This one is hard to believe, but a new study suggests that if you're learning a new language, you're better off listening to recordings of your lessons while you're asleep rather than while you're awake.

Why studying for large chunks of time can be counter-productive

We’ve all had those days where no matter what good fortune comes our way in the morning or afternoon, we still walk around with a slight furrow in our brow knowing that a night chock-full of homework and studying awaits. It’s like a Utah Jazz fan watching the wildly entertaining 1997 NBA Finals on ESPN Classic – he or she might enjoy it for awhile, but in the back of their mind they know the Michael Jordan buzz saw is coming to ruin their hopes and dreams. (Too young to remember? That's fine, you get the point...)

Alright, so maybe Michael Jordan draining threes isn’t exactly the same as laboring through endless schoolwork. I have an attachment to sports analogies so bear with ...

Before the test you can study alone or in a group – which option is the way to go?

Everybody has their preferred method of studying. Some are a.m. studiers, some are more nocturnal. Some power through with no nourishment, others make their desk look like the dinner table at a Bavarian holiday party. But no matter when, where or how, studying can always be broken down into a dichotomy: studying in a group or studying alone.

Study groups pool the brainpower of several classmates. Granted, this pool might only amount to slightly more knowledge than you possess yourself, but at other times the pool can be akin to the Mensa JV team. That's why you should always hedge your bets with a decent amount of self-studying. Knowing a bit about the material ...

Taking a physics exam without first practicing problem solving is like pinch-hitting in a crucial game without having taken batting practice.

Preparing for an exam in physics has two parts. You must make sure that you know how to work problems given a list of formulae, and you must ensure that you can reproduce the formulae. These tasks are rather separate.

The first step in ensuring that you can work problems is to keep up with the assignments as they are due. There is simply too much to learn to postpone this work to the last minute. As you go along you should make sure that you have mastered each type of problem. You should review assigned problems that you got wrong and get help with those where you do not understand what you did wrong. Y ...