So that's why we need a good routine for our studies, and I'm glad to say I have an ideal night study routine just for you. I've been studying at night for a long time. So I have found some essential tricks in my personal experiences for night learning and defeating sleepiness. And also, I will share the facts uncovered through dozens of researches on learning, memory, and sleep.
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How to create a night study routine?
There are many benefits of studying at night. So many people choose night time as their study time. And some people are also pulling all-nighters. But in this article, I am just talking about studying from 8 pm to 3 am. You also can adjust the time for your convenience. So if you want to create your own study schedule, you can use my schedule as a blueprint and create your own night study routine or just use this for convenience.
| Time | Work |
|---|---|
| 8.00 pm - 8.30 pm | Have dinner |
| 8.30 pm - 9.00 pm | Do a hobby |
| 9.00 pm - 10.00 pm | Review notes |
| 10.00 pm - 10.50 pm | Studying |
| 10.50 pm - 11.00 pm | Have a snack while listening to music |
| 11.00 pm - 12.50 am | Reading and making notes |
| 12.50 am - 1.00 am | Small break |
| 1.00 am - 3.00 am | Do papers |
| 3.00 am | Go to the bed |
1. Have dinner by 8 pm
Taking light food for dinner is essential if you stay awake at night, no matter your work. Because taking heavy meal tends to sleepy and you won't be able to focus on your work. When we have a heavy meal at night, the body secretes a hormone called melatonin in addition to insulin secretion. This process makes us sleepy, and the body can prioritize digestion.
So that's why we need to take our dinner by around eight o clock. So after dinner, you can brush your teeth and try washing your face with cold water, which can make you feel refreshed.
2. Do a hobby until 9 pm
So during this time, it's better if you can chat with your friends who study at night. You can have a normal conversation and ask what they plan to study tonight. Then you can plan your studies together and discuss particular points you learned during study breaks.
Also, you can engage in a hobby like reading a storybook or listening to some music if it can make you more energetic. And especially don't forget to recommend this article to your friends.
3. Review what you've learned during the day and plan what you're going to study tonight
Planning is the key to success.
I think that quote is very valid because if we plan every task well, we can successfully achieve our goals efficiently. Likewise, if we have a clear idea of what we're going to do tonight, we can work more efficiently. On the other hand, if you don't work without a clear idea about your tasks, you won't complete them correctly as with time. After all, you'll feel like I have done nothing and messed up with all the work.
4. Review short notes and theory notes
This time is a better time for studying short notes and all. We can easily have a quick look before starting working. It's an excellent way of reminding the facts we've learned.
As I'm saying, we should always make and refer the short notes and mind maps with the particular points we gather when we study. When we want to find some facts we're not understanding, we can quickly go through our short notes rather than flipping notebooks.
Reviewing short notes and mind maps are better ways of keeping our memory at a constant level so we won't forget them easily. As long as we stay in touch with notes, our brain will store those facts in our long-term memory.
First slot(10-11)-1 hour
5. Start working
Most families sleep by this time, and you can freely start your work with fewer distractions. First, start studying some theories by getting a complete understanding and highlighting the points as your need. If you have something to memorize, you can look at them in this first slot for an hour. As the beginning of the session is so refreshed other times, you can easily concentrate on your work without any hesitations.
6. Have a snack while listening to a song
Coffee is a good drink to reduce drowsiness. But many studies suggest it is not good to drink coffee too much as it can negatively impact health. Instead of drinking coffee, many recommend water as a beverage as it is healthier than coffee.
Hydration is an essential thing we should consider whenever we study at night, so drinking water is much better. Otherwise, we'll end up having health problems. And don't forget to read my article on How to stay up all night.
If others are sleeping at the moment, it is better if you can use an earphone to listen to songs.
Second slot(11-1)-2 hours
7. Doing practical parts and making short notes
As we're getting close to midnight, you may feel sleepy and bored with your studies. So that's why we should do things that make you more attractive, like doing practical segments and making short notes. If it's a programming language, you can do practical experiments. But with a subject like physics or chemistry, you don't have the resources to do practical experiments at home. So the only thing you can do is interactively memorize them.
At first, you can quickly look through the practical experiment procedure and try to write them on a piece of paper or the whiteboard in your own words and draw 2D pictures of them. It's a good way of memorizing anything; believe me, it's so interesting.
The other method I always use is teaching an imaginary person. If there are facts you can't easily remember or questionable points, try teaching them to a fictional person and ask questions yourself. I am telling you to imagine that you are a teacher.
This method may take more time than other methods, but this method is excellent for you to memorize the lessons quickly. This way of studying can store the information you've studied in your long-term memory. Do you already do this? Let me know in the comment section.
The other thing you can do during this period is to make short notes and mind maps. After studying for about 2.30 hours, you may have many vital points and important lessons to remember. So you can continue working by noting them down and making mind maps in your own words.
8. Small break
After continuing the 2nd slot for about 2 hours, you can have a small interval. During this time, I usually text with my best friend, who studies at night, just like me. But don't continue this than 10 minutes; otherwise, you'll get distracted. My best friend and I mostly have the exact working timetable so we can get together easily.
During this time, we discuss what we've studied and the problematic points we've found. We also teach each other and solve the problems related to studies that bother us. Having such a friend is great, and studying this way has many benefits. There are also downsides to having bad friends. But it's up to you to sort good friends among others. It took me a long time to understand who my real friend was.
Do you have friends? Please share this article with them and be a good friend to them. You will find a partner like my best friend.
A small conversation with your friend is a good way, but don't continue this for more than 10 or 15 minutes. That's why you need to have a friend with a good understanding. Moreover, don't try this if you're afraid you'll distract. My advice is don't even look at the phone if you have no control over to handle your temptations like scrolling through Instagram or Facebook.
Third slot(1-3)-2 hours
9. Do papers
Suppose you want to understand a new lesson. In that case, you can try some similar questions from that lesson because when you memorize the same topics repeatedly, it increases your memory of that lesson.
When seriously practicing for an exam, don't try easy ones and the problems you have already solved. Try out solving new and hard questions so it can improve your way of thinking and help you understand the theories more deeply.
In my experience, doing papers helps me increase my marks tremendously. It's an excellent way to prepare for exams and boost memory. So when you get the exam paper, you'll feel it more familiar, and you've already done it. If you're not much used to practicing papers, it will be hard for you at the beginning as you do not have enough knowledge on that subject. But you can start by selecting the questions related to the lessons you've already learned. After all, you'll be able to face an exam paper easily.
I'm also going to come up with an article on a study plan that helps you prepare for an exam. So we can talk more about this topic there.
10. Time to bed
After studying for 5 hours, you may feel tired, or some feel more energetic as you feel like you're in the zone and can work all night. But my advice is don't try to study beyond 5 hours even if you can. Your brain needs time to rest and to gather what you've learned during this whole time. While your sleep brain has much more time to relax and analyze them, and when you wake up, you can easily recall what you learned last night.
Conclusion
You can plan your subjects for separate days with a well-organized study timetable.
It's the plan I'm recommending to you. But the night is your night, so you can adjust these times the way they are more comfortable for you.
I know you didn't have a good study routine before reading this article. That's why you are here. So try this and don't forget to tell me how this worked for you. I'm craving to hear about your experiences.
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