If you’ve ever crammed all night for an exam only to forget everything days later, you’re not alone.
Research shows that 91% of pharmacy students rely on re-reading notes, yet this passive approach creates a false sense of familiarity rather than true understanding.
The good news? Cognitive science has identified study techniques that dramatically improve memory retention, and these aren’t trendy hacks; they’re evidence-based strategies backed by decades of research.
So, if you are one preparing for JAMB or you are upskilling professionally, these techniques will transform how your brain retains information.
Table of Contents
1. Active Recall: The Power of Self-Testing
Active recall means retrieving information from memory without looking at notes. Instead of passively re-reading, you force your brain to work harder by actively reconstructing what you’ve learned.
Research published in 2025 confirms that retrieval practice significantly outperforms passive review. Students who test themselves demonstrate better long-term retention, and this strengthens memory consolidation [i.e. moving information from short-term to long-term storage].
After reading a chapter, close your book and write everything you remember. Use flashcards, explain concepts aloud, or create practice questions. Even unsuccessful retrieval attempts enhance subsequent learning.
2. Spaced Repetition: Defeating the Forgetting Curve
The forgetting curve, discovered by psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus in 1885, shows that we forget approximately 50-80% of newly learned information within days unless we actively review it. Spaced repetition combats this natural memory decline.
This technique involves reviewing material at strategically increasing intervals: first after one day, then three days, then a week, then two weeks, and so on.
Recent studies involving medical students found that spaced repetition significantly improved long-term knowledge retention compared to cramming.
A 2023 study of French medical school candidates revealed that students who used spaced repetition were substantially more likely to pass their entrance exams than those relying on massed learning (cramming).
How to implement spaced repetition:
- Review new material within 24 hours of first learning it
- Schedule your second review 2-3 days later
- Third review after one week
- Continue spacing reviews at increasing intervals (two weeks, one month)
- Use apps like Anki or RemNote to automate the scheduling
The key is reviewing just before you’re about to forget, as this helps in reinforcing memory pathways and makes information stick long-term.
3. The Pomodoro Technique: Focused Study Sessions
Named after the Italian word for tomato, the Pomodoro Technique breaks study into focused 25-minute intervals followed by 5-minute breaks. After four “pomodoros,” take a longer 15-30 minute break.
This works because 25 minutes matches your brain’s natural attention span, which is long enough for deep focus, short enough to prevent exhaustion, and structured breaks allow your brain to process and consolidate information.
Choose one task, set a 25-minute timer, study intensely without distractions, then take a genuine break. After four rounds, take a longer break. This method particularly helps with procrastination and feeling overwhelmed.
4. Interleaving: Mix Your Study Topics
Interleaving involves mixing different subjects in a single study session rather than studying one topic in isolation. While this feels harder initially, research shows it significantly improves long-term retention and knowledge application.
Instead of two hours only on physics, then two hours only on chemistry, alternate between subjects every 30-40 minutes. Your brain works harder to distinguish between concepts, strengthening learning.
Rotate between 2-3 subjects within one session, mix problem types in mathematics practice, and don’t spend more than 45 minutes on a single topic before switching.
5. Elaborative Encoding: Connect New to Known
Elaborative encoding connects new information to existing knowledge rather than memorizing facts in isolation. Your brain remembers information better when integrated into a meaningful framework.
A 2025 study found that students using elaborative encoding alongside self-testing performed significantly better than those using passive tactics like highlighting.
Ask yourself how new concepts relate to what you know, create analogies for complex ideas, and connect academic concepts to real-life situations. For example, relate cellular respiration to how your body feels after exercising, or connect Nigerian history to current political dynamics.
6. Handwriting Over Typing
Research published in 2024 confirms that writing by hand is more effective than typing for learning. Because handwriting is slower, you’re forced to process and summarize information rather than transcribing everything verbatim, leading to better retention.
Take lecture notes by hand, create handwritten mind maps, or rewrite key concepts from typed notes, and if you must type, force yourself to paraphrase rather than copy exact phrases.
7. Say It Out Loud
Reading information aloud combines visual and auditory processing, strengthening memory pathways. Research shows this dual engagement helps transfer information into long-term memory more effectively than silent reading.
Read important definitions aloud, explain topics to yourself as if teaching, record yourself explaining concepts, or join study groups where you verbalize ideas.
8. Avoiding Common Study Mistakes
a. Re-reading and highlighting: Create familiarity without understanding [among the least effective strategies].
b. Cramming: Produces quick gains but rapid forgetting. You’ll pass tomorrow’s test but remember nothing next month.
c. Multitasking: Your brain can’t effectively encode information while switching tasks.
d. Single location studying: Varying your study environment helps information transfer to different situations.
8. Building Your Effective Study System
The most powerful approach combines multiple techniques. A proven study routine:
- Active reading with handwritten notes
- Same-day active recall (write what you remember without notes)
- Use Pomodoro Technique for focused 25-minute intervals
- Interleave different topics instead of studying one subject all day
- Schedule spaced repetition reviews at increasing intervals
- Connect new information to existing knowledge
- Verbalize learning aloud or to study partners
Final Thoughts
Remember that effective studying feels difficult. If learning feels easy, you’re probably not challenging your brain enough, so the bitter truth is for you to embrace productive struggle, that cognitive effort transforms short-term exposure into long-term retention.
The gap between students who retain information and those who forget isn’t merely talent, in reality, it is technique. Science has shown us what works. Now it’s your turn to apply it.
Read Also: How To Cultivate Good Reading Habits
