The Best Ways to Beat the 'Forgetting Curve' While Studying

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It seems like common sense that the longer you go without retrieving a memory, the harder it is to retrieve—but it wasn’t always one of those things we simply knew to be true. In the 1880s, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus studied the phenomenon and published his findings, giving the world the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve. The curve is a simple graphic demonstrating how information is lost over time, but it proved that time-related forgetting is real (and has been reaffirmed by further study since). Want to fight the curve and hold on to your memories, especially when you’re studying? Here’s how.

How long do memories of new information last?

Ebbinghaus concluded that how quickly we forget something depends on factors like how difficult or meaningful the material was, but also how tired or stressed we are, so there’s no clear-cut answer to the question of how many days you’ll hold on to a piece of information if you don’t think about it. It depends on things like what you study, how into it you are, and how stressed you are, there are just too many variables—and for the average student, those shift every day.

We do know that the order in which information is presented matters a lot when it comes to how long we store it in our short-term memory, so there are even more factors that go into our memory retrieval and retention abilities. I'm sorry to say there's no black-and-white answer when it comes to how long you'll hold onto a piece of information, but there are a few answers Ebbinghaus and today’s educators agree on when it comes to how you can better retain it.

Beat the forgetting curve with spaced repetition

The first strategy you can use to better retain information is called spaced repetition or distributed practice, an evidence-based technique that helps learners absorb numerous pieces of information and store them in their memory.

Basically, you need to study the material multiple times, giving yourself space between each review. The amount of time you go without studying the material depends largely on how well you’re already remembering it, which means the longer you review, the longer the periods between each review should be.

Reviewing your notes for a difficult class should be done more frequently than reviewing the notes for a class where you easily get the concepts, for instance. Instead of subjectively deciding if you’re retaining the information and need to review it or not, try using the Leitner system, which helps you schedule your studying based on whether or not you answered a particular flashcard correctly the last time you went through it. If you got it right, you don't need to pick that one up as often going forward.

If you're hesitant about using old-school methods like hand-written flashcards, don't be. Writing by hand can actually help you retain information better, so using the Leitner system that way can have a two-for-one benefit.

Then again, it's time-consuming and inconvenient, so if writing it all out and hauling 100 index cards around doesn't exactly work for you, you have other options. Here's a list of my favorite flashcard apps, many of which rely on a Leitner-esque strategy to force distributed practice without you having to do much of anything beyond indicate whether you got an answer right or wrong.

You can also try scheduling your review and revision using a technique like 2357, which has you study again on the second, third, fifth, and seventh days after first going over something. If you're going to do that, I recommend sticking with a dedicated scheduler, like the My Study Life app, just to keep things organized.

Beat the forgetting curve with engaged learning

Teaching resources recommend that educators use methods to make lessons more engaging to help kids beat the forgetting curve, but you can apply that same idea to your own individual studying, no matter what level you're at. When you’re reading new information, for instance, use techniques that help you stay absorbed in the material.

Try examining new info through the lens of Kolb’s learning cycle, for instance, which relies on the belief that you need to have concrete learning, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation to truly learn something.

Alternately, use a critical-thinking method, like SQ3R or KWL, to track your progress on a topic. With SQ3R, you’ll write down a little of what you can gather from a review of the material, then questions you want to answer when you give it a more thorough read, so you’ll stay engaged as you go, searching for the answers to your questions. KWL is similar, but you start by writing down what you think you know, what you want to know based on a brief overview of the material, and what you ended up learning.

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