When it comes to studying, everyone has their own methods and techniques for success. However, it is often difficult to discover the methods that work best for you without trying them all out.

One new technique to add to your list of study tips is to study in short, frequent sessions.

Know as the “distributed learning," this method of short bursts of studying has proven to be more effective than one long study session. It entails studying in short bursts of concentration, followed by study breaks, followed by another 10 minute study session.

Why this works:

This method is effective because it does not cause your brain to overheat. When concentrating or thinking deeply, your brain needs recovery time for recharging its protein synthesis. By giving it little spurts of time off you can keep yourself from crashing mentally.

Sitting down to study for long periods of time is not only extremely difficult for many students, but also causes fatigue, stress and distraction. A student may study for three hours straight and feel like they have absorbed nothing.

Instead, spend more time studying in small chunks of time. Focus on one concept at a time. Once you feel comfortable with that information, take a break. This will allow time for you to digest this new information and prepare yourself for the next chunk of knowledge.

How to manage your time:

If, for example, you are studying for the SAT, you need to break it down in order to avoid becoming overwhelmed by the amount of material you are covering.

Start by breaking it into sections - verbal, writing and math – and then break those sections into sections. Give yourself an allotted amount of time to study for the test – maybe 1 month – and plan your time accordingly.

Don’t save all your studying for the night before, but instead study a little bit each day.

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