5 Best Tips for Learning by Heart
Discover key tips for learning by heart, learn how to boost your cognitive capabilities and other tricks that’ll help you memorize long-term!
The world is evolving at a speedy rate and it requires people to be smarter to be able to survive the changes witnessed all over. Whether you are a parent, a student or a professional, it is vital for you to enhance your skills and learn new things each day, but what benefit will it give you if you forget them too quickly?
Even though our minds are constantly being bombarded by new information by the minute, it is crucially important for you to retain much of this information in your long-term memory. This way, you will be able to learn things by heart and maximize fully on the benefits of acquiring the new skills you picked up along the way. Thanks to science, here are a few tips to help you learn things by heart.
1. Exercise helps boost your cognitive functioning
How many times have you heard people say they exercise a lot so they can live much longer? Well, there is some truth in it, because those who engage in regular body exercises seem to live a much healthier life and also tend to have youthful bodies. And that’s not all; science has proven that regular exercises have extreme benefits that extend way beyond the wellbeing of our bodies. In fact, those who regularly hit the gym tend to learn and memorize things much faster, which points to a boost in cognitive functioning.
A study conducted in 2012 showed that those who are active in yoga experience less cognitive failures, and that just about 20 minutes of yoga exercises each day is enough to help boost your brain’s performance in terms of speed and accuracy. Yoga actually enhances the brain’s grey matter; a vital part that plays an important role in sensory perceptions, including memory. So whether it is yoga, weight lifting or general athletics exercises, you are encouraged to participate more in these and be active gym members if you want to develop a better brain functioning. Therefore, if you want to learn things by heart and boost your memory, do a lot of yoga and other exercises.
2. Take a nap in between study sessions
Do you find yourself remembering things a lot easier when your brain has had enough rest, like when you get enough sleep? Even in schools, students are always advised to get enough sleep right before their exams so they can remember a lot of the learned concepts much better. Even with loads of assignments and fast approaching deadlines, students are better off engaging with custom papers services and save some time to sleep. Without enough sleep, you will find it hard to recall most of the things taught in class. Well, it has now been scientifically proven that one of the most vital elements in memory retention is sleep.
According to one study published in the Psychological Science Journal, if you take a nap in between study sessions, you can retain that memory for close to six months! In the study, two groups were made to memorize 16 Swahili words that were translated from French, after which one group took a nap and the other stayed awake.
The ‘sleep’ group showed better memory retention with 10 words recalled compared to the ‘wake’ group that could only recall about 7 words on average. So, if you want to boost your memory and enable you to learn things by heart, sleep a lot! Now you have the perfect excuse to sleep a little more, right? Enjoy it, because it will significantly help you with memory retention.
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3. To memorize it, please jot it down
People love working with technology, because it makes their work easier. Even in campus, you will find students busy typing lecture notes on their laptops after shelving their pens and writing pads. While indeed it is faster taking notes on a laptop than actually writing it down by hand, it has been proven that the latter actually works wonders in learning and comprehending the lecture content much better. If you want to learn and understand what the lecturer is teaching, you are advised to pay attention and take notes by hand, instead of typing it on your computer.
Another study conducted by researchers at UCLA and Princeton University showed that when students took lecture notes by hand, they were able to listen in and identify relevant concepts more effectively hence had better memory retention and learned more. However, those who typed in the lecture notes on their laptop were more concerned with transcribing the lecture than actually learning from it, not to mention the high chances for distraction, such as receiving notifications of incoming emails during lectures. Therefore, if you want to learn and recall things much faster, it is best to jot it down over and over again. You will thank us later once you realize how easy it is to learn things by heart when you write them down.
4. Avoid multitasking to boost memory recall
If you really want to have better memory retention, especially when learning or memorizing new information, you need to stay away from multitasking. Actually, multitasking is considered a distraction, because you tend to lose concentration between multiple tasks. In fact, multitasking is quite effective in reducing your efficiency, and this has been proven by scientific research. According to the study, it was found that multitasking affects your efficiency in handling complicated tasks because of the prolonged process in shifting mental gears between multiple tasks.
Even though the ability to multitask can prove useful at times, especially when you are pressed for time and need to complete several chores at one go, in most cases, particularly when learning or memorizing new information, it serves you best to concentrate only on one task. This way, you will be able to grasp more details hence enable you learn most of them by heart. However, if you indulge in too many things at a go, you will easily be confused, which is not good for anyone. Therefore, when processing new information, learn to focus on that one thing and avoid multitasking.
5. For long-term memory, eat berries!
You must be aware of the adage that goes: an apple a day keeps the doctor away? Well, eating berries each day can also help you with long term memory retention! According to scientific research done at Reading University, it was established that a good diet, if supplemented by blueberries for three (3) months, could have significant effects on spatial working memory tasks. This significant effect was notable only after three weeks of study, and it continued for the full length of the study. Indeed, you are what you eat, considering that our bodies develop from the nutrients we get from the food we eat. So, if you are looking to boost your long-term memory and learn things by heart, why don’t you start by revisiting your food chart and add at least two servings of blueberries each week?
There are many other ways through which you can improve your memory and learn things by heart. The ones mentioned herein are not only effective, but have been scientifically proven. What matters is that you learn the best way of retaining new information and skills as you acquire them and learning by heart. The best way is to boost your long-term memory!
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