1. Your brain loves color. Use colored pens ? good quality, not gel pens ? or use colored paper. Color helps memory.


2. Your brain can effectively focus and concentrate for up to 25 minutes (adults). Take a 10-minute break after every 20-30 minutes of studying. Go do some chores: rake the lawn, iron a shirt, vacuum. Come back after 10 minutes and do another focused, intense session.


3. Your brain needs to be rested to learn fast and remember best. If you are tired take a 20-minute nap first otherwise you are wasting your study time.


4. Your brain is like a motor: it needs fuel. You wouldn?t put dirty fuel in your Lamborghini (if you had one) or you wouldn?t put low quality fuel in a rocket, would you? Well, your brain is a much more valuable, intricate machine than either of those so feed it properly. Junk food and imitation food and all the chemicals and preservatives weaken both your body and your mind. In fact, a recent study in England showed that your IQ is affected by your diet.


5. Your brain is like a sea of an electro-chemical activity. And both electricity and chemicals flow better in water. If you are dehydrated you just don?t focus as well. Drink enough water (colored liquids ? pop, juice, coffee, etc. ? are not the same). Often times headaches are connected to dehydration, too.


6. Your brain loves questions. When you come up with questions in class or when reading a book, your brain automatically searches for answers, making the learning faster. A good question has more than one answer.


7. Your brain and body have their own rhythm cycles: there are times during the day when you are more alert than others. You will save time learning if you study during your peak periods. If you have a part-time job that happens during your peak period you may wan to reconsider if it is wise to be giving your employer your best learning time.


8. Your brain and body communicate constantly. If your body is slouched down, the message the brain gets is that ?this is not important? and so it doesn?t pay as close attention. In any learning situation, sit up and lean forward to help keep your mind alert. Buy a good quality, adjustable office chair.


9. Your brain is affected by smells. Use aromatherapy to keep your brain alert. Peppermint, lemon and cinnamon are good ones to experiment with.


10. Your brain needs oxygen. Get out there and exercise.


11. Your brain needs space. Be sure that you are not trying to study in a small cramped area.


12. Your brain needs your space to be organized. One recent study showed that kids who grow up in tidy, organized homes do better academically. Why? Because by being trained to organize the outside environment, the brain learns to organize the internal knowledge?which makes recall faster. Buy a 4-drawer legal-sized filing cabinet.


13. Your brain cells in the hippocampus, a part of the brain that deals with putting information from short-term to long-term memory, are destroyed by cortisol, which is created when you are stressed. So, yes, stress affects memory. How do you get rid of cortisol? Exercise.


14. Your brain doesn?t know what you can?t do until you tell it.
What are you telling it? Listen to your self-talk. Stop the negativity. Replace it with more positive, encouraging talk.


15. Your brain is like a muscle: it can be trained and strengthened, at any age. No excuses. Stop being a mental couch potato. Professional athletes practice every day; you can practice homework everyday. If ?you don?t have any?, make some up for yourself. Read ahead, review?do SOMETHING.


16. Your brain needs repetition. It is better to do short frequent reviews than one long review because what counts is how many times your brain sees something, not how long is sees it in one sitting.


17. Your brain can understand faster than you can read. Use a pencil or finger to ?lead? your eyes. By doing so you help your eyes move more quickly.


18. Your brain needs movement, especially if you are mostly a kinesthetic (body movement) learner instead of a visual or auditory learner. You might find your productivity go up if you have a standing desk. Buy one or make one by raising your desk/table on blocks. This allows you to move more easily and stay more alert.


19. Your brain seeks patterns and connections. When you are learning something, ask yourself, ?What does this remind me of?? This will also help your memory because it connects the new knowledge to something you already know.


20. Your brain loves fun. We learn in direct proportion to how much fun we are having. Learning is life. Live it up!