Before You StudyMany students think about how to use their time when they study. But what you do before you study is important too. It can help you remember more of what you learn. Here are three free things you can do before you study: exercise, choose a place and take a test. First, exercise. In a 2018 study, a group of young people did 15 minutes of hard exercise on a running machine. After that, they remembered more words. Exercise is good for your memory. Even if you cannot exercise just before you study, it is a good idea to be active. Second, think about where you study. Our memory sometimes depends on the things around us. In one famous study, people who learned words in two different places remembered 24.4 words on average. People who learned from a list remembered only 15.9. So try to study in different places sometimes: in your room, in the kitchen or outside. Third, take a test before you study. In 2018, researchers found that students who took a test before they learned new material did much better after they studied it. They failed the test, but they remembered the material better than students who only read it. So, before you read a chapter in a textbook, try a few practice questions at the end of it. You may not know the answers, but you will probably learn and remember them better.
