Give your brain a rest over the winter break

With the Winter Holiday rapidly approaching, most of us may be looking forward to a break from school, but some of you may be worried about forgetting the material you’ve learned in the preceding weeks and months.

At Carrington College our certificate or associate degree programs can be pretty demanding, and after an intensive period of study, your mind may enjoy some time away from the books. Take this time to recharge your brain and get some much-needed relaxation.

Retaining information is vital to your success. Our associate degree and certificate courses are designed to build your knowledge on layers of previously absorbed information, so if you find yourself forgetting things you’ve already learned, some of these ideas may help:

• Before the break, make a commitment to yourself to set aside some time to read and review your books and notes over the holidays.
• Put an hour or so in your schedule every two or three days; and once it’s in your schedule, stick to it.
• Scan through your notes, review an essay, or thumb through textbooks from the classes you were just working on. Maybe look over old papers and think how you’d improve them. This will help you remember the things discussed in class, or the exercises you did in the lab.
• Are there any practical exercises you could apply at home?  If you’re studying Medical Assisting we don’t want you taking grandma’s temperature at the dinner table, but if you’re studying Massage Therapy, why not offer to give your mom, dad, or other loved one a relaxing shoulder and neck massage?

The key thing is to enjoy the break and relax…but just do enough mental exercise to keep your brain warm; that way you’ll ensure you don’t get off to a cold start in January.