ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: Long-term memory: a guide to being its friend
Finals week is the part of the year that wrings brains out like sponges. Many students get very tense and suspicious, especially when it comes to study rituals. Certain foods become staples, favorite study spots are hardly left empty and I personally can’t get through a difficult exam without my lucky pair of socks.
Sarah Rossella, a junior in the College of Education, is very meticulous when it comes to studying.
“I like when there’s bright fluorescent lights,” she said. “I can’t study in dim light.”
The Reading Room in Memorial Library is another of her favorite places. “I love that spot, especially by the window,” she said.
Memorial appears to be a popular spot for serious studying. College of Arts & Sciences freshman Kathy Wierzchowski would agree.
“I always get most of my work done in one of the cubicles,” Wierzchowski said.
Although Memorial Library is much quieter than Raynor Library or the Bridge, Wierzchowski and Rossella both said they like to listen to quiet music while studying.
“I put my iPod on shuffle and low volume,” Wierzchowski said. “If I get sick of shuffle I usually stick to oldies — The Beatles, ABBA, The Bee Gees.”
Rossella said she likes piano music, like Jim Brickman.
“I thought it would help me absorb all the information,” she said. “It’s very soothing.”
However, nightlife in the library can be somewhat of a party, as “Club Raynor” members would know. Once Memorial has closed, things can get exciting on Raynor’s first floor.
“The library is a party at six in the morning,” said Rossella. “I actually contemplated hanging out in the library in the later hours more often. People brought out random things like basketballs, and people just got into a really good mood.”
Unfortunately, although all-nighters in the library may alleviate stress, professor of psychology Stephen Franzoi advises against them.
“If you pull an all-nighter, the fatigue is going to make it much more difficult to retrieve information from long-term memory,” he said. “I never pulled an all-nighter, and I studied a lot.”
So, want to know how to get better grades during finals week? Franzoi gave a few other study tips, and he said Rossella and Wierzchowski were on the right track, at least music-wise.
Franzoi recommended relaxing music and said that he listens to classical music while reading and writing. Music that can become background noise is the best to study to, if you can’t live without it, he said. However, “don’t sing along, it can’t be novel or interesting,” Franzoi said. “It will take you longer to study the same amount of material.”
Cramming isn’t the best study method either. Instead of studying for ten hours straight before the exam, Franzoi suggested studying for one hour per day during the ten days prior to the exam.
Franzoi also recommended coming into the exam relaxed (this is where knowing the material can come in handy). Do some relaxation exercises and take a couple of deep breaths to get that stress level down.
“Anxiety tends to hurt memory retrieval,” Franzoi said.
Tags: anxiety, college, finals, Library, Memorial, Raynor, school, study
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