Take a moment & think back to high school or college.  It’s the night before the final exam.  What are you doing?  Are you taking it slow by reviewing your notes & getting to bed early?  Or are you pulling an “all-nighter” to cram in as much info as possible?

I think I can safely say that everyone has tried the later.  To be fair, cramming can work…at least enough to get you through the test.  The downside, however, is that the info you crammed into your brain is quite temporary.  Studies suggest that, after a cramming session, a person can recall a fair amount the info for about 18 – 36 hrs.  But, if you ask them to recall that same info a week later, they will have lost about 75%!

That 75% loss of info is because most of the crammed-in facts went into short-term memory.  But, in order for us to recall info a week later, a month later, a year later, that info needs to be transferred into long-term memory.  This is where Slow Learning, or taking it slow, comes in!

Slow Learning is based on the principal of distributed practice.  Distributed practice is the opposite of cramming.  Instead of one long learning session (i.e., cramming), you break your learning time up into smaller sessions which are repeated over & over again.

Cramming = 1 x 8 hrs

Distributed Practice =8 x 1 hrs

Even Better Distributed Practice! = 16 x 0.5 hrs

Components of Distributed Practice

There are several reasons why distributed practice is so effective.

• Recall – When you come back to an information set again & again, you are asking your brain to repeatedly interact & recall that info.  This process of forgetting info & then working to recall that same info is quite helpful for solidifying memories.
• Sleep – The amazing book Why We Sleep:  Unlocking the Power of Sleep & Dreams goes into great detail on how our brains use the different stages of sleep (specifically the deep non-REM stage of sleep) to transfer info from short- to long-term memory.  This is one of the key reasons why distributed practice is so effective – you give yourself time to sleep in between each learning session…and therefore allow your sleep cycles the opportunities to create those long-term memories!  Brilliant!
• Associations/Connections – Information is always easier to remember when we can associate, connect and/or see patterns between bit of info.  In other words, we remember more when we decrease the randomness of the info.  This interconnectedness is often not readily apparent.  But, when given time to mull things over, let things sit in our subconscious & talk to others about the info, we begin to see connections that were previously invisible.

Athletes Really Need to Take It Slow

At this point you might be asking:  “What does this have to do with me as an athlete?”  Plenty, my friends, plenty!  As an athlete Slow Learning directly applies to you because, if you focus on slowing down the process, your results will get better & better & better!  Remember that “learning” is not just a brain thing.  It’s also a body thing.

“Training” is the process of teaching your body (and of course, your brain) to be a swimmer, a triathlete and/or a runner.  The technical components of each sport require extensive repetition & recall.  It’s all fine & dandy to be able to swim a perfect 25m…but the more important goal is that you are able to swim the final 25m of a 1500m race PERFECTLY.  To do that takes time…years of repeated technical practice…taking it slow!

“Training” is how we teach our bodies & brains to comfortably go the distance – to complete an open water swim, a 70.3mi triathlon and/or a 26.2mi run.  The faster we rush to our goal mileage, the slower our bodies will adapt to that mileage.  The body starts to push back & resist what we’re asking it to do.  The final nail in the coffin is injury…the body’s only way of putting the brakes on to a process that didn’t allow enough time for integration, adaptation & assimilation.  Preparing the body to go the distance takes time.  Again, taking it slow!

How Can You Take It Slow?

I challenge you to objectively look at the process you’ve created to reach your goals.  Does it have enough time built in?  Does it allow for the time-consuming, yet highly efficient, process of Slow Learning (both for your brain AND your body) to take place?  From my experience, take the amount of time you THINK you’ll need & double it (maybe even triple it!).  We’re all guilty of believing that we can cram.  But my experience continues to tell me that we just need more time!

If you’d like to chat about how to slow down your training process, schedule a free 30min Consult!

Happy Learning!