Top 10 Scientifically Proven Ways to Study Faster and Smarter (2025)

INTRODUCTION

Did you know one thing? It is not actually about how long you study, and it's all about how well you study. In our hyper-digital, attention-deficit world, new 2025 research reveals that most of the students are still following or using the old study methods or strategies that no longer work well.

So, this interesting article will give you some new and proven study techniques based on the new scientific research. These methods are absolutely practical and effective, and this also includes some valuable real-life examples and information about some AI-powered tools which can help you to study much faster, easily and effectively.

Here Are The New Science of Learning in 2025

💧Retrieval Practice > Rereading

💧Sleep-based memory cues can enhance and strengthen recall by 23%. That means if you hear the same or a similar sound during sleep that you heard while you were studying, then your brain will remember the studied things much better. Eg. : rain sound

💧In this modern world AI tutors like apps or chatbots are able to teach just as well or much better than your human friend, which helps you to study.

Now Let's Dive Into 10 Scientifically Proven Methods to Study Smarter and Faster

1. Try the 'Dual Coding' Method

In this method, you have to combine text + visuals

For example: 

While studying anatomy, at first you read about the muscles from your textbook (text), and at the same time you are looking at the 3D body images in an application like Visible Body.

So here there was a mix of text + visulas. This can help your brain to store that information with enhanced clarity.

Study Result: All the students who used the dual coding method scored almost 27 per cent extra marks as compared to the students who studied only from the text. (source of information: Cognitive Learning Review, January 2025)

2. Adopt Recall-Based Learning

Other than simply rereading the information in your notes or textbooks, practise asking questions yourself about what you have learnt. This method can support your brain to very actively recall the information, and thereby it also strengthens the memory.

For example:

Use some flashcards or teach about a topic or a concept to any of your friend or friends without looking at your written notes.

Effective Tools: Quizlet AI or Anki.

Click here to get the 10 proven ways to get rid of brain fog in a natural way.

3. Always Space It Out With Spaced Repetition For Better Memory

Go and revisit the topics that you have already studied before forgetting them. You can revisit the information at increasing intervals.

For example:

At first you can revisit after 2 days (because by the time your memory will start to fade), then again after 7 days (just to strengthen it further) to keep that information fresh in your memory.

Best Tool: Anki (flashcard app). This is a very useful app which will help you to review the information just before you forget it.

4) Try Interleaved Practice

In this method, what you have to do is not focus on only one subject at a time. Instead of that, you can just combine or mix different topics during single study sessions.

For example,

In case you are a medical student, instead of studying just cardiology topics or questions for an hour, you can study both cardiology and endocrinology topics or questions in one sitting.

What Will Be the Result? 

This method will help you to enhance your ability to choose the correct topic, choose the correct method, and solve problems more productively.

5) Go For Active Recall Sessions

In this method, you have to write what you know from your memory.

For example, Just after reading or studying a specific topic, you have to close your book and write a summary of what you have studied.

Best Tool: Notion's toggle questions or GoodNotes. These are very useful.

6) Create a Brain-Friendly Study Space

This is one of the most important things that you should have while studying. Here, the lighting matters, the sound matters, and the posture matters.

For the best study experience, you can use cool LED lighting (to always keep your brain alert) + Standing desk (to reduce fatigue or tiredness) + Brown noise (to keep you away from distractions and improve your concentration).

Study Tip For You: Never use your bed as your study space. Because your brain connects bed with sleep, not studying. And this can make a negative impact on your ability to recall information.

7) Use The Upgraded Version Of The Traditional Pomodoro Method (Focus Cycle)

We have both the classic Pomodoro technique and Pomodoro 2.0 (focus cycle). 

Traditional or Classic Method: In this method, at first you have to go for a 25-minute focused study and a 5-minute break after that (repeat this 4 times, and after that take a longer break).

Pomodoro 2.0: Here you have to go for a 50-minute deep and distraction-free study, and after that take a 15-minute break (do some light exercises in this break, like stretching or walking).

The tool that can help you for this is the Forest app or Pomofocus.io.

8) Use Multiple Senses While Studying

This method says that you have to use more than one sense, such as seeing, hearing, and touching, during your studies. This method will help your brain to remember things better and learn the things much faster.

Example for You:

• Watch a video lecture: This is both visual and auditory.
• Takes notes on paper or in a notebook: This is kinesthetic
• Explain it in a loud voice: This is both auditory and kinesthetic

So from this you understood that this can clearly activate different parts of your brain and build a much stronger memory.

Result: As reported in the 2024 NIH Multimodal Study, this technique gives almost 40 percent better long-term retention than working with just a single sense (like only reading).

9) Use AI (Artificial Intelligence) Tools

There are various AI tools that can help you to study faster, much easier, and more effectively.

How can AI help you?

• AI tools can help you summarize your long chapters and notes.
• AI will generate some quizzes from your chapters.
• AI will help you to revise the topics you have learnt.
• AI will organize or arrange notes automatically.

Example for You:

You can ask ChatGPT to conduct a quiz for you on any subject of your preference.

You can ask to summarize any long article or topic into bullet points for your ease.

AI will save your time and help you to improve your focus and make hard topics easier for you.

Some of the Best AI Tools: 

ChatGPT
GrammarlyGo
Notion AI
Quizlet AI

All the above-mentioned AI tools have their own area of excellence.

10) Improve Your Sleep For Better Memory

Sleep is not just a rest; it will help you to store and sharpen what you have learnt all day.

For example,

While you are studying, you can diffuse lavender scent (for the best calming smell) or play some soft music in the background. This will help your brain to connect the study time with the sleep time. Using the calming smell or soft music during both studying and sleeping can make it easier to remember what you studied.

Tip for You: Avoid the usage of phones in the late night (mainly scrolling through social media). This habit will reduce REM sleep. REM sleep is the deep sleep phase, which is very important for memory consolidation.

Reasons for why you are feeling tired even after 8 hours of complete sleep!

Now I will give you some REAL EXAMPLES:

➤ Aron's Story

Aron is a student who is preparing for his Chartered Accountancy examination for this year. Aron is a regular user of different AI tools to make his journey of study much easier. He effectively used AI tools to,

• Turn difficult laws into easy flashcards
• Record the voice notes of the tax rules and regulations
• Listen to them during walks, which really helped him in remembering information through auditory memory.

Result: Because of his smart study techniques, he was able to pass his intermediate CA examination on his first try without taking much effort.

➤ Here is the Story of Rhea

Rhea is currently in her final year of MBBS, and she is also preparing for very competitive and difficult exams like NEET PG, INI-CET, etc. She uses a flashcard application called Anki. Anki is a really good application that really helps in long-term memory retention through the technique called spaced repetition, and she also started studying her topics each day using the Pomodoro 2.0 method.

Her academic performance and score in the mock tests have been greatly improved after changing her study method from passive reading to the active recall and dual coding method. Now, she is more efficient, her memory has strengthened, and overall study stress has decreased.

➤ Here is the Story of Ishita

Ishita is studying in 12th standard. Biology is one of her difficult subjects. So she decided to change her study method. She started to draw diagrams of each body system and labelled its parts. This practice is called dual coding (here a combination of visuals with text helped her to learn better). She also started to teach her younger sister the topics she studied (recall+ multisensory).

Result: These alterations in her study method helped her to change her grade from B to A+.

Now I have a bonus for you. That is, Diet and Movement;

1) The Brain Foods

We can say that brain foods are the food items that can enhance your brain health and mental performance too.

This includes:

• Omega-3 sources such as fish and walnuts to support the nerve cell formation and to reduce inflammation.
• Blueberries for the protection of brain cells and to increase the memory power.
• Eggs, which are important for the making of brain chemicals, which support the memory and mood.

Connection between vitamin B12 and fatigue.Click here to know more!

2) Mini Exercise or Movement

After one hour of continuous study, just do some small workouts like jumping jacks or stretching for 2 minutes. This will both reset and rebalance the brain chemicals, or neurotransmitters, like dopamine and serotonin.

5 Most Common Doubts 

1) How many hours should I study every day for maximum effectiveness?

Actually, 3 to 5 hours of highly focused study by using new smart methods is more productive and efficient than sitting for 8 hours and reading and listening without any kind of real engagement.

2) Can I consider YouTube as a useful study tool?

Yes, but it is effective only if you combine it with active recall (example: pausing at proper intervals and summarizing). But passive watching of YouTube learning videos is not really effective.

3) What is the best time to study?

This is one of the major doubts of most of the students. The time between 4 AM and 8 AM in the morning and the time between 7 PM and 10 PM show the maximum productivity, and this is because, normally during these times, the brain chemicals like dopamine and cortisol are at their optimal levels.

4) Is there any way for me to stay focused without checking my mobile phone?

If you are getting distracted by your mobile phone, then you can try some special applications that can help you to stay focused. Eg: "Forest", "Focus To-Do", or "Freedom". And avoid keeping your phone nearby while studying; just keep it in another room.

Check out how blue light affects your sleep!

5) Is multitasking a good thing while studying?

No. Many studies have shown that doing multiple tasks at the same time, like frequently checking your phone while reading, can reduce your capability to rethink what you have learnt by almost 35-45 percent. Focusing on a single thing at a time is always best to learn or study more effectively.

MY OPINION / CONCLUSION

Actually, studying or learning faster and smarter in 2025 is somewhat easy. With the help of proper strategy, various AI tools, and newly founded brain science, any one of you can avoid the burnout and improve your performance.

In this present world with advanced technologies and science, the outdated method of studying for a long period of time without any breaks doesn't work anymore. Instead of that, you must follow new proven methods to study effectively.

Personally for me, dual coding, spaced repetition, active recall sessions, and AI tools are the best working methods, and I'm still following the same.

ACTION STEP FOR YOU: Just start by selecting any 2 new strategies from this wonderful article and try them for the next week. You will definitely see the real magic.