The #1 Study Hack You Never Learned
Want to get better grades in school? Want to do it without devoting your entire life to studying? And want to do it without letting it make you completely stressed and burned out? If you’re like most students, you’ve probably tried all the usual study aids, gone to tutors, and taken test prep courses. These are all great tools, but I can assure you they will never help if the most important thing in your student toolbox isn’t working at top capacity—your brain!
The Key to School Success—Your Brain
That’s right, your success or failure at school lies between your ears in the minute-by-minute functioning of your brain. Think about it. It is your brain that decides if you should play mindless video games or head to the library to study. It is your brain that tells you to ditch class or pay close attention to the professor’s lecture. It is your brain that causes you to procrastinate and have to pull an all-nighter or that helps you plan ahead so you can get a good night’s sleep before a big test.
After looking at the world’s largest database of functional brain scans—150,000 and growing—I have found that when your brain works right, you tend to work well in school and are more likely to be effective, creative, attentive, and organized. When your brain is troubled for whatever reason, you are much more likely to have trouble in school, including issues with planning, focus, organization, and memory.
Change Your Brain, Change Your Grades
News flash! You are not stuck with the brain you have. When you get your brain right, learning, studying, memorizing, and test-taking will be much easier for you. Optimizing your brain is the first step to becoming a more successful student. My book, Change Your Brain, Change Your Grades, shows you how to do it. Here are just three of the many brain optimization tips you’ll find in the book.
3 Strategies to Optimize Your Brain
1. Love your brain.
Most students never think about their brain as a tool for learning. You (or your parents) will buy all sorts of gadgets to help you in your studies, but it’s your brain that is worthy of your biggest investment. Loving your brain means always keeping it in mind when you make choices.
Whenever you are making a decision, ask yourself:
“Is this decision good for my brain or bad for my brain?”
2. Avoid the things that hurt your brain.
There are many things in our everyday lives that can hurt our brain and make it harder for us to do well in school, including:
- Mental health issues
- Negative thoughts
- Chronic stress
- Head trauma
- Drugs and excessive alcohol
- Many medications
- Hormonal imbalances
- Environmental toxins
- Junk food diet
- Obesity
- Lack of exercise
- Lack of sleep
3. Do the things that help your brain.
What’s exciting is that there are many things that can boost your brainpower and help optimize brain function, including:
- Getting help for mental health issues
- Controlling your thinking
- Meditation and stress-relief techniques
- Balancing hormones
- Avoiding drugs and too much alcohol
- Protecting your head from injury
- Learning new things
- Having loving relationships
- Having a purpose in life
- Great nutrition
- Taking nutrients (omega-3 fatty acids; vitamins B6, B12, D, and folate)
- Physical exercise, especially coordination exercises (table tennis, dancing, etc.)
When you start optimizing your brain, you will find that all the additional study tools you use will become much easier to implement. And this will put you on the fast track to successful studenthood.
Change Your Brain, Change Your Grades is written by psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and brain health expert Dr. Daniel Amen and relies on the latest neuroscience and leading-edge brain imaging to show students of all ages how to strengthen the ultimate study buddy—their brain—to be more successful in school. Order your copy here.
If you (or your child) are struggling in school or you suspect a learning disability, ADD/ADHD, or other mental health disorder is holding you back, understand that treating the underlying issue is key to optimizing brain health for greater success in school. At Amen Clinics, we have helped thousands of struggling students improve their grades and learn to enjoy learning. Speak to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or schedule a visit online.
