How to Remember Things You Study Better

1.   Get plenty of sleep. The first thing you should do is make sure that you’re sleeping properly. When you don’t get enough sleep, your brain doesn’t work as well and all the studying in the world isn’t going to make a difference. You’ll have to put the parties and hanging out aside for a while until you feel better about your studying.

·         New scientific studies have shown that when we sleep, our body goes through a sort of cleaning cycle where our brains get flushed of all the bad stuff that shouldn’t be there. When you don’t get enough sleep, this bad stuff builds up and makes your brain work a lot worse.

·         Some people need eight hours of sleep, but some people only need six while others may need nine or more. Everyone’s body is different, so experiment to see how you feel.

2.    Eat balanced meals. Eating a healthy, balanced diet is also important. Your body needs lots of different nutrients in order to work right and when you don’t have those nutrients, it can be hard to focus and absorb information. Eating balanced meals doesn’t just mean eating a lot of kale (although kale is really good for you). It mostly means making sure that you is eating a lot of different foods in healthy proportions. You have to adjust for your particular lifestyle, but a good balance to start with is:

·         30% vegetables. Lean towards dark greens like kale, chard, spinach, and broccoli, since these have more nutrients in them.

·         20% fruits. Try to choose nutrient-rich fruits, like citrus fruits and kiwi, or fruits which are high in fiber, like apples, pears, and bananas.

·         30% whole grains. Choose nutrient-rich grains like brown rice, quinoa, and oatmeal, and look for whole grain products whenever you do eat any grain.

·         20% protein. Try to choose lean proteins when you eat meat (turkey, chicken, and fish) and complete proteins when you eat other protein-rich foods (you’ll need to mix foods like nuts, lentils, and beans to get a complete protein, or eat whole soybeans like soy nuts and edamame).

·         Limit your dairy intake. Most nutrients that you get from dairy products you can get just as easily from other sources. Dairy products tend to be very fatty, so when you do eat them, choose low-fat versions. You’ll want to be sure you get enough calcium, though, so eat calcium rich foods like kale, collard greens, and sardines.

3.    Drink plenty of water. You probably know that your body is made up mostly of water, so you’re probably not surprised to hear that getting enough water will be very important for helping you focus. Dehydration will give you problems focusing and if you can’t focus, then you’re going to have a really hard time remembering.

·         A good rule of thumb is that you’ll know you’ve had enough water when your urine comes out pale or occasionally clear. Eight 8 oz glasses a day is what everyone says, but it's not actually good for you. Too much water can cause serious and sometimes fatal conditions, like water intoxication, or hyperglycemia. Have a bottle of water with you, but don't drink too much. Only drink when you're thirsty.

4.    Wear comfortable clothing. When you study, do what you can to wear clothes that are comfortable. This will let you focus all of your attention on your work, rather than breaking your focus to worry about heat, cold, or your pants pinching you in that spot you don’t want to talk about.

5.    Use caffeine carefully. Coffee, 5 Hour Energy, Red Bull….whatever your poison is, be careful when you pick it. Caffeine does help you study...but only if you drink it after studying. If taken before you study, it can make you too jittery to focus properly. Caffeine also has lots of other downsides, so try not to rely on caffeine in general.

·         Negative side effects of caffeine include caffeine addiction, headaches, dehydration, fatigue, anxiety, and disruption of your sleep cycle.