Studying too much is as harmful as studying too little or, perhaps even more: in fact, if we study too little what we obviously risk is not being prepared and failing our exam, by studying too much we not only risk the same thing but more. we play with fire and ” flirt ” with stress and exhaustion. In short, you get it: it’s not a good idea.
We have discussed many times the importance of breaks from study, sleep, and leisure to counterbalance the cognitive stress that comes from studying, but how can we understand if we are actually exaggerating?
Here are 5 symptoms that will help you figure it out:
Time
There is no fixed rule on “how much” to study every day, which can be good for anyone in any situation, however, we can certainly find a maximum limit. If your study takes up more than a third of the total day (therefore more than 8 hours) you can rest assured that you are going too far. In the week leading up to an exam, it can seem almost normal to spend more time on books than usual, if only because you want to review everything correctly.
It is different, however, to begin studying one month before the exam. If you have organized your work well up to date X, you will not need to lock yourself in the room as if it were Batman’s lair. Of course, if you are forced to do this by circumstances, maybe that means you have Something wrong in the planning of the study itself, and most likely you ended up in the thick of cramming. Still, in such cases, you can ask a professional “write my personal statement” to have the freedom to fully focus on studying.
Sleep and Exhaustion
If you constantly feel tired, even when you have slept your right hours at night, if you are tired all day, your eyes close, you struggle to stay straight at your desk, even if you take frequent breaks (as with the tomato technique) you find it hard to stay focused, well, most likely you are studying too much and the stress has started to build up. This is also true if you feel it is getting tiring both falling asleep and waking up or if you get those colossal sleep bumps in the middle of the day. All synonymous with the fact that maybe a break is needed;
Lack of General Motivation
I’m not talking about motivation to study per se, mind you, you are hardly enthusiastic about spending half a day in front of a book, no, I’m talking about general motivation below the warning levels. Have you ever been doing patterns or exercises and not being able to stay focused on the process? Well, this is also a symptom of the fact that you are pushing your brain over the threshold. If you are studying too much and you go towards exhaustion, every activity, including hobbies, your passions, socializing, and physical training will suffer. It is as if your mind, devastated by excess cognitive effort, no longer wants to do anything else. Also, the mood, among other things, will begin to suffer, and you will often be grumpy and frustrated;
Negative Physical Symptoms
headache above all, but also back pain, shoulder pain (often exacerbated by incorrect posture when studying), and assorted pains. The truth, which we too often take for granted, is that the body speaks. It sends very clear signals that a maximum limit is being reached. We have already mentioned many, but you shouldn’t take moments of great hunger for granted either.
Yes, the atavistic moments when you would also eat at the table. Then there is another physical phenomenon that you can consider as a real alarm bell: the sense of rejection. To make yourself better understood, have you ever had the feeling, when you get up in the morning, to sit at the table and feel a sense of nausea and repulsion even just thinking about opening the video? Well, it means that you are full. Your brain needs more rest,
Disappointing Performances
Incredible slowness in studying, constant errors in practical exercises, difficulty remembering what you have learned, intolerance towards the various methodologies you use, memory lapses, and a general feeling of not having learned anything. The more the feeling of tiredness is high, the more our attention threshold and the desire to do are lowered. It happens to everyone, at least once, to lean over the books and stare at the paragraph even for an hour, without being able to go on and, above all, without really understanding what we are reading. We are saturated, and absorbing new information is now almost impossible.
Conclusion
If one or more of these symptoms occur, you need to pay close attention to them and not underestimate them. Exhaustion is serious business and, as I always say, studying is a marathon, not a sprint: we must manage our learning in a sustainable way in the long term, not collapse in the middle of the race.
Use these symptoms as alarm bells and take this often-overlooked aspect of the study method seriously. Get organized, give your mind time to recover, and your general study will take the leap.
