Things to Do After You Study

 

Many students study with little thought about what comes after their study session.

But what you do after studying could have an effect on how well you learn and remember new information.

Today on Education Tips, we will explore two no-cost ways that can help you improve your learning: wakeful rest and sleep.

Wakeful rest

When many students finish studying, they often go straight to another activity. Perhaps they look at their phone or computer. They might even play a video game or watch television.

But research suggests that resting after you study may help you remember what you studied.

The basic idea is this: by reducing your activity after the study session, your brain gets a chance to rest. Resting is difficult when you have too much stimulation¹ from electronic devices, games, lights and so on.

While this might sound unusual to you, many studies have explored the benefits of resting after learning – what is called "wakeful rest."

A study published in the Journal PLOS One examined how well older people who were in good health could remember certain words. In two different experiments, researchers found that older adults who rested for 10 minutes after learning new words had better memory of those words. "A period of wakeful rest immediately after new learning boosts free recall of verbal material," the researchers wrote.

The results were strong even after seven days, they added.

A 2019 study found that both young and older adults were able to better remember, or recollect², information from prose passages after doing wakeful rest. The findings appeared in Neuroscience Letters.

This study involved 45 younger people and 40 elderly adults.

"Wakeful resting led to higher overall recollection in both age groups," the researchers noted³.

If you want to give "wakeful rest" a try, here are a few simple things to do. Rest quietly for five to ten minutes. Do not look at your phone, read stories or play games. Just limit the amount of stimulation you get. It is really that easy!

Sleep

In addition to wakeful rest, sleep is also important for learning.

The Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School notes that sleep helps people to learn in two ways. A report on the school's website explains that "a sleep-deprived person cannot focus attention optimally⁴ and therefore cannot learn efficiently⁵." It also says, "sleep itself has a role in the consolidation⁶ of memory, which is essential for learning new information."

Robert Stickgold is a doctor and sleep expert at Harvard Medical School. Speaking with the U.S. National Institutes of Health, or NIH, he noted that new memories can be hard to keep. "When we first form memories, they're in a very raw and fragile form," he said.

Sleep is important for forming memories. Stickgold told the NIH "you get very little benefit from cutting corners."

The National Sleep Foundation suggests that adults between the ages of 18 and 64 get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per day. Teenagers may need slightly more, and people over the age of 65 may need a little less.

Closing thoughts

Now you have two suggestions for how to learn new information.

Try to get some "wakeful rest" after a study session. Then try to get a good night's sleep.

That's it – a simple, no-cost way to help you remember what you learn.

You can include the ideas we discussed today with ideas we explored in other Education Tips stories. On those programs, we discussed what you can do before and during a study session to improve your learning.

I'm John Russell.

Words in This Story

session – n. a period of time that is used to do a particular activity

stimulation – n. the action of fueling interest or activity in the body

benefit – n. a good effect or profit gained from something

boost – v. to increase or improve

prose – n. written or spoken language in its most simple form

focus – v. to cause (something, such as attention) to be directed at something specific — + on

optimally – adv. formal: best or most effective

consolidation – n. the act of making something stronger or more secure

fragile – adj. not strong

1 stimulation   

n.刺激，激励，鼓舞

参考例句：

• The playgroup provides plenty of stimulation for the children.幼儿游戏组给孩子很多启发。
• You don't get any intellectual stimulation in this job.你不能从这份工作中获得任何智力启发。

2 recollect   

v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得

参考例句：

• He tried to recollect things and drown himself in them.他极力回想过去的事情而沉浸于回忆之中。
• She could not recollect being there.她回想不起曾经到过那儿。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 optimally   

最佳

参考例句：

• In the classic script for a Cartel, the group sets a unified optimally exploiting price structure. 按照卡特尔的传统范本，这个集团制定出一个统一的最有利于剥削的价格结构。 来自辞典例句
• RF power LDMOS with a trench drift region is optimally designed. 对射频功率LDMOS槽形漂移区的结构进行了优化设计。 来自互联网

5 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

6 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法