We've all been there, we have an exam in 2 weeks and think to ourselves "I have plenty of time to study, i'll start later". 2 weeks later, you have one day to study, spending hours upon hours revising content you hardly remember, and then struggling to remember the key information during the test. Cramming may feel like its working in the moment, but research into memory shows that its hardly effective for actually learning.
Cramming focuses on short-term memory: You may remember information immediately after a long session of studying, but without revisiting that content over time, most of it is forgotten within a few days. A much more effective approach to learning is through spaced repetition.
Spaced repetition involves reviewing information over several intervals over time. Rather than studying for a topic once for multiple hours, you'd revisit it for maybe 30 minutes a few times a week. Everytime you recall that information, those connections in your brain are reactivated, strengthening themselves and therefore your memory, making it so much easier to remember in the future. For example, it you're learning a new maths concept, you might look over it the day you learn it, then again a few days later, and then maybe once again after a week. Spacing out forces your brain to actively retrieve the information.
This is especially valuable for subjects where you have to remember large quantities of information such as science, languages, or history, where forgetting key concepts or facts can be costly in exams. Combining this with active practice - completing questions, explaining ideas to others, and testing yourself - can work way more effectively compared to simply rereading notes.
Forcing yourself to move away from these last minute study habits and develop these strategies can not only improve your memory, but also maybe your grades and a little bit of sleep.
