Tips for Effective Studying

Final Exams are upon you!


For MSU students it is final exam week!  This is a good time to consider applying healthy and effective studying habits.  Whether you have procrastinated on your studies or you are dedicated and diligent with your studies; there may be some useful information here for you.


Tips for effective and healthy studying:


-Take breaks! Regardless of how much you have procrastinated or how far behind you might be, you will be most effective if you study for 45 minute stretches with short (15 minute) breaks between study sessions.  This is important for information retention and is more effective that studying for long stretches where information tends to get lost in the cobwebs of the mind.


-Get some movement or exercise on your breaks; increase blood flow.  This is not only good for your body by reducing stress and tension but the increased circulation helps the brain with processing.


-Get adequate sleep and feel free to take short naps during days of intensive studying. Lots of research shows that the consolidation of memory takes place during sleep.  Sleep is crucial to convert memory from short term storage to long term storage with accessibility to that information.  If there are some super important points of information to retain, try studying the information right before sleep and then review promptly after waking.  This cycle of short term input, converting to long term storage with sleep and then a recall phase helps to solidify those bits of information.


-Try to teach or clearly communicate the information that you are studying to a friend or fellow student.  When we describe things in a way that explains and teaches, it helps us more deeply understand the information.


-Find ways to reduce stress and find calm and happiness on your way into testing.  A stressed mind is not effectively able to recall information, it is in a sympathetic state of fight or flight and is in panic.  Calm and happiness allow us to retrieve the information that we have crammed into our minds.  Take time to meditate or play happy music and dance just prior to your test as opposed to trying to cram that last bit of info in at the last minute.


-Try to remove unnecessary distractions such as electronics from your study space.
-When your studying, it is important to be present to what you are studying.  If you are in discomfort or pain, take care of it so that you can focus on your tasks.  


The doctors at Gallatin Valley Chiropractic may be able to help you manage pain and discomfort and may be able to offer other helpful tips for effective studying (we have been through many years of intensive education).  Good luck with finals and make an appointment if you could use the adjustment.

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