“There is no such thing as memorizing. We can think, we can repeat, we can recall and we can imagine, but we aren’t built to memorize. Rather our brains are designed to think and automatically hold onto what’s important. While running away from our friendly neighborhood tiger, we don’t think “You need to remember this! Tigers are bad! Don’t forget! They’re bad!” We simply run away, and our brain remembers for us.”

— Gabriel Wyner, Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language and Never Forget It

You are never taught to learn in school, instead it’s always about memorizing and passing the exams. If you are a good student then the focus shifts on getting good grades but still it’s not the learning that counts.

Each of us has spent hours at a time memorizing facts, equations, the names of the elements, foreign invaders, dates of key historical events. Exams were always about frantically cramming the night before while reading through the notes over and over. With a gallon of coffee in hand, the only prayer was that the information would somehow get imprinted in your brains. But, do you remember anything about the French revolution now?

No one needs a study to tell us that last-moment coffee-fueled cramming sessions are never the best way to prepare for an exam, but neuroscientists in Japan recently uncovered new evidence that helps explain that spaced learning works better than cramming.

Neuroscientists have long known that spaced learning is more effective as it enhances memory and the survival of new neurons. But the new study, published in the journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), explains that memory retention can be linked to structural changes in a set of nerve cells known as Purkinje neurons. These neurons are important for motor skills which include running or even typing.

Memory retention of the knowledge, although not acquisition, is dependent on how learning is spaced.

In layman's terms, spaced learning includes breaking a long chapter into several sessions or topics of shorter durations with breaks in between the learning. With this approach to learning, children can retain the information. Spaced learning provides learners with an opportunity to engage and assimilate the knowledge before moving on to the next topic and ultimately leads to a better understanding of the concept. The learners feel that they are in much better control and their stress level decreases due to less cognitive burden. This makes their learning experience not just enjoyable but far more effective than cramming.

Although cramming serves the temporary purpose of refreshing existing memory or establishing a new short-term memory, it won’t be of much use in the long term. Spaced Learning certainly provides students with much working knowledge of their subject and better knowledge retention in the longer run.