Introduction: Hey guys, greetings. I decided to write this article to practice written English, and I chose the topic to help those who have any difficulties with learning.
Why are you bad at studying something? Why information does slip out of your head? Why is it difficult for you to understand a material? Why does the only one thought of starting something new make you feel bad?
Without further ado, here’s why:
- You try to study only in a focused mode.
- All information is too abstract in your head.
- You think that you have no talent for learning, that you are not predisposed to the chosen concept for learning.
- You don’t devote at least 5 minutes to the task.
- You don’t sleep enough. Yes it sounds banal, we hear all the time, that we need to have healthy sleep, although few can clearly explain what happens to the brain if we don’t sleep enough.
- The information learned is not used in the interval required for memorization.
Have you noticed that often the most important decisions or awareness of a problem came to your mind when you didn’t expect it, when you were doing everyday things, in other words, distracted from the problem?
At this moment, you’re in a diffuse mode of brain activity, during which it makes random connections, which in turn form our knowledge.
In the focus mode connections shape more harder because this mode ideas, concepts, and problem-solving techniques that are at least somewhat familiar to you — your previous knowledge lays a sort of underlying neural pathway that you tend to follow.
Can’t understand or solve a problem? — go out of the focused mode of thinking into the diffuse mode (take a walk, look out the window, play sports, drink tea, just sit. By thinking about the problem at these moments, the answer will come more likely.
Why are there some disciplines that are difficult for us and those that are easier for us?
It’s definitely about abstractions. When you, for example, learn the names of animals, you can definitely associate the word “dog” with a creature that barks, has a tail, 4 paws, etc.
When you learn math, it is difficult for you to associate an integral with something real.
So, everything that is difficult for you to imagine in your head, you must consolidate with practice and understand some concept, why and how it’s used.
Predisposition to something is a myth; anyone can learn anything.
Why are you convinced otherwise? There are several reasons.
- It’s about your psychological state.
- Previously, you convinced yourself that you were not given a certain skill, or others around you instilled this in you.
There is also a reason, that material is too abstract for you — this has already been discussed above.
When you look at something you really don’t want to do, you activate areas of the brain associated with pain. This happens because the brain experiences fear of the unknown or painful experiences of failure in the past.
Your brain literally makes you suffer at the thought of doing something that you constantly put off. Your brain, naturally enough, looks for a way to stop that negative stimulation by switching your attention to something else. For anything other than solving a problem. Hello TIkTok and Doomscrolling.
But here’s the trick. Researchers have found that soon after people take action, the discomfort disappears.
Set a timer for 5 minutes and spend them on this task. You won’t mind 5 minutes to finally make progress on something you’ve been constantly putting off.
So why can this age-old statement about lack of sleep ruin our lives?
If we simplify the process for understanding, then in general the following happens — when you’re awake, your brain releases metabolic toxins that literally affect your mental clarity.
And while you sleep, your brain cells contract, allowing interstitial fluid to wash your cells and remove toxins.
Also it seems that during sleep, your brain tidies up ideas and concepts you’re thinking about and learning. It erases the less important parts of memories and simultaneously strengthens areas that you need or want to remember.
It is these factors that create your clarity of mind in the morning and confusion from lack of sleep.
You all know about this rule, information must be transferred from short-term memory to long-term memory.
Research has shown that the best and shortest way to remember information forever is spaced repetition on the following days: Monday/Thuesday/Wednesday/Friday/Sunday, that is, 1/2/3/5/7.
You can repeat the material 20 times a day, this may help, for example, pass an exam or more simply put use knowledge for a short period of time, but soon most of the information will leave your head without repetition.
If you really need the information you are studying, in later life, it is better to repeat it at intervals.
At one time, this information really helped me get things moving and finally overcome this constant barrier of procrastination and poor study.
On my own behalf, I will add that you need to find a place where no one will distract you from your studies. Also, if you have ADHD, then consult a doctor, because for people with this diagnosis, focusing on anything for a long time is a big challenge.
Needless to say, knowledge leads to wealth, to money, to strong relationships with loved ones, in other words, to success, whatever that is for you.
All material has been outlined thanks to the course — “Learning How to Learn.”
Teachers:
Oakley, Barbara — American scientist, translator, professor of engineering at the University of Oakland.
Terrence Joseph Sejnowski — Francis Crick Professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies where he directs the Computational Neurobiology Laboratory