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Cramming isn’t the ideal way to study for an exam
but you’re here
you’ve come to this video likely with an exam tomorrow
or...in a few hours
so let’s focus on what you can do
to optimize your time.
How do you effectively cram for your exam?
You might not be able to learn a lot
but you can store a bunch of information
into your short term memory.
Try using the ancient technique of the Memory Palace.
Dated back as far as 80 B.C.
this technique involves associating ideas you want to memorize
with memorable places like your home.
One study had medical students create Memory Palaces
to help them remember the actions of insulin
in this example
you might store glycosis in your living room
and ketogenesis in the kitchen.
Then you can mentally travel through your house
to recall each room.
Those who create memory palaces
perform significantly better on tests
than those who don’t.
And the reasons for this is that
our visual and spatial memory is quite strong
and connecting information to those
already existing memories proves extremely effective.
You should also try mnemonic devices wherever possible.
Trying to memorize the Kreb's Cycle?
Take the beginning of each product,
and make a sentence out of it!
'Can I keep singing songs for my Oscars?''
You can also create rhymes or songs.
This method has been proven in several studies
as a way of committing information to memory
And the weirder you make them, the better!
Now, does your exam prep include rereading your notes and text book?
You’re not alone - but you should cut it out!
A study had participants read an educational text.
One group was then instructed to reread the text a second time
where the other group only read it once.
They were then tested through multiple choice,
short-answer questions, and text summaries
to gauge their ability to retain the information.
The experimenters found no significant differences
in performance between the two groups
suggesting that rereading provides no clear benefit.
And while we know exams are stressful,
put some energy into de-stressing
while studying and during your exam.
Stress causes your body to release adrenaline,
increases your heart rate, and can make you sweat.
And about 20 minutes after feeling stressed,
your body undergoes a delayed stress response,
releasing the hormone cortisol.
Cortisol attaches to receptors on the hippocampus,
which is a seahorse shaped region of your brain
that is part of the limbic system.
And it’s the hippocampus that’s responsible for
turning short term memories into long term memories.
But when cortisol binds to the hippocampus,
it impairs retrieval of memory.
Therefore if you are stressed
you will have a more difficult time recalling information during an exam.
So take some deep breaths!
But just “turning off” stress is easier said than done
that’s why you need a study technique that is stress proof.
Scientists recommend testing yourself!
Practice tests are not only a scientifically supported means
of improving memory recall,
they stand up to stressful situations.
Scientists found that when individuals used practice tests
and were put into a stressful situation
they performed as well on tests as those who didn’t have any stress stimulus.
fMRI studies have also found that practice tests
increased the hippocampus ability to connect to other regions of the brain
so even though cortisol may impair some pathways,
studying with practice tests creates new paths to route around blockages.
Feeling distracted?
Try a mini workout!
Studies show that those who’ve worked out for 15 minutes
and then complete a memory task
complete tasks significantly faster than those that haven’t exercised.
Even a simple walk can make a difference.
But you also need to take a minute and think about
the way that is you personally study best!
Meta-cognition is the analysis of one’s own learning or thinking processes.
Studies have found that students who have poor meta-cognitive skills
meaning they lack awareness of assessing their own strengths and weaknesses
perform worse on tests.
So look inward on ways you have been effective before
and implement those strategies.
If you know that studying solo works best for you
skip out on the cramming session with your classmates
it is crunch time after all!
There’s also one other really important distinction to make:
are you cramming late into the night because
you know very very little about the topic for your upcoming exam?
Or are you hoping to perfect an already strong base of knowledge…
If you’ve already studied
GO TO SLEEP!
There is more than a century’s worth of research
concluding that sleep is essential for memory retention.
But if you really only can spare a few minutes to sleep
consider rocking.
That’s right,
a recent study found that participants
who slept on a bed engineered to gently rock
were able to fall asleep more quickly,
sleep more deeply, and perform better on memory tests the next morning
so rockabye baby really works!
Of course, if you want to avoid cramming next time and get ahead,
or even just learn something completely new,
be sure check out our sponsor The Great Courses Plus,
a subscription on-demand video learning service with lectures
and courses from top professors from around the world!
Looking for more tips to get the most out of your mind?
We would recommend “Optimizing Brain Fitness” taught by Professor Richard Restak
which includes 12 lectures, including how to feed your brain
enhance your working memory and practice for peak performance.
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