Knowledge has always been pivotal to the human species. For years, we have been re-inventing the delivery of knowledge. From spoken word, to cave paintings, to books, to schools, and now the internet. Knowledge is now widespread, and fortunately we are all thankful for it.

Sadly though, understanding,grasping and learning that knowledge has always been a bit of problem.The avalanche of information and knowledge,that we have today, has made learning new things ‘efficiently’ an impossible task.

Fortunately, as scientists have always been, they are back to the rescue! Science has been on an unrelenting streak of research trying to figure out the “Art of Learning”. Although we are far from becoming walking super computers,science has still uncovered many secrets that actually allow you to hack your brain and fine-tune it to learn things better!

Here is a short list of things scientists have uncovered, ranging from ‘cool’ to ‘is that even real?’ :

1) Whip out those flashcards again!

One thing science has made solid is that the human brain loves to make connections between things. The more you visit or rather say, revisit those connections, the stronger they get. So keep revisiting those class notes to ace any exam you choose to.This is the trick of Spaced Repetition, which states that you review information at increasing spaced intervals to increase retention. That is, learn a thing once and then review after a day, then two days, then four days, then eight days and so on. The act of revisiting information at increased intervals, helps the brain to recall information better. Although flashcards are old, but they fit perfectly with Spaced Repetition and fortunately the internet is full of apps which levy the system of spaced repetition and flash cards to improve learning.(Link to such apps at the end)

2) Maybe it’s time to take a break!

Who knew that our brain, just like our muscles, tires down after a while ? Faculties like focus and willpower are limited and need to be refueled. A study done at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign suggests that, constant stimulation with the same thing is ruled out as unimportant by our brain. So, when faced with long tasks ( like learning something new ), we should impose breaks for ourselves or learning itself would be ruled out by our brain. Taking a break allows you to deactivate and reactivate your goals, which can help you stay more focused. So you should impose a time limit to every task that you do and take break after the same.Science clearly shows that Systematic and regular work intervals not only allow you build work habits but also allow your brain to learn better so keep calm and learn on!

3) Keep yourself busy with different projects!

Being constantly surrounded by one task or project, can add to our stress levels. Being bored, and then stressed out by a project which has been going on for too long, is something a lot of us have experienced. “Stress” as a word in itself is now pretty infamous on the internet but Dr. Gould’s recent work in neurogenesis, the formation of new neurons in our brain,has proved that stress can have way more scary effects.

“ When stress becomes chronic, neurons stop investing in themselves. Neurogenesis ceases. Dendrites disappear. The hippocampus, a part of the brain essential for learning and memory, begins withering away.”

Basically, stress and depression not only kill neuron cells but also stop new ones from being created. What is the way out? Well fortunately, our brain is very resilient to such damage and on the cellular level,“The scars of stress can literally be healed by learning new things”.So go ahead, try out that new project or take up the hobby you have wanted to learn for so long, because it might just help you work at the task at hand and keep your brain healthy!

4) Time to take a deep breath ( it’s no more a cliche )!

As counter-intuitive as it may seems, a study done at the University of California- Santa Barbara suggests that decreased neural ( brain ) activity might just help you learn. When trying to learn something new, our brain sends in the whole cavalry to try figure out the new task. Obviously, not everything is required for every other task, so soon enough our brain starts to shut down the unnecessary parts and only work with the required ones. This is where the problem lies.

“It seems like those other parts are getting in the way for the slower learners. It’s almost like they’re trying too hard and overthinking it.”- quoted from the study.

Over thinking about the problem is key here.So you must clear your mind while learning new things and avoid over-thinking as that can also increase stress levels, further hurting the learning process.

Deep, controlled breathing has been shown to reduce heart rate and manage anxiety and stress and calm down a person. So, the next time you feel really overwhelmed while learning something new, take a few deep breaths and cool down as your brain is most probably overthinking at a task it does not need to.

5) Cheat your way into ultimate brain functioning!

Yup, this is the, “is that even real?” trick. Our brain is made up of a huge network of neurons, and that network creates it’s own magnetic waves. Scientists found out that these “Brain Waves” reflect the task at hand. So just by looking at your brain waves, a scientist could tell whether you are awake, asleep, or taking a jog. Diving into this deeper, scientists realized that these waves could be induced in a person’s brain and can change the brain’s state. Now making a person more or less sleepy is not much fun but making a person more focused at a task and more open to learning, really is a revolution! Currently, the technology is such that just by listening to an audio file you can induce “focused brain states”. Now obviously, this seems way into the future and that has earned Brain Wave Entrainment a place full of doubts but with respected organisations like The Human Genome Project and Transparent Corp backing this idea, Brain Wave Entrainment is the soon to hit the big lights, but till then it remains a hidden gem.

I have written another complimentary article which showcases all the free apps you can use to “hack” this process of studying and learning. Find the same here.