The best time to study — scientifically proven.

I disappear for a few months and then come back with bangers :')

Struggling to find the right time to study is a common paradigm every student faces at least once during their life. For me, well, it’s a different case. I, for one, cannot figure out when to study and when not to study, in fact I spent half my time deciding whether I should study in the morning? Late at night? Or right after school? Before school? It’s a mess and I’m sure many of us students face this on a daily basis. Well, I did some digging around and came up with a few strategies and tips on how we can utilize the best times to study.

What really is the ‘best time to study’:

Studying is a physical activity which requires cognitive functioning for which it’s important we standby certain rules and follow a procedure to get the most out of our daily scoop of information intake. To be candid, there isn’t really a specific time to study. I know I sound very cliché right now, I mean I am pretty sure you've heard this line multiple times and read it in every blog post, article or YouTube video. But let me assure you, there may be no specific time to study that fits all, there are some strategies and systems that could help you achieve your best or optimum time to study.

Why is it necessary to maintain specific times while studying?

Mammalian brains have a clock of their own which starts ticking when we are in the womb and overtime it accumulates to fit with our lifestyle and our environment. This process is known as ‘chronobiology’. Our brain follows a 24h cycle that affects our physical well-being, molecular activity, sleep and behavioural patterns and food intake known as the Circadian Rhythm. Chronobiology is the study of circadian rhythm. Because of our circadian rhythm each of our time differs. For some people, studying in the early morning, around 4 am to 5 am is convenient while for others late at night around 1 am to 3 am is much more effective. Our circadian rhythms start to sense the surrounding and our lifestyle and adjust our awake hours and asleep hours accordingly. Therefore, it is very important that you lead a specific routine of waking up and going to bed.

How does sleep affect our study hours?

Moving on, as per science our brain recognises the light and the dark times of day which is why we tend to sleep at night and stay awake during the day. Our retinas have receptors or sensory neurons that send the signal to the brain whether it’s day or night. Depending on which time of day it is, our brain releases certain hormones such as melatonin which controls sleep regulation and other circadian rhythmic functions. Sleep is vital when it comes to information processing, memory formation and creative thinking. Most of our cognitive abilities depend on how much sleep we receive each day. It so happens that sleep influences the times when our brain is most active and it’s most idle. It is vital to get enough sleep as they keep our brain healthy and moving, although it’s inadvisable to work on the first hour after waking up and the last hour before going to bed. Those are the hours of untangling. Right after you wake up your brain builds up momentum and right before you go to bed, it calms down and releases sleep hormones. Depending on these factors, you are likely to achieve your optimum active time which can be perhaps after moving a bit and having a nutritious breakfast or maybe an hour or two before you retire for the day.

Your optimum focus zone:

There is no one glove that fits all solutions while determining which time to study. If you are a morning bird, you'd want to wake up early, have a healthy breakfast and get to studying. If you are a night owl you'd want to stay up at night studying. But the best times as research has shown is the Time span from 10 am to 2 pm and 4 pm to 7 pm. It differs from person to person.

Here are some strategies you can use to reach your optimum focus zone which may result in you finding the best time to study -

• Have a consistent sleeping pattern and maintain 7 to 8 hrs of sleep daily.

• Eat a fruitful breakfast and consume at least 2.5 to 4 litres of water. Water keeps our brain hydrated which helps us in focusing .

• if you study in the mornings, start by exercising. Exercise helps reduce stress and anxiety as well as pumps blood in the brain which increases level of concentration, energy, determination and focus.

• Take frequent breaks.
  Say, you start studying at 7 am and you put up a timer or an alarm that rings at 12 pm indicating that you are done with your morning studying. Break down those chunks of time from 7 am to 12 pm.

• Maintain a to do list and put achievable goals.

• Finally, have a consistent study time.

I hope you will utilize these tips and tricks and design a perfect system! On the next few days I will publish articles on how to build your own system and together, we can work towards getting that A!