Mind Tricks to Help Your Brain Learn Faster

There are a lot of things in the world to learn! If we only had enough time to learn them all… Here are some mind tricks to help you brain learn faster, and retain more information for longer. You could use them for learning magic tricks, or anything else!

1. Sleep Sandwich
   • Sleep in-between study sessions, since sleep helps your brain solidify information in your memory.
2. Mastery Through Modification
   • Don’t fall for the “Illusion of Mastery” because something feels simple, since true mastery is often in the details.
   • Make minor modifications to your learning routine to break the monotony and help your brain retain things with the interest of variation.
   • Challenge your self by timing yourself, or doing it from a different angle.
3. Weaving Subjects
   • Study interleaving different subjects can help give your brain variation, which can help your brain solidify and retain information.
4. Chewing Gum
   • Studies show people chewing gum tend to be more alert and experience less stress.
   • The act of chewing makes you more vigilant and lengthens your attention span.
   • Chewing gum helps you stay happy and motivated while you work.
   • Chewing gum helps increase your brain get more oxygen.
   • Chewing xylitol gum can be better for your teeth and even prevent plaque buildup.
5. Stay Hydrated
   • Studies show that college students to drank water during their exam performed up to 10% better!
   • Drinking a cup of tea while you study quickens your short term memory, strengthens your long term memory, and can even leave you feeling enthusiastic about learning something new!
     • Tea also has a lot of other health benefits.
6. Multiple Mediums
   • Blend learning styles together:
     • Use Flash cards
     • Draw a diagram
     • Say the information out loud
   • Blending learning styles you activate more parts of your brain.
7. Speed Read
   • If you can absorb information faster, you can learn faster.
   • Learn to speed read, and you read 700 to 1000 words per minute.
8. Study with Music
   • Studies show music makes your mind receptive to new information.
   • It also improves your memory by engaging different areas of the brain.
   • Music is a major stress reliever, which decreases test anxiety.
9. Practice in Pieces
   • Break up your study time into smaller chunks helps your brain retain information.
10. Hard Road
    • Sometimes forcing your brain to analyze something makes you memorize it better.
    • Writing notes by hand can make you retain information better because it forces you to condense the information into something you can write quickly.