Studying isn’t always stimulating — especially after a long day in class or at work, when your brain feels ready to shut down.
If simply staying awake while studying seems harder than quantum physics, try one of the following nine strategies to help you be alert and focused.
Movement is a well-documented energy booster. In addition to helping you stay awake, it may also help relieve exam-time stress and improve your ability to actually remember what you study.
A 2018 study of students of all ages — ranging from elementary school to college — found that 10 minutes of walking outdoors significantly improved students’ performance with memory, feature detection, and mathematical problem-solving tasks.
Aim to take a short break every 30 to 50 minutes to walk, dance, or do a few jumping jacks.
Our bodies are attuned to respond to environmental signals such as light and darkness. While the relationship between light and sleep is indirect — it’s possible to fall asleep in a well-lit room or to stay awake in darkness — light is a cue that can help promote wakefulness.
According to a 2017 study of zebrafish, this tendency may come down to a protein that’s activated when we’re exposed to light.
When it comes to studying, try to mimic a daytime environment with plenty of light. If it’s dark outside, a single lamp or overhead light might not be enough to keep you alert.
It might be tempting to get comfortable while studying, but it won’t help you stay awake.
Lying down is associated with increased activity in the parasympathetic nervous system, known for its role in functions such as “rest and digest.”
In contrast, sitting upright is associated with sympathetic nervous system activity. The sympathetic nervous system controls functions such as alertness.
A 2014 study analyzed whether sitting upright or lying down affected performance on a test of working memory.
The authors reported that when participants were lying down for the test, their self-reported sleep quality negatively affected their performance. Sleep quality didn’t affect performance when participants were sitting upright.
How does this relate to studying? If you’re feeling tired, sitting up may help you stay focused and alert.
You may also want to try standing up instead of sitting while you’re studying. Standing and moving around from time to time may help boost your blood circulation. This, in turn, may prevent you from getting sleepy.
If you live in a dorm room or shared apartment, the most convenient place to study might also happen to be the place where you usually sleep.
But it’s best to avoid studying in any place that you associate with sleep, which could leave you feeling drowsy.
When possible, study somewhere else, such as a library, coffee shop, or a dedicated, well-lit area of your home away from your bedroom.
By keeping studying and sleep areas separate, you’ll also be making it easier to turn off your brain when it’s time to go to bed.
Fatigue or sleepiness is sometimes a sign of dehydration. But dehydration won’t just drain your energy — it may also disrupt cognitive functions, making studying difficult.
A 2010 review examined dehydration, including its effects on brain function. The authors reported that mild to moderate levels of dehydration might impair short-term memory, concentration, mathematical ability, alertness, and perception.
To ensure that you don’t doze off while studying, stay hydrated throughout the day. This is especially important if you’re physically active or live in a warm climate.
While how much you should drink varies from person to person, aim for around half a gallon per day.
What and how much you eat affects your energy levels.
While it may be tempting to treat yourself while studying, it won’t help you stay awake. Sugary snacks and junk food can make your blood sugar spike and then crash, leaving you feeling sluggish.
On the other hand, if you forget to eat or eat too much, you might find yourself dozing off.
Instead, aim for a diet of small but frequent meals. Make sure each meal contains protein, a complex carbohydrate, and a source of healthy fat.
Some examples include:
Reading and rereading class notes or a textbook might not be enough to keep you awake, let alone absorb information.
Keep yourself awake — and get the most out of your study sessions — by using active study techniques. To do this, try one or more of the following:
Avoid nodding off by talking through the material with a classmate, friend, or study group.
Not only is social studying more motivating and stimulating, it can also offer new perspectives and interpretations of class materials. Ask someone to explain a confusing concept to you, or solidify your own understanding by teaching the material to a peer.
If you prefer to study individually, you might find that simply studying in the presence of other people makes it easier to avoid falling asleep.
Sleep plays an important role in mood, attention, motivation, and memory — all of which affect learning. It’s no surprise then that poor sleep is associated with poor academic performance.
In fact, making sleep a priority — both in the short- and the long-term — might be the most effective way to stay alert when you’re studying.
In a 2019 study, students were presented with detailed factual information over 5 hours. Midway through the 5-hour period, they either took a 1-hour nap, watched a film, or crammed the information. They were tested on the material 30 minutes after the end of the learning period and 1 week after the end of the learning period.
The researchers found that after 30 minutes, students who had either crammed or napped were able to recall the information better than students who had watched a film. However, after 1 week, only the students who had napped maintained better recall of the information.
Make time for naps, and stick to a regular sleep schedule to help make studying easier.
Staying alert and focused can be challenging when you need to study, especially at the end of a long day. But there are ways to boost your wakefulness and avoid nodding off in the middle of a study session.
The key is to adopt healthy habits, like staying hydrated, eating regular balanced meals, getting exercise, and prioritizing your sleep whenever possible.
Other strategies that may help include studying with friends in a well-lit area, avoiding your bedroom, and using active learning techniques.
It happens to every student: Your eyes start to hurt because you've been staring at the computer screen for too long without blinking.
Your forehead is practically resting on the screen since your body has been inching closer to it. Your back hurts because of the leaning, your eyes just want to close, and best of all, you have homework to finish.
Yes, taking a power nap sounds appealing. Yes, watching a 30-minute TV show would give your brain a break. However, if you're like most of us, a power nap turns into not getting out of bed and that 30-minute TV show transforms into two hours of channel surfing. Fight the desire to tackle the assignment later when you're "better rested," because you and I both know that you can conquer this homework assignment now; you just don't want to.
Here's the solution: Trick yourself into getting the energy to complete it. In four minutes, you can persuade your mind that now is the perfect time to devour that low-hanging fruit.
Minutes 1 and 2: Stand up. Walk away from your computer. Shake out your arms and legs. Roll your shoulders backwards then forwards.
Kick out your feet. Roll your wrists. Walk up and down stairs if you have them. I even encourage you to do a few jumping jacks. Whatever you do, just keep moving.
Why it works: The body and mind have a dependent relationship on each other. If you're couch-potatoing it, your brain is going to get sleepy. However, if your body is moving, your brain knows that it has to be ready for anything.
Minute 3: Get a pen and paper—don't go back to your homework yet!—and write down all the reasons why you're getting your degree. Don't worry about full sentences, this won't be graded. You can put short phrases such as "children," "get a job," "promotion," "exceed expectations," whatever you like. Write as many reasons as you can, and when you run out of reasons, simply write, "I can succeed. I will succeed" until you hit minute 4.
Why it works: Now that your brain is more alert thanks to the physical activity, it can focus on the bigger picture and not the lonely TV remote.
What you're writing on paper is persuading your brain to think beyond just tonight and how this assignment is a step toward long-term success. Your brain will believe what you tell it to believe, so put the right motivators out there.
Minute 4: Bribery and Trickery. For the last minute I want you to do two things. First, think about what you can do tomorrow, if you finish your homework tonight. Don't write them down; just let them fill your thoughts. Think, "If I finish this assignment tonight... I won't have to worry about it tomorrow; I can watch that baseball game without multitasking; I can have homework-free time with my kids." Envision it and imagine what tomorrow will be without this homework lurking. Second, smile a big show-off-your-teeth grin. Yes, it'll feel weird just smiling randomly, but do it.
Why it works: Because bribery and trickery work. Our brains are programmed for tit-for-tat. There has to be a reward for everything.
Tell yourself what the reward is now, so you have something to work toward. As for smiling, a smile can trick your body into thinking that you should be happy right now. A frown can persuade your brain otherwise. Remember, you control what your brain thinks. Make it positive.
Now, you re-energized student, be inspired and go tackle that assignment!
For more tips on how to succeed at school, read our College Life blog.
There are rules that determine how much time students of different ages should spend on homework per day. In our country, the rules are as follows:
But in practice, these norms are not observed - Russians have to help children with homework every day. According to a study by the Scientific Center for Children's Health, the daily volume of the total educational load of students is 5–9classes is 10-13 hours.
That's 50 to 78 hours a week. For comparison, the working week of an adult is 40 hours. Therefore, the issue of canceling homework has been discussed for several years now.
At the Foxford Home Online School, each lesson is accompanied by assignments, sometimes even a deadline is set for their completion. But these are not classic homework for evaluation. Foxford tasks are an opportunity to work out the acquired knowledge in practice. Their implementation is voluntary: the better you decide something, the more “experience points” you get. In order not to spoil the motivation, no marks are given. The ability to safely make a mistake when completing a task develops independence in children, they are less likely to call on mom and dad for help.
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Foxford Home School experts have compiled homework rules. We hope our recommendations will help your child do homework quickly, efficiently and stress-free.
Source: freepik.comDoing homework should be as natural as brushing your teeth or making your bed. It is necessary to form this pattern from the first class. It is desirable that the child is engaged at the same time and this was preceded by some kind of ritual. For example, turning on a table lamp or laying out notebooks on the table. The brain will get used to this routine and will tune in to study once the ritual has begun.
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When homework becomes a habit rather than a choice, the child is less likely to put it off.
The environment affects a person's productivity. It is important to ensure that the child's room has a normal temperature, lighting and silence.
A student's desk should always be removed. There should be enough space for a laptop, textbooks, notebooks and other study supplies. Do not litter the workplace with soft toys, photo frames and other things that can distract the child from doing homework.
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Planning relieves feelings of anxiety. It is important for the student to visually see what lessons he needs to do. Sit down and work out a homework schedule with him. Set the frequency of solving regular tasks, prioritize tasks that have a deadline. Control over the situation gives the child confidence that he is able to cope with all this.
Let the student write the plan himself, preferably on paper rather than on a gadget. According to many psychologists, writing down goals and objectives by hand increases the likelihood that a person will follow them.
Essay, presentation, scientific experiment - all this requires serious, thoughtful and step-by-step work.
Help your child break down a large task into parts and include each of them in the lesson schedule. Sharing the workload will eliminate the feeling that big tasks are long, difficult and tedious.
The desire to put off things we don't like is at the core of human nature. But the resources of time, attention and energy are limited. Therefore, homework should be started with the subject that is the worst given or least liked by the child.
The more energy a student spends on simple tasks, the more difficult it will be for him to move on to complex ones. And having completed a difficult task right away, the child will receive a charge of positive emotions and easily complete the rest of the homework.
Intense mental activity should be alternated with physical activity or simple short idleness. Set a rule: every 30-50 minutes of homework resolution, take ten-minute breaks.
Working in segments is called the Pomodoro method, we talked about it in an article with time management techniques.
The child will be happy to be distracted, just agree in advance that the "break" in the preparation of homework will take place without social networks and serials. Explain to the student that the new flow of information will not let the brain relax. It is better to walk the dog or eat something nutritious. For example, nuts activate brain activity.
Every mother and every father strives to help their child. But let's be honest, if a student comes with questions about lessons, and an adult simply solves problems for him, he does not help him. He seeks to end this as soon as possible, to save his time and nerves.
Don't dismiss your child when he asks for help with homework, but don't do it yourself either. Guide him to the solution, read the textbook together, watch the video, show how similar problems are solved.
If you can't get to work right away, arrange a time that's convenient for you.
It is important to set clear boundaries: homework is the responsibility of a child, not an adult. That is why the Foxford Home School mentors never do homework for the students, even if the parents themselves ask for it. The next step is a gradual, from class to class, weakening of control over the correctness and timeliness of completing homework. A teenager must learn to manage his time and be responsible for his actions.
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