and Disorders

If this theory were proven, it would be groundbreaking in the fields of neurobiology, psychology, and medicine. If mental diseases such as Alzheimer’s were caused by a deficit in neurogenesis (which studies show⁷), it would mean that new medicines could be developed to stimulate neurogenesis and potentially cure Alzheimer’s and other mental diseases. According to the theory of constant memory, mental disorders such as MPD⁸ could be caused by the re-ordering of memories. Multiple personality disorder could be explained as the re-ordering of memories in groups of each personality. Therefore, as a certain memory is prompted, the person’s brain would re-order the personality that memory is in as more important than the other personalities. The theory of constant memory could revolutionize the treatment of mental diseases and disorders.

Implications on Education

This new theory of memory could encourage learning like never before. If memories of every moment in a lifetime are stored, memorizing a specific fact would not have any effect on the remaining capacity of memory. Application of the theory of constant memory could also help people to train their brains to provide easier recollection of memories. If a person could get his/her brain to increase the importance of less important memories (originally classified as short-term memory), recollection of memories would be much easier. This is because the brain would put less emphasis on the importance of a memory and would have an easier time finding any memory, as the neural connections would be very strong.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a new theory of memory is emerging that challenges the basic foundations on what we know about memory. It could mean that there is no short-term memory or long-term memory, but just memory with different levels of importance ordered by the brain to allow easier recollection of important memories. This theory could also have the potential to treat mental diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, and help people deal with disorders, such as multiple personality disorder. Finally, this theory could expand the potential of education infinitely and could help people train their brains to improve memory.

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¹See “Neurogenesis in the Adult and Aging Brain” under part “Historical Context” 
²Adult neurogenesis is the production of neurons in the hippocampus during adulthood 
³Short-term memory 
⁴Long-term memory 
⁵See “Does Hypnosis Improve Memory?” 
⁶Working memory is memory that is used for a short amount of time in order to process information and act on it. For example, you use working memory to remember previous calculations when solving a math problem in your head. 
⁷See “Depletion of Adult Neurogenesis Exacerbates Cognitive Deficits in Alzheimer's Disease by Compromising Hippocampal Inhibition” 
⁸Multiple personality disorder 

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Works Cited

“Does Hypnosis Improve Memory?” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hypnosis-the-power-trance/200909/does-hypnosis-improve-memory.

Hollands, Carolyn, et al. “Depletion of Adult Neurogenesis Exacerbates Cognitive Deficits in Alzheimer's Disease by Compromising Hippocampal Inhibition.” Molecular Neurodegeneration, BioMed Central, 8 Sept. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5591545/.

Riddle, David R. “Neurogenesis in the Adult and Aging Brain.” Brain Aging: Models, Methods, and Mechanisms., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Jan. 1970, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK3874/.

Brain on Paint

By: Pauline A.

It’s Friday afternoon. You hop off your bus and make your merry way home. As you enter the halls of your house, you make it straight to the TV room, drop your backpack onto the floor, and plop on the couch. You tilt your head back, fatigued from the long day of 7 hours in school, and your thoughts meander to what you’re going to do for the weekend. You take out your phone and scroll through YouTube. As you wander through the plethora of video thumbnails, you spot an old low-fidelity 1980’s looking video cover of a man in a cool pale blue sleeved shirt, with a nice soft brown afro, smiling at the camera; before him stands his easel, with a mountain before it on a backdrop of a canvas. Your brows furrow, as your finger instinctively clicks upon it with the questions: “Why’s this in my video feed?”, but more importantly, “Is that Bob Ross?”. Which now leads to the final question: “How’d he do that?!”. What Bob Ross was doing back in the 80s was painting landscapes all by himself, with no guidance whatsoever, in front of a recording camera. The soothing sounds of paint scraping upon the canvas in the low-quality video have invoked the response of “I wish I could do that!” from many people. As it turns out, you can! When your brain is on paint, a plethora of glorious emotions and thoughts can render you speechless!

It may not be obvious at first, but there are many health benefits to painting. Some health benefits include the improvement of dexterity, memory, and encouragement of concentration. When one holds a paintbrush and strokes onto the canvas, the flexibility of their wrist, fingers, and their hands is heightened. Long periods of this repetitive movement can gradually steady your hand, and thus prevent it from shaking often. However, many overlook that painting or performing any other artistic craft is often done for a long period sitting down, so stretching your hands and resting your body is essential for pleasant painting experience! 

The improvement of memory and concentration go hand in hand. A person who is painting must focus on the meticulous details of what they’re painting and think on their subject matter, whether it’s from their own imagination or if they are using real-life references. Studies have shown that this repetition of focus can help lower the risk of memory loss illnesses at an older age. 

Photo by geralt on Pixabay is licensed under Pixabay License

From an artist’s perspective, I encourage anyone of any age to start painting (though this can be applicable to any hobby)! One of the main reasons why is because it encourages perseverance.  Making paintings enforces trial and error (believe it or not) and researching techniques. Additionally, being surrounded by those who are better than you is a beneficial experience. While many people are intimidated by this, it is ultimately one of the key points that lead to improvement. An essential point to learn is that failure isn’t such a terrible thing to experience. In fact, it can often help pivot an artist in the most successful path towards growth. 

Second, painting allows the expression of emotion. You have free will of what you can paint. From landscapes, to people, to characters, or just splashing stuff that’s on your mind at the moment onto the canvas is a safe outlet for expressing your ideas and pushing your imagination!

Photo by Ryan Hickox on Flickr is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Third, your perception of reality will evolve gradually over time. Studying and painting/drawing (whatever craft in the fine arts you choose), allows a person to see the world in different perspectives. If an artist has studied and built upon their craft, they are more likely to be able to deconstruct basic visual appeals in our daily life: from how the sunlight casts over trees/organisms, how everything one can see can be deconstructed into shapes, and how one can understand the textures of mundane objects. It’s details like these that build up from crafting pictures on the canvas. 

However, many choose not to start painting because it can be too overwhelming at once. Painting has a plethora of approaches and may not seem too linear for a beginner to understand or start on at first. Second, it doesn’t seem “technical” or applicable in many jobs. Paintings are often seen as just pictures on the wall, but they help branch out in different types of artistic careers, from an illustrator at a comic book company to a graphic designer for a marketing firm. Or, they can be used as simple decorations for houses. Last, painting supplies range in price. Like anything else, the better quality products are more expensive than the low-quality ones. A lot of beginners are overwhelmed on deciding which paint brands to choose, paint brushes to buy, and which canvases should be used. 

Photo on Pxhere is licensed under CC0

Although painting can seem overwhelming at first, you should try it out! It can help alleviate boredom, and it allows you to step out of your comfort zone! From personal experience, I got into drawing and painting by looking up “how to draw” and “how to paint” videos on YouTube. This helped a lot by showing me the different ways painting and drawing can be approached; plus, it offered a good introduction into the hobby. These videos are mostly aimed at people who’ve not drawn for long  or picked up a paintbrush, so there’s no need to worry about making something good right away. With materials, it’s a good idea to just buy cheaper materials (like in Walmart or your local dollar store), or “student-quality” materials (products aimed at the most affordable price), to explore your options and to get a feel of what you would like to paint. However, this doesn’t mean you should stick with cheaper qualities forever. Lastly, this is a controversial but common phenomenon, but believe it or not, many artists start out copying their favorite artist(s).  There’s no shame in copying or redrawing/repainting a piece so long as the artist is credited/recognized AND it is not being made for profit! 

Overall, whether or not you want to try out painting or a new hobby is all up to you! But just remember, with the vast Internet, many resources are at your fingertips. It’s up to you whether you use them to your advantage to develop your artistry. 

Art by zatsukii (Pauline A.) on Instagram. You can find her here: https://www.instagram.com/zatsukii/?hl=en

Artwork used (in clockwise order): https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgcfr6xlM5u/, https://www.instagram.com/p/BrZQlnwBUBQ/, https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsgx21LhGtv/ 

The Benefits of Spending Time Outside

By Marco A.

It is widely known that we are supposed to stay active throughout the day. However, it may also be important to get outside while being active. We are all, at our core, the same as animals-- nothing more than Homo sapiens. However, one major difference remains: we have established an advanced society with houses, skyscrapers, and offices. Yet, being the product of nature that we are, we were not “designed” to be spending all of our time indoors. It is simply unnatural. As a result, there are specific health advantages associated with spending time outside, just as nature intended.

Photo by Eric Nopanen on Unsplash

Getting Outdoors Helps You See Better

Believe it or not, there is an actual medical term called “Computer Vision Syndrome” (CVS). CVS is a result of staring at objects, obviously most often computers, that are close to your eyes; we are engineered to be spending most of our time looking at large landscapes. So please, let your eyes perform the tasks that they are meant to and take a break to walk outside. CVS results in double vision, headaches, neck and back pain, blurred vision, and eye irritation. These symptoms do not sound fun, so if you're spending a lot of time on your online class, watching Netflix, or playing games, get outside!

Even if you don’t spend a lot of time looking at screens, (which, let’s be honest, is unlikely) artificial light, such as the light coming from every light bulb in your house, has been found to increase the chances of becoming nearsighted. Natural light, however, is great for your eyes.

Nature Helps You Fall Asleep

Everyone loves a good night’s sleep, but everyone despises a restless night. Although the best way to achieve enjoyable sleep is to develop a schedule and stick to it, sunlight can also have a positive effect. All humans have what’s called a circadian rhythm. This is an internal clock that is set by environmental cues such as sunlight. By processing sunlight in the morning, the brain naturally produces little wake up signals (hormones) to be sent throughout your body. However, it has been shown that this does not occur with artificial light. Furthermore, when the sun sets, the brain starts producing melatonin, a hormone that tells your body it's time to go to sleep. Unfortunately, screens often produce a wavelength called blue light, which inhibits the release of melatonin. The best way to prevent this is to simply avoid screens at night, but this may be impossible to do. Luckily, many free programs, including night shift on your iPhone, help reduce the amount of blue light emitted from your screen.

Being Outside Makes You Happy

It’s true! Just by going outside, your body naturally produces serotonin, a neurotransmitter that is responsible for making you feel good. Additionally, studies have shown that the outdoors can cause increased activity in parts of the brain associated with emotional stability, love, and empathy. Just seeing nature has also been shown to reduce stress. Furthermore, many outdoor activities such as hiking have been shown to have a meditative effect if performed alone. This has been researched and shown to make you happier in general! So if you’re feeling down, head for the trees!

Being Outdoors Can Improve Concentration and Memory

Numerous studies have shown that just spending some time outside everyday can help you recall facts and concentrate. A study by the University of Michigan showed that people who spent time walking around a forest did 20% better on a test than those who walked in a city. The important part of this is that you spend time outside in nature, rather than a city. So next time you have a big test, consider taking a hike the day before-- it could be the difference between an A and a B!

Long Term Exposure to Nature Increases Creativity

Having a hard time with that painting you’re working on? Consider going on a camping trip! A recent study showed that after being outside for 4 days, the participants did 50% better on a creative problem-solving test. This is a huge increase! So if you are having trouble thinking of new ideas, a refreshing trip to the trees is the way to go.

Overall, being outside has massive health benefits, and these five just scratch the surface of all of the possibilities. Being in nature, after all, is in our DNA. So next time you want to get fit and go to work out, instead of hitting the gym, hit the trails! Your body will thank you.

Sources:

Buisness Insider 

http://www.businessinsider.com/scientific-benefits-of-nature-outdoors-2016-4/#7-sharper-thinking-and-creativity-7

The Trek

https://thetrek.co/scientifically-supported-reasons-get-outside/

Harvard Health Publications

http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/spending-time-outdoors-is-good-for-you

How Do YOU Learn? "A Learning Style for Everyone" Revisited

Original Piece By: Noah H.
Updated By: Isabella S.

Editor's Note: This "throwback" post from 2010 is worth the read, especially before starting a new semester. Take a few minutes to find out what your learning style is and make studying for all of your classes easier!

Learning styles are the fingerprints of the mind; they are as unique as the person using them and as varying as all the people in the world.

There are several generalized categories of learning styles and all influence how a student learns. Understanding them is the best way for a student to better their classroom experience and the effectiveness of their studying. 

A learning style is the way in which a person learns. There are several different theories as to how learning styles work, but the most common divides them into four categories: visual, auditory, reading/writing-preference, and kinesthetic/tactile learners.

The most common learning style is visual. This learning style focuses on pictures, diagrams, movies, and other forms of visual media, even visual demonstrations are helpful. The second most common learning style is auditory. These learners benefit from listening to someone talk to them and from lectures or video/audio setups. Reading/Writing-preference learners are most comfortable learning from books and texts. These students may retain more information from a textbook than a lecture and often benefit from taking written notes. Lastly, kinesthetic/tactile learners are people who learn through “hands-on” experience and interaction with classroom material. 

One element to consider when examining learning styles is their ability to coexist within a single individual. No student is wholly auditory, visual, tactile, nor reading-writing preference when it comes to learning. Someone may be a 10% reading, 30% visual, 50% auditory and 10% kinesthetic learner; however, you should try to study the best way for you. The person above would most likely want to watch a video in order to capitalize on their ability to retain information they have heard and seen (visual and auditory). Another meaningful feature of learning styles is their ability to change over time. Usually babies start out learning through touch (tactile), but as they grow they will learn to use visual and auditory learning more and more.

Knowing your learning style is important, because as soon as an individual discovers which type of learner they are they can begin to adjust their studying to utilize their strengths. For example, if a student knows they learn well from videos then they should look for tutorials on YouTube or some other video site rather than trying to decipher a Wiki. Another way a student can better their learning experience is in the way they ask for help. An auditory learner may want to call their teacher over the phone for assistance while a reading/writing-preference learner will want to send an e-mail. All these factors lead to an easier online class experience.

To find your learning style visit EducationPlanner.org. 

Reading/Writing-preference Learners: We hope you enjoyed this essay!

Visual Learners: Check out this graphic about learning styles!

Auditory Learners: Click here to install a free Google Chrome extension that reads-aloud any online text, including this article!

Tactile Learners: Check out this free online tool for creating three-dimensional models!

Brain Food

By Louisa C. 

With increasing exposure to processed foods and unhealthy dietary options, it becomes more important to be aware of your food intake in today's society. Did you know that a healthy diet boosts your brainpower? Here are five of the best eats that improve your concentration and memory.