Brain Hack: 6 secrets to learning faster, backed by neuroscience | Lila Landowski | TEDxHobart

1. Exercise: It improves our brain and create new brain cells
2. Focus: Do some focus exercises like meditation
3. Practice alertness (to improve its 8-30 min cycle)
4.Sleep: it converts short term memory into long term
5.Repeat: Repetition is necessary in various stages of learning
6.Take breaks (20 min) in between long hours learnings
7.Make mistakes to train your brain to handle new things

0:58: 🧠 Neuroscientist explains the importance of learning and provides tips for effective learning.
4:03: ⚡ Attention and alertness are crucial for learning, and can be improved through exercise and specific techniques.
7:54: 💡 Stress can enhance learning in small amounts, but chronic stress impairs memory; caffeine and alertness cycles can also affect learning; sleep is crucial for memory consolidation.
11:27: 📚 Repetition and spacing are key for effective learning, as they reinforce connections in the brain and help build long-term memories.
14:57: 🧠 Understanding the brain's mechanisms can help improve learning.
Recap by Tammy AI

“Don’t wait for everything to be perfect before you have a go”. This resonated so hard!!! Thank you!

04:00 Attention
06:51 Alertness
09:39 Sleep
11:25 Repetition
13:52 Breaks
15:19 Mistakes

1. Attention - remove distractions
2. Alert - Don’t get too comfortable while studying
3. Exercises - needless to say
4. Sleep - You can remember longer
5. Breaks and repeats - breaks down to short periods studying hours over multiple days
6. Make mistakes- go harder on every trying, don’t expect to be perfect

What an excellent talk!

One of my favourite takeaways is most definitely "embrace your mistakes", simply because we all make mistakes. By learning from your mistakes you can turn them into way to improve yourself, so they aren't just a waste of time, money or whatever resource. Only when you walk away without reflecting and learning, mistakes are a waste of resources.

Among colleagues I sometimes jokingly say "is this really a mistake or is it an unexpected learning opportunity?"

Well done Lila! I am fortunate enough to have known Lila through school and in part in adulthood. She's very good at what she does and I am pleased that her work is getting the recognition it deserves. A very knowledgable woman.

I absolutely loved this talk, and it comprises very important component that are necessary for learning a new skill or information. Although, I would say that there is one concept that I think is lacking in addition to attention, alertness, sleep, repetition, rest and mistakes. The missing concept is pace/speed. To learn anything significant the first iteration has to be taken slowly, and our brains will adapt to the new information better. It is a critical component and I believe it should be added to the 6 components mentioned in the talk.

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:00 🧠 Introduction to Learning Challenges
- Learning challenges faced by students, especially older ones.
- Lack of guidance on how to learn effectively.
- The increasing difficulty of learning as we age.
01:15 🔄 Neuroplasticity and Learning
- Neuroplasticity defined as the brain's ability to change in response to experience.
- Formation of synapses during learning.
- Importance of neuroplasticity for robust connections and skill improvement.
04:25 🎯 Attention and Its Role in Learning
- The significance of focused attention in information retention.
- Negative impact of frequent context switching (e.g., social media) on attention.
- Recommendations for improving attention through exercises and meditation.
07:12 🚀 Alertness and its Connection to Learning
- Activation of the fight-or-flight system to enhance alertness.
- Role of exercise, breathing techniques, and stress in increasing alertness.
- The impact of chronic stress on learning and memory.
09:42 😴 Sleep's Crucial Role in Learning
- Importance of sleep for memory consolidation.
- Functions of sleep in resetting immune system, metabolism, and emotional control.
- Negative effects of pulling all-nighters on long-term memory.
11:42 🔁 Repetition as a Key Learning Strategy
- Significance of repetition in building and reinforcing neural connections.
- The analogy of exercising to build muscle compared to repetitive learning.
- Benefits of spaced learning over multiple days.
13:18 🧠 One-Trial Learning and Emotional Components
- One-trial learning explained with a strong emotional component.
- The role of emotional intensity in memory formation.
- Connection between emotional experiences and long-term memory.
14:51 ⏸️ Importance of Breaks in Learning
- The subconscious replay of information during breaks.
- The instability of newly encoded information and the risk of retrograde interference.
- Recommendations for taking breaks and waiting before similar learning tasks.
16:48 ❌ Embracing Mistakes for Effective Learning
- The biological purpose of anxiety and stress when making mistakes.
- Turning learning into a game to release neuromodulators.
- Viewing mistakes as opportunities for improvement and neuroplasticity.

Made with HARPA AI

1 . sleep 4 energy 😵
2 . exercise 4 big brain 💥
3 . relax 4 focus & attention 🧐
4 . learn bite size day wise 💔
5 . sandwich new knowledge b/w routine & mundane 😒
6 . add emotion 4 learning marathon😢
7 . failure is .. neuromodulator 👍
8 . learning is dope .. dopamine 🤨

Dr Lila ,if you're reading this,I want to say thank you for your performance and you did great ,thank you for helping us learn better ,keep up the good work !

1.Attention
-Use phone less
-Prioritize sleep
-Excercise
2.Alert
-Have a focus point
-(Light) excercise
-Sufficient eating
3.Sleep
-Sleep to transform short-term memories in the hippocampus->long-term memories in the cortex
4.Repetition and Spacing
-Learning is like excercising, to get 'muscles' you need repeting it
5.Breaks
-Deep breaks (15 minutes) after learning to let brain recall the information
6.Mistakes
-Go for challenges, matches, competitions, or simply practice the thing you want to learn the different way

I have watched this video over 20 times, everything said here consists of things I have learned from people with really good memory. Those smart people never knew why these techniques worked and always told me to accept that this method or technique JUST works. This lecture summed it up by backing all of that evidence from field with scientific reasoning.

Great talk to focus on the components of learning. I think it’s essential to understand how your brain works best, and not get hung up on following a learning format that doesn’t work for you.

If you want to focus your attention , do something your interested in. Not what other people think you should focus on- what you want to focus on.

I guarantee you, and I believe most of my fellow ADHD thinkers out there have experienced, interest is the key component of focus.

I’d also point out, that those with ADHD have a hard time flipping the switch from focus to that daydream/ rest mode within the brain. It’s easy to get stuck. Therefore actually changing tasks will help flip that switch to give your brain that rest it needs. So walking away from something isn’t always a lack of focus.

I’d also point out that in general multi tasking isn’t great for learning. However for some of us, multi tasking is where the learning happens. It’s a fine line between chaos and making connections, but I spent too much of my life trying to focus and not multitask, when that’s exactly what I should be doing. That’s how my brain makes connections- not always- but often.

1. Exercise
2. Meditation
3. Attention
4. Alertness
5. Sleep
6. Repetition
7. Breaks
8. Mistakes

Great information! Congratulations for delivering such an enlightened content. It is a must watch talk for all the people walking along the path of struggles to reach success. One of the significant take aways from your talk is the factor of mistakes. It was explained so well that I now understand to use my mistakes as a start point for my next trial. Thank you!

Thank you! I learned something new. 🤩 I had a very chaotic upbringing and by 11 or 12 could not focus or sit still in class. I'd get into trouble for my grades. This cycle led me to shame so at 17 I quit, more shame. I'm 53 learning to learn and looking into a GED and some kind of education so I have a career. I want this before I die. Be careful & be kind to your kids.

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:00 😡 Learning methods often lack; aging makes learning harder.
01:18 🧠 Neuroplasticity crucial for learning; synapses form with experience.
03:37 🏋️‍♀️ Exercise boosts brain size, new cells, memory; use before studying.
05:27 🚀 Boost alertness: exercises, breathing techniques, cold water; moderate stress helps.
07:43 ☕ Caffeine enhances learning; avoid excessive stress; avoid big meals before study.
09:42 😴 Sleep is vital for memory consolidation; prioritize sleep before and after study.
11:42 🔁 Repetition strengthens learning; use spaced learning technique for better retention.
13:53 🎭 Emotional tie improves one-trial learning; stress enhances learning.
14:24 ⏸️ Breaks replay and stabilize information; take 10-20 minute breaks after learning.
15:20 ❌ Embrace mistakes for better learning; they release neuromodulators.
16:48 🎮 Turn learning into a game; mistakes boost attention, successes motivate.
17:20 ✅ Keys to faster learning: attention, alertness, sleep, repetition, breaks, and mistakes.

Made with HARPA AI

This is sooo helpful - this 54-year-old brain has just gone back to undergraduate studies (Bachelor of Environmental Science) - it's a whole new experience. I need to plan my learning soooo much better. Very grateful!!

I learned A LOT! Took notes on everything! Thank you very much! 🙏🏼