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SCHOOL S UCC E S S The end of summer came to a screeching hault for so many of us. Personally I was not ready for my little ones to go back to school, and I can imagine many of you were not ready to head back to school yet either. On the other hand, I can see how it would be a relief to return to a routine, and see all of your friends on a regular basis again. Sometimes not feeding your brain daily makes you feel stale. So as I was gearing up to send my (not-so) little ones back to school, I have to think about what helps them best prepare. They’re getting much older now, and it won’t be long now before they’ll be talking about their graduation (I can’t believe I just wrote that down). I did a little digging and here is what I found that is proven to help. Exercise. Exercise is proven to change the brains chemistry. It releases mood altering hormones which enhances information retention. Retelling. Retelling and reflection of the information you are studying will also help retain it. Cramming will only store it in your short term memory, which will not necessarily lead to success. Reviewing it and reliving it will help store this information into long-term knowledge, increasing your chances for success. Sleep. Our brain is most ready to learn during the first two hours of the day. Napping before a study time will give you a second burst of the alpha brain waves your body produces just as it does when you wake in the morning. When you learn new information your brain makes new connections, when you get sleep, it helps grow and nourish these connections. Take breaks. Don’t push yourself too hard. Straining yourself to try and get something done or remember information will only cause you to forget it. Take fequent breaks and give your body time to process the information you are feeding it. Just like you shouldn’t binge eat, you shouldn’t binge on information. A good routine to ensure success is Study, Excercise, Retell, Rest. Find a friend and find a routine. Stay healthy and be successful in school this will carry through to the rest of your life.
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