How to Learn Better Study Habits Through Hypnosis

Can you imagine that studying can be fun and that learning can lead to a life-time of pure joy? It is possible to change your beliefs and experiences about studying and get turned into learning. How? Through hypnotherapy.

Hypnotherapy can help you develop and use effective study habits, motivate you to study, and help you enjoy studying. Research has proven that the ability to focus, even for short periods of time, is essential to learn. The average attention span for one task is around 20 minutes. But to retain information, the focus for that 20 minutes must be absolute.

Students who are seeking a way to change or enrich their study habits should focus on the following points:

1) Memory is trainable. Start training it to retain longer and become more aware by using a combination of memory games (remember exactly what the person is wearing, who just passed you on the street or how many people were standing in the cashier line at the last store you went to, and what did the cashiers name tag say?

2) Memory is context triggered. “The body works best when consistent familiarity becomes the norm. For instance with sports or dance, repeating the same thing consistently in the same place confirms the action, we call it muscle memory. When in fact it is the muscles responding to the mind memory automatically through familiarity. Study in a physical place which is set up similarly to where the exam will take place – i.e. at a desk with a chair (not laying on the bed, in the garden or sprawled out on the floor!). If your body is in a consistent position for studying, it will increase your chances for recall.

3) Memory is also “state dependent”. Ideally, when studying you need to keep the same focus and enhanced attention you have when taking a test. The way to ensure that happens is to set up the mental state ahead of time through hypnosis training, so that you go into a slightly altered state both when studying and when taking the tests. Hypnosis enables deeper concentration and activation levels while studying and the ability for recall.

4) Study for regular periods of time. The brain retains more when we learn in small manageable amounts. So study for 20–30 minutes, then take a 10 minute break. Then another 20–30 minutes, then take a 10 minute break.

5) Your place of study, should, of course, be quiet with no outside distractions.

6) Finally, understand the power of your subconscious mind to retain information and use it! Learn how to go into an altered state to maximize your study habits and become efficient and effective with your study time.

Dr Georgina Cannon, Director of the Ontario Hypnosis Centre in Toronto, suggests that the two most insidious traits that inhibit learning are low self-esteem and lack of motivation. She says that if too many desires compete for time and attention it is impossible to focus on the learning goal, and the desire to learn loses strength and becomes ineffective. When she works with a client to improve learning or study habits, she sets priorities and works through the subconscious mind to strengthen the focus. Dr Cannon says, ‘Once you’ve learned self-hypnosis, it can stay with you for the rest of your life and helps you achieve any goal you set your mind to.’