You’ve turned in your last paper, finished your exams, and are ready for a break from school and learning. We don’t blame you, but you should know that research shows students can forget or lose a lot of what they learned during the school year over the summer. While it’s tempting to put away your books and other materials, you’ll be better off spending some time reviewing what you’ve learned and even learning something new. Here are a few tips to stay sharp over the summer.
Space It Out
A great way to stay sharp is to review or learn a little bit of material each day or week. Don’t try to cram a major review into a single day or two. Instead, space out study sessions over a longer period of time — research shows this approach improves long-term memory. Rather than trying to review everything at the beginning or end of the summer, plot out a plan to read and study over the full break. Not only will it make the review less daunting, it will improve your retention of the material.
Read
It can’t be said enough: read, read, and read some more. Reading is one of the best ways to help you stay sharp over the summer. It’s easy to fit in too. Keep a book with you wherever you go because you never know when you'll find yourself with some down time. If your day is busy, set aside a few minutes before bed to read even a chapter. Reading helps to keep your brain active, and a lifelong reading habit can prevent cognitive decline as you age. A more active brain is a sharper brain.
Eat Healthy
It may be hard to see the connection between staying sharp over the summer and eating healthy, but it’s there. Studies have shown that eating diets high in refined sugars can be harmful to the brain and can promote inflammation and stress. By eating a balanced diet and focusing on healthy foods, you can ensure that your brain and body receive the nutrients they need to stay sharp this summer and beyond.
Take a Break
This may seem counterintuitive, but your brain is a muscle like any other in your body — it needs to rest, recover, and come back stronger. Give your brain some time off by focusing on fun activities or projects that don’t require significant concentration or energy. When you do go back to school, your brain will be ready to retain the information you’re feeding it.
Enjoy your well-deserved summer break and allow your body and your brain to rest. But be sure it’s not a full shut-down. Find some time to read, review your past coursework, and actively put into practice what you learned in the classroom. While it’s tempting to devour all those sweet summertime treats, strive to eat a balanced diet. Staying sharp over the summer will help you be prepared to tackle the next school year.
ON TOPIC
Looking for an activity that blends brain power and fun? A scavenger hunt might be the answer. Simple and quick for young kids or complex problem-solving that brings you across town for the older set, a scavenger hunt can be customized to the size, age, and ability of any group.
If you’re babysitting younger kids on a rainy day, create a texture hunt. Ask them to look around the house for things that match your sensory clues, such as sticky, rough, fuzzy, smooth, bumpy, wet, and so on. Provide a small chart for trackng what they find. If weather permits, bring the kids outside and do a nature, color, or a five senses hunt.
Junior high and high school students can have fun creating scavenger hunts for their friends. Pick a theme and write riddles that lead to the next stop or clue along a course to a destination where a small prize awaits. While the clues should be fun, ideally the hunters will need to draw on some knowledge they learned in school — bits of science, history, math, literature — to solve the riddle. Pro tip: be sure to keep the number of riddles or stops reasonable — you want to keep your hunters interested and focused on their quest. And, of course, build in time for some selfies.
People of all ages enjoy scavenger hunts — and themes, lengths, and complexity are limitless. Put your creative mind to work and have loads of fun crafting a hunt for family and friends or conquer one on your own.
