Effective learning methods: How to make learning easier

Anyone can train their memory with the right learning methods. Whether you're a student, a student, or already an office worker, here you'll find the right learning method to make learning easier for you.

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1. Why is learning important?

The brain wants to be challenged . Always. From the beginning to the end. Because even when we are born, our brains are receptive and ready to absorb and process information. While learning processes occur incredibly quickly in childhood , the ability to absorb information begins to stagnate in adolescence .

Finally, as adults , we must immediately commit ourselves to actively training our memory. Learning is absolutely essential for staying mentally fit into old age. If the brain isn't exercised regularly, parts of it begin to atrophy and shrink. The result: cognitive abilities decline. This must be prevented!

2. 3 different learning types

Some people can only remember things after reading them. Others process facts better when they've been told them. Each person is particularly good at absorbing information through one of the sensory channels and storing it in their memory. Everyone follows their own individual method for memorizing learning content. Therefore, there are different learning types:

• Auditory learner : The auditory learner is best able to process what they hear. Narrations, stories, or lectures are the optimal sources of information. • Visual learner: Information is absorbed through the eyes and stored in the brain. Images, videos, and texts are the preferred sources of information when it comes to learning new content.

• Motor learning type: Trying things out, touching things, and doing things yourself are the preferred learning methods of the motor type. If a text needs to be memorized, this works best through simultaneous movement, such as walking back and forth.

• Communicative learner : Through interaction with others, communicative learners retain information in their memory. Conversations and discussions help with data processing in the brain.

While all channels are generally used for data processing, one of the sensory channels is the most strongly developed . However, to comprehensively train the brain, the weaker channels should also be challenged. For example, if information is stored both visually and aurally, it is anchored twice in the brain—and, as we all know, two is better than one.

By exchanging information with others, what has been learned is immediately recalled and can be further consolidated . Therefore, it makes sense to give a practice presentation before a presentation.

Take-Home Message #1: Every learning style processes information through a different sensory channel. You'll achieve optimal learning success when you use multiple channels for learning.

3. What learning methods are there?

Which learning method is best depends entirely on the learner's style. Even though all senses should be used in the learning process, some people may find one method more appealing than another. Generally, the learning process takes place in three steps :

• the information is stored
• the information is retained permanently
• the information is remembered and can be retrieved

Each of these stages can be specifically practiced, ultimately leading to improved overall learning success. The goal of the learning process is to transfer information from short-term memory to long-term memory.

There are some traditional learning methods that you probably remember from school. But what worked in the past can also be very effective in adulthood:

• Reading the text: It's best to approach the learning task with an open mind at the beginning. Read through everything calmly, without consciously trying to memorize anything. This will give you an overview of the core message. You'll notice that interesting facts stick automatically as you read through it.

• Underline important information: Whether with a highlighter, red pen, or just for fun – for visual learning, it is helpful to visually highlight important information from the text.

• Take notes, select important information: Write down the important information on a piece of paper. Simply taking notes will help you remember the material. Additionally, you'll have separated the important from the unimportant for the next study session, making it easier to remember the facts.

• Mind map : A mind map, or memory map, can be useful when learning complex content. Essentially, you structure the information and connect it with lines, similar to a tree that branches out into more and more branches.

• Learning with flashcards : Did you write down English vocabulary on small cards in school? You can still do the same thing today. Put the cards whose information you already know by heart in one pile, and the other cards in another pile. With each study session, more cards will move to the "I know" pile, and soon you'll have everything memorized.

• Mnemonics : Create mnemonics that connect you to the material you're learning. These can be sentences, pictures, memories, number combinations, color associations, etc. This connection doesn't necessarily have to make sense, as long as it helps you remember the right information.

• Recite what you have learned : If you recite what you have learned to yourself or explain it to another person, the information will stick better and be easier to recall.

• Discussion : A good learning method for group work is to discuss the learning content. This helps recall the facts and put them into an emotional context.

• Explain in your own words : If you explain the newly learned information to an uninvolved person in your own words and make it understandable, you have already won.

• Understanding context : Sometimes you read a text and just don't get what the message is. Perhaps you don't understand a certain context, the technical terms are unfamiliar to you, or the topic doesn't really interest you. You still have to learn it. So ask your colleagues or do some research online to find a way into the topic. Taking the initiative will help you retain the information.

To make the learning process even more effective, there are a number of additional learning techniques that save valuable time or increase recall from long-term memory. Here are a few tips:

• Short learning units : Break the information you need to learn down into chunks. You can process smaller chunks more easily than a massive amount of information. Therefore, it's better to start studying early, rather than rushing to learn everything you need to know right before the exam or presentation.

  During the breaks between learning sessions, the material is already being processed by the brain and stored in long-term memory. Another method is 5-minute reading: You read a text for 5 minutes, then take a short break to write down the information you've read. This is followed by another 5-minute reading session, followed by another break, and so on.

• Speed ​​reading : Speed ​​reading is a learning method that requires some practice. It trains you to read texts faster and absorb information from them. The primary focus is on saving time.

• Repetition : The more often you review the content, the better it will stick in your memory. You may find that you haven't remembered a lot of things the second time you studied them that you actually wanted to retain the first time.

  However, by the third time, you'll notice that you've already memorized significantly more information. The more repetitions you plan, the more knowledge you'll be able to recall in the long run. You can learn more about this in our psychological tips for better memorization .

• Wrap it up in emotions : If facts are emotionally charged, they are better remembered. If learning is fun, it's much more effective. But negative emotions can also make information stick better. A good method is to complete small learning units in different locations.

  For example, you learn one topic in the park, another on the sofa, another on the train, etc. Your brain links the emotions of the respective situation with the subject areas and you can remember many things better.

• Practice run : Before a presentation or oral exam, you can calmly go over everything again. Practice in front of a mirror, give the presentation in front of friends, and try to imagine yourself in the exam situation. Information that you can already recall now will be stored in your long-term memory.

  If you get stuck on certain topics, read through everything again carefully, so it'll be ready for retrieval the next day. It's helpful to simulate the situation in an environment similar to the one you'd find in a real-life scenario.

Take-Home Message #2: There are many methods that help you learn faster and more effectively. Using multiple learning methods will also improve the learning effect.

4. Study before bed

Numerous studies have shown that what has been learned during sleep is stored in long-term memory . Staying up all night and quickly acquiring knowledge in the morning is less effective than going to bed early the night before and letting what has been learned sink in overnight.

Ines Wilhelm and Jan Born demonstrated the importance of sleep for information processing in a 2010 experiment in which one test group was allowed to sleep before the test, while the other group was asked to stay awake [1]. It's hardly surprising that the well-rested test subjects were better able to recall what they had learned.

The researchers also discovered an important additional factor: The information was only consolidated in long-term memory if the participants knew that it would be recalled later. Thus, a selection process takes place in the brain that separates the important from the unimportant.

5. Don’t get distracted while studying!

Try not to let yourself be distracted during the study phase, including by emails, your smartphone, or other devices. A 2017 study [2] demonstrates how much the mere presence of a mobile phone can impair your cognitive abilities.

Even if the smartphone is in your pocket or lying face down on the table, your thoughts constantly revolve around the device and whether new messages might have arrived. And suddenly, your concentration is gone...

6. How to further boost your memory

Concentration is the miracle weapon that pushes you to greater learning success . But sometimes your mind constantly wanders, you can't focus, and you just stare into space instead of absorbing knowledge. It's clear: Your brain needs brain food to perform. In addition to nuts , berries , fish , and oatmeal , nutritional supplements with brain boosters can also help sharpen your senses for what matters most:

• Does caffeine have a positive effect on memory performance? A study at John Hopkins University in Baltimore tested the connection between caffeine and the ability to remember images [3].

In fact, test subjects were able to concentrate better on the task and achieve a greater learning effect under the influence of caffeine, especially when caffeine was administered after studying. Learn more in our Caffeine Guide .

• Citicoline – the weapon of your success! It acts on the neurotransmitters in the brain, enabling more effective communication between synapses. This boosts your cognitive abilities and helps you maintain focus. BRAINEFFECT FOCUS with B5 is a supplement to support your concentration and memory performance. FOCUS can therefore be a tool to help you achieve your learning goals.

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• Ginkgo and ginseng have a millennia-old tradition of being used as brain boosters. The memory-enhancing effects of these plant extracts are also recognized in science. A study from the University of Northumbria in Newcastle even demonstrated the lasting effect of ginkgo biloba on learning ability for up to 6 hours after ingestion [4].

Take-Home Message #3 : Sleep, a concentrated learning environment and nutrition also support learning success.

7. Conclusion

No matter your age, you can always do something to improve your memory. Which learning method suits you depends on whether you're more aural, motor, or communicative. Try different techniques several times to determine whether the technique really doesn't suit you or whether you just need some practice.

8. Sources

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3278619/
[2] https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/691462
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24413697
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11026748

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