Two memory enhancing concepts or techniques to help retain information from studying are rehearsal of information and content and sleep. Rehearsal of information in a spaced out manner will produce maximum results in terms of efficiency and memorability. Essentially, the spacing effect comes into play, which states that we retain information better when the content is rehearsed over time. The reason for this is because you are consciously repeating this information, and gradually over time, less time will be needed to rehearse because the information has already been stored. Consequently, rehearsal over time stores information the most effectively and efficiently.
Additionally, sleep is an excellent tool for studying and remembering psychology. After a study session, sleep prevents retroactive interference from our environment, therefore, it leads to better recall of information. This simply means during sleep, we are able to process our memories of the day and turn them into long term memories without any interference, thus allowing for the most recollection of studied content. Consequently, if sleep is missed, all the crammed studied material is all gone to waste because it has never been processed to long term memories and will not be recalled as easily.
Rehearsal of content over a long duration of time and sleep after each rehearsal (study session) are two very important and fundamental tools to help study and remember Psychology because they allow for maximum efficiency in terms of recalling a memory and retaining the information.
Sources:
1.) Sleep
2.) Sleep WIKI
3.) Sleep Psychology
4.) Memory WIKI
5.) What is memory?
6.) Picture one
I had to read this blog post a few times through. I find this topic to be incredibly interesting and it amazes me what things can be proven by science. I myself feel as if I have not gotten nearly enough sleep during my time of being here in college. Can sleep help me remember certain details and topics before an exam? This is a very important topic to discuss because many students including myself stay up all night to study, but maybe this is just hurting us? This is very crucial for college students worldwide to know. These discoveries can help a student manage their time better and be better prepared and focused for tests. Not only students but some people have bad memories. After reading this article it made me see that it is possible for people to forget about what has happened in the past due to a lack of sleep. I have found this link which leads to a blog written by a memory medic. It has helped me understand this topic more and im sure it will help you do the same! https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/memory-medic/201103/how-sleep-helps-memory
This is a very interesting topic and it leaves me wondering something else, could this relation with sleep and memory come to play with students and studying? Could studying all night be less effective than studying less and getting sufficient sleep? If theres something there that would applied to many students at our university alone and they could potentially be studying in a counter productive way. Here: http://www.universityherald.com/articles/4721/20130930/top-5-reasons-night-study-sessions-horrible-idea.htm , is a good article that talks about why you shouldn’t be pulling all-nighters to study and actually be sleeping. Hopefully you find use/ interest in this sub topic and article as well.
I commented on an earlier blog post about are college kids getting enough sleep and this one is a great follow article. It continues to prove the point that it is not effective to pull an all nighter versus actually falling asleep after studying during the day at the right time. I wish the university would read this blog and other blogs then forbid classes before 10 AM that would be ideal but then again this is not an ideal world. Men’s Fitness had a great article furthering the idea that sleep is the best remedy for improving memory.
http://www.mensfitness.com/training/pro-tips/can-sleep-really-improve-your-memory
This post was interesting. Does that mean that studying only half the night and getting sleep will help you better than studying all night and getting no sleep? A lot of college students tend to pull all-nighters so I feel like this is good information for them to learn about.