Increasing concentration in your studies: Learning to learn properly

Increasing concentration in studies – how does this work? This question concerns students all over the world. We looked around and summarized the best methods for you.

The period of study is a time of learning. At least it should be, but it is not that easy. If you are also one of the almost 3 million students in Germany, you will know this: the text that simply does not want to get stuck even after the third reading, or the attention that suddenly begins to fade during the lecture.

The key is your concentration. Through it, your brain stays on the ball and can better absorb knowledge.

Unfortunately, it often goes flute exactly when it is most important. Thanks to the exam stress. But don’t worry: Like many things, your concentration can be trained. In this way, you can sustainably increase them and retrieve them in your studies just when you really need them.

Proper learning ultimately wants to be learned.

Let’s first look at what happens in your brain while learning and why concentration is so important.

That’s why your brain needs more concentration in your studies

What exactly is learning? Let’s look at the dictionary first.

The Duden defines it as the imprinting of information into our memory.

That with memory is already a good keyword here. Because without memory there is no learning. This is also the basis of the physiological process – in all forms of learning.

For a moment, are there several types of learning?

An example from life: You buy a cinema ticket on your mobile phone and go into the hall. At the entrance, you can look briefly at your smartphone to see where exactly your space is. Row 12, seat 15. Now the phone is back in your pocket. You don’t need it anymore, because the information is stored in your brain. You learned them.

This learning is very different from buffaloing for a test. After all, you know that the information around your seat is only important for a short time. It only needs to be available for a few seconds and can then be forgotten.

Or can you still say today what seat you had when you visited the cinema a year ago?

Hardly. And that’s a good thing. Because not all information is equally important and the long-term storage of knowledge on our neural memory cards requires energy and concentration. This is also the case when learning for study.

We learn by creating new connections, called synapses, in our brains. If we store something in our ultra-short-term memory, the information exists only in the form of electrical impulses, which disappear after a short time. In the long-term learning process, information is entrenched by cellular processes. You can imagine that your grey cells are literally growing.

Your brain needs to form new proteins and store them in the nerve cells. Many factors influence this process. First and foremost, however, this requires energy.

If you make sure your head has more energy for this process, you can also increase your concentration in your studies. This way you will learn more effectively and in the long term.

But it’s not just for storing information that you need concentration in your studies: from paying attention during a lecture to working on a lecture. Concentration in studies is really important.

So let’s see how you can increase them.

How to increase your concentration in your studies sustainably

Concentration helps you with all tasks in your studies. However, you should not forget that a state of full concentration can only be maintained for a relatively short time. For most people, this is between 10 and 40 minutes.

Longer concentrated work is limited to a few hours. After this time, even the most diligent learners realize that nothing wants to go into the head and the brain needs a break. This relief of the brain is completely normal and important for the learning process.

Overexertion often has only the opposite effect. So always plan enough breaks during your working and learning times.

If the concentration is already in the basement after a short time, you should heed these tips:

Concentrated work starts with hiring

The deadline for your thesis was already yesterday?
The test is the day after tomorrow and you didn’t have time to learn?
In three hours you have a presentation and the presentation so far consists of only one heading?

Studying often means stress. The constant pressure affects not only your morality, but also the quality of your work.

So it’s best to take a quiet breath and just chill out.

Of course, this is often easier said than done, but it’s about increasing concentration in your studies, you shouldn’t underestimate internal factors.

A positive attitude to learning can make a big difference. Short meditation also helps.

Also remember to reward yourself for your efforts. For example, after 60 minutes of learning, you can treat yourself to an episode of your favorite series.

Increase concentration with the right food for the grey cells

In order to get your concentration in your studies at any time, your brain needs to be able to work properly. The most important thing for this is:

Oxygen:

Well-ventilated rooms, short walks and outdoor sports are real miracle cures when it comes to stimulating your brain performance. This promotes blood circulation to your brain and thus provides it with oxygen and important glucose.

Energy:

If your brain were a rocket, glucose would be their fuel. It serves as the main source of energy for all living organisms. You certainly know the substance also under the name
glucose
. If you take glucose, it’s like a boost to your energy and your brain power.

But beware:the energy from glucose is only short-term and the high is followed by a period of fatigue. The best way for your brain to get energy is from complex carbohydrates such as whole grains or nuts. They are slowly converted into glucose in the body and thus increase your concentration over a longer period of time.

Nutrients:

Our organism needs essential nutrients to make it work properly. Your brain is no exception. Pay particular attention to enough
omega-3 fatty acids
and
vitamins A, C and E
.

The brain is particularly happy when fish, meat and nuts end up on the plate in addition to the complex carbohydrates. If you are a vegetarian, supplements can replace the animal products well.

Your focus needs more focus: With these habits you can increase your concentration in your studies by the way

Once your brain has everything it needs, it can achieve peak performance in the long run. Now all that is required is to use brain power correctly in the study.

That’s why, at the end of the day, there are the best habits for more concentration in your studies:

• Focus on just one thing! Multitasking reduces your performance.
• Better to learn in the morning or in the evening? Not everyone is equal! Find the optimal time for you and adjust your rhythm to it.
• With a plan for success: Get a learning and work plan. If you use digital calendars, free apps for time and project management can help you.

So you see: concentration can be trained. With some planning and the proper care of your grey cells, you can master the study in no time.