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Learning and memory are two sides of the same coin. Learning refers to the process of acquiring new skills or knowledge. Memory is the expression of what you have learned. For example, consider the effort it takes for a child to learn how to tie their shoe. They need to watch the movement and listen to instruction from someone who knows how to tie a shoe. The child must also practice many times, going through each step, feeling the movement of the laces and coordinations of their fingers. This effort is learning. Eventually, the child can recall the steps without being shown or told, and finally tie their shoe quickly from memory.
And when you forget something, you have to relearn it, encoding the skill or knowledge again to memory.
Throughout this course we will reference the role of memory to learning, and in the Additional Resources section of this module, we have listed several sources for further understanding how memory and learning works.
Later in this course you will discover memory techniques to improve the effectiveness of your learning. But, you likely already practice an important skill for learning everyday - sleep!
An active and awake brain is necessary for encoding new memories, such as learning new concepts and skills. But during sleep our brain is also actively consolidating our memories. According to the book, Learning and Memory: A Comprehensive Reference, memory consolidation is the process by which recently learned experiences are transformed into long-term memory. During sleep, our brain takes advantage of less awake-time activity to make the structural and chemical changes in the nervous system needed for long-term memory.
What is your sleep number? While everyone’s sleep number - the hours of sleep you need each night - can vary, according to the US National Sleep Foundation, adults between the ages of 18 and 64 should get between 7 and 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. The Sleep Foundation offers tips for healthy sleeping, and you may also consider keeping a sleep diary [PDF] to track your sleep and find ways you can improve your sleep.
If your energy and ability to concentrate starts to wane, why not take a nap? Much like sleep, brief naps not only aid with memory consolidation, but can also be restorative. Sleep research has demonstrated that cognitive function - critical for learning - is improved after a nap. Napping also helps with problem solving, short-term memory, and alertness.
The ideal nap time is 10 to 20 minutes. Anything less than 10 minutes does not provide the restorative effects to your brain, and longer than 25 minutes can make you feel drowsy and cloud your ability to think clearly.
In his book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, author Daniel Pink offers a 5-step guide [PDF] to taking a "nappuccino" which involves drinking a small cup of coffee before settling down for a 20 minute nap.
In order for you to be fully available to your family, friends and coworkers, you need to put your well-being first. This means maintaining healthy habits like getting enough sleep, staying hydrated and eating well, getting regular physical exercise, and taking breaks. You might explore wellness apps that can help you create and manage healthy habits.
It can be difficult to give ourselves the timeout we need as the pace and demands of the day push us forward. To help you take a moment for yourself, consider scheduling your breaks. Later in this course we will cover time management strategies and setting a study schedule. Add breaks directly to your study schedule and honor that time as you would an appointment with a doctor or meeting with a friend.
Ideas for Quick Breaks
What do you do for a quick break? In the discussion below, share your favorite ideas for taking a quick break with your peers.
To help you establish healthy self-care routines to support your learning, download our Checklist for Managing Self-Care [PDF].
For more information and resources about self-care for learning, visit the links listed below.
How Memory Works (Harvard University)
9 self-care tips for online students (University of Essex)
Healthy sleep tips (National Sleep Foundation)
Learning and memory under stress: implications for the classroom (Science of Learning Journal)
Learning while you sleep (Harvard Medical School)
Managing Stress
What is Self-Care?
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Stress and Learning
You might be wondering why we are beginning this course on learning with the topic of self-care and stress management. Stress can have a significant impact on learning, particularly on memory. While stress can improve attention and alertness and thus help with memory formation (encoding), too much stress can impair our cognitive function by negatively impacting our brain's ability to retrieve information or update existing information. Retrieval of information is critical during exams of course, but is also important when we need to recall and put into action newly acquired skills. Our ability to update existing information is important when learning complex concepts that build or change over time. Learning to manage stress in turns helps our brain to learn.
A Quick Pause to Breathe
Before we continue, let's pause here for a very basic technique to help you get grounded - belly breathing, also referred to as diaphragmatic breathing. At any point when you need to calm and refocus your thoughts and emotions, practicing this breathing exercise will help settle and center your mind.
Make a note of how you feel at this moment; jot down a few words. Practice the technique below a few times and then make a note of how you feel after. What differences are you noticing? Did you find this helpful?
Belly Breathing steps:
What other techniques do you use for managing stress? Share your thoughts and ideas with your peers in the discussion forum.