COVID-19: Impact on Society, Environment, and Economy

Loading...

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

Pixabay License
No Attribution Required

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

Pixabay License
No Attribution Required

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).

Pixabay License
No Attribution Required

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.

---

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.

---

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 

---

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/.