📅 Spacing Effect
When people distribute their studying over a longer time period it gives them the benefit of a much greater long-term retention than that of cramming. The spacing effect promotes memory consolidation via encoding the information repeatedly in a different way each time.
⏰ Optimal Intervals
You should review the material at expanding intervals: initially after one day, then three days, then one week, then two weeks. This timing is the one which gets the most out of retrieval strength.
🧠Memory Consolidation
Neural connections gain more strength with the help of sleep between study sessions. So, in the case of spacing, the brain is allowed to transfer the information from short-term memory to long-term memory in a very effective way.
🔄 Desirable Difficulty
One of the key benefits of spacing is that it creates forgetting that is, in a way, desirable. The struggle to access the information in the course of spaced reviews fortifies memory traces to a greater extent than does easy, immediate recall.
📊 Research Evidence
By means of spaced repetition, studies have demonstrated the retention raised by 200% in comparison with that of massed practice. The benefits still linger for a few months or even years after the initial learning.
🎯 Practical Application
Divide the study materials into smaller sections. Arrange several days for multiple short sessions across rather than one long one. Employ flashcards or active recall techniques.
⚠️ Avoid Cramming
Massed practice is a deceiving situation that makes one feel that he/she has mastered the content, but in fact, it only leads to rapid forgetting. On the contrary, spaced practice may feel harder at the beginning; however, it effectively leads to long-lasting and easily retrievable knowledge.