Two and a half hours into cramming for finals and you’ve hit a proverbial wall, nothing seems to stick, your third paragraph contradicts your thesis, you’re reading the same line over and over again, reading the same line over and over again, reading the—maybe it’s time for a study break. Maybe you need to distract yourself in order to focus.
According to neuroscience professors at Carleton, a good frolic in the snow, or a bit of doodling in the margins of your notes, might help more than you’d think.
Your brain has a sugar habit
According to neuroscience professor Kim Hellermans, physical activity is beneficial to students trying to study for several reasons.
“The immediate reason is because you get increased blood flow to the brain. And when you get increased blood flow to the brain you get increased glucose utilizations,” she explained. “The brain is an organ that runs on glucose—sugar . . . unlike the rest of the body which can use fats, the brain needs glucose.”
According to Hellermans, the part of the brain most affected by increased blood flow is the frontal lobe.
“It’s the most recently evolved part of the brain,” said Hellermans. “It does planning, it does goal directed behavior, it inhibits responses.”
“The immediate effects of walking or running, doing any sort of cardiovascular or aerobic exercise is that you’re getting more of these nutrients and requirements to the parts of the brain that require it,” she added.
Hellerman also said regular aerobic activity elevates other signals in the brain, which provides long-term improvement in cognitive capabilities such as memory and planning ability.
“Social activity is beneficial as well,” she said. “People who run in groups—it confers more of a benefit than if you’re running by yourself.”
Engaging your mind
It’s easy to fall asleep while you’re reading. Background music, doodling, pacing, or walking on a treadmill as you study might be just what you need.
It might seem counter-intuitive, but according to associate professor of cognitive science Jim Davies, when you’re doing something boring a little distraction might actually help you focus.
“Students who were watching a boring lecture, some of the students were allowed to doodle and some were not, and the students that were not allowed to doodle remembered less about the lecture,” he said.
Davies said using a treadmill desk helps him stay focused.
“In a boring lecture your mind is very curious and your mind wants to be occupied,” he said. “The combination of listening and doodling is enough to satisfy your mind’s inherent curiosity.”
“If you’re not allowed to doodle you’re so bored that you disengage,” Davies said.
