10 Ways to Recharge Your Mind While Studying

If you're like many students, studying can drain your mental energy quickly. It's challenging to stay focused and motivated while poring over textbooks or lecture notes, which is why it's so important to take active steps toward recharging your mind to keep up with the challenges of school. With a few simple techniques, you'll be able to break up the monotony of studying and return refreshed and energized.

Read on for helpful tips on how you can recharge your mind while still staying productive in academic studies.

Eating healthy is one of the most important steps you can take for your overall well-being. Not only does a healthy diet improve your physical health, but it can also positively impact your mental health and cognitive functioning. Studies show that those who eat nutritious foods rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids are more likely to perform better on cognitive tests. In other words, the quality of what we eat directly affects our ability to think and problem-solve.

Staying hydrated is vital to keeping your brain healthy and functioning at its best. In addition, proper hydration helps stimulate cognitive performance, but it can also improve alertness and concentration, support short-term memory, and facilitate better decision-making. Being adequately hydrated throughout the day reduces fatigue by aiding circulation in the body, which is especially beneficial for brain function. Conversely, dehydration can cause "brain fog," or an inability to concentrate or focus on tasks. Drinking plenty of healthy fluids each day is essential for peak brain performance.

It is essential for our overall health, including our brain health, to get adequate sleep every night. Studies suggest that sleeping boosts creativity, improves attention, and enables problem-solving. According to the National Sleep Foundation, getting a full eight hours of sleep each night contributes to memory strength, allowing the brain to process and store information effectively. During sleep, the body also produces hormones like melatonin, which promote cell regeneration and protect against illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease. Lack of sleep can consequently lead to poor memory and diminished cognitive functioning.

Exercise is an excellent way to refuel your mental and physical energy throughout the day. It can stimulate neural activity and enhance cognitive function, allowing your mind to work more efficiently. Physical activity increases cortisol, dopamine, and serotonin levels, which helps your brain stay alert and ready for anything. This, in turn, can lead to improved concentration, problem-solving skills, and creativity. Additionally, exercising regularly has been found to reduce stress levels and improve mental health, as it aids in the release of endorphins that regulate emotions.

When you need an energy boost during the day, try one of the following: 

• Put on a favorite song and dance around the house
• Go for a 20-minute walk around the block  
• Hop on your bike or stationary bike for a 30-minute ride 
• Do a few laps in the pool 
• Go for a 45-minute run 
• Attend a restorative yoga class 

Stress can significantly impact our ability to focus and study effectively. Having an overload of stress or even small daily pressures can blur our mental clarity and make it difficult to process and retain information. Increased cortisol levels from stress further impair cognitive function, making it even harder for us to concentrate and remember things. To counteract this effect, it is important to take breaks throughout studying sessions, stay hydrated, get enough rest, engage in positive self-talk, and practice mindfulness techniques like deep breathing. 

A healthy social life is a critical part of student success. On the surface, spending time with friends and family might seem unrelated to academic success. However, studies have shown that students who maintain strong relationships and stay socially active have improved academic performance. Having consistent human contact and engaging in meaningful conversations can help with stress management, boosting focus and concentration on studies. Try calling a family member once a day or organizing a weekly dinner with friends. Additionally, being social drives creativity, which can give students ideas on how best to approach their academic problems and assignments.

Looking forward to a future reward can motivate you to keep up with your academic studies. This could range from treating yourself to a cup of coffee or a donut once you finish an assignment to taking a weekend trip after submitting a final paper. Appealing physical or mental rewards can encourage you to stay on course when studying for upcoming exams and assignments, especially when those tasks require long hours.

Rewards are not only beneficial for motivation, but they can also serve as an extra incentive when stressors arise during periods of difficult work. By incentivizing yourself to work hard, chances are that putting in extra effort can lead to more promising results when taking important exams or completing demanding projects. 

While sticking to a consistent routine can have benefits, breaking out of one can also renew your study strategy. Stepping away from the normal order of things can give you a fresh look at the material. For instance, try changing your location or studying for shorter periods with more frequent breaks to keep yourself more motivated and alert. You could work on more challenging aspects of the topic in the morning when your energy levels are higher and reserve more manageable tasks for later in the day when you may feel a bit more tired. Doing something different can also stimulate your mind into thinking about the material in new ways, improving not only how you approach studying but also how much you are able to remember. 

Research has shown that regular meditation can be immensely beneficial for academic studies improving concentration and focus, reducing stress, and encouraging creativity. Meditation, which involves focusing on the breath, encourages clarity of thought by strengthening the pathways between neurons in the brain, allowing for better memory retention and performance of skills. It also helps us overcome mental blocks we may come up against when learning new material or tasks. One way to make meditation a regular part of your routine is to set a reminder and block out 10 to 15 minutes of your day to meditate with all devices and distractions put away.  

Engaging in creative activities, such as painting, writing, or playing a musical instrument, allows your mind to break free from the rigidity of academic pressure. Participating in these artistic endeavors not only alleviates stress but also strengthens cognitive and problem-solving skills by allowing the brain to explore new perspectives and stimulating the formation of new neurons. Additionally, creative outlets foster a sense of accomplishment and can greatly improve one's self-esteem, which is crucial to maintaining motivation in other areas of life, such as academics.

Recharging your brain while studying is essential to stay focused and productive, and giving yourself permission to take purposeful pauses throughout the day will help increase your attention and happiness in school and everyday life. Try implementing a few of these strategies to take control of how and when you recharge so you can prioritize the tasks ahead of you with ease and positivity.