How Do You Retain What You Read Online?

With an overwhelming amount of information you read online everyday, how do you keep it all inside? Perhaps you need to really focus on what’s important. Trim down the fat. Ignore the unimportant parts. To keep what you’ve read in lasting memory, implement what you have learned—more than once. Allocate your most productive time to reading to give your full attention to learning what’s in print. Acknowledge visual cues, such as bold text, as they highlight the more important parts of the articles. Take notes on articles that you feel are most important, and then read, recite, and review all at the same time. If you need to refer to the material later, make sure to bookmark the page so that it’s easily accessible when you need it next. How do you absorb everything you’ve read online? Share your best tactics in the comments.

1. READ, RECITE, REVIEW

The three R’s will help you to engage in active reading that can help to increase how much you retain. Reciting refers to pausing periodically while you are reading to reflect on the information that’s being covered. Rather than rushing through the article, recite key points to let them sink in, and relate what you are reading to what you already know. The reviewing process involves going back to re-read parts that you may have missed or not understood. It also includes looking at the information as a whole and recognizing portions that relate to your purpose.

2. TRIM THE FAT

You’ll have a better ability to retain the important information that you’re reading if you can cut out some of the unimportant stuff. If you use an RSS reader, go through your subscription list and unsubscribe to any feeds that you really don’t need. Focus your reading on those sources that consistently provide you with the most valuable and relevant information.

3. TAKE ACTION

Most of us tend to remember things more accurately if we have a personal experience that helps us to understand and remember. When you read something that you know will be useful to you, implement what you have learned as soon as possible and you’ll give yourself a personal experience to go along with the information that you have read.

4. READ AT TIMES WHEN YOU CAN FOCUS

All of us have certain times of the day that are better than others for reading, retaining, and learning. If you allocate your most productive time to reading you’ll be able to have a sharper mindset and the material will get your full attention. Daily routines and schedules also influence your ability to retain. Read at times when you are not in a rush. Don’t force yourself to read at times that don’t allow you to give retention a shot.

5. BE AWARE OF VISUAL CUES

Writers use visual cues such as bold text, italics, lists, charts and graphs to cause certain content to stand out to you. Pay attention to these cues and use them to understand the structure and find the most important pieces of information. Visual cues can be especially helpful when scanning over content or reviewing after you have read. Not using the cues will lead to a lack of focus and decreased retention as the key points will not stand out.

6. MAP WHAT YOU ARE READING

Mapping involves a few basic steps that can drastically increase the retention rate of your reading. The first step is to understand your purpose. Know what it is that you want to learn or gain from reading. The second step is to pull out key words and phrases. The third step is to focus only on the information that matters to your purpose. With mapping you can achieve more in less time and retain more because less important details won’t be hogging your memory.

7. PRINT OUT PAGES OF PARTICULAR INTEREST

Sometimes the best way to keep something for future use is simply to print it out and file it away. Having a well-organized filing system can be a big help when you go back to look for specific information. For non-technical people that aren’t into online bookmarks, this is a realistic solution. Additionally, just reading something from paper rather than from the monitor can make a big difference for some people in terms of retention.

8. TAKE NOTES

Note taking is a common practice in a classroom setting or at seminars and conferences, but very few people take notes while reading online. Why? It’s probably not natural to most of us when reading online, but note taking has several benefits. First of all, the action of writing down the key points of an article will help to reinforce those ideas. Second, notes give you a way to go back and make use of information in the future. Note taking can also be combined with the filing system mentioned above.

9. OUTLINE THE ARTICLE

If there is a particular article containing a good bit of information that you want to understand and remember, take a pen and paper and jot down an outline of the article as you read. Writing the outline will help you to use an active reading technique that will increase retention, plus it will help you to understand and identify the relationship between key points of the article.

2 ways to get better sleep

1. Consume 150-250 calories of low-glycemic index foods in small quantities (low glycemic load) prior to bed.

Morning fatigue and headache isn’t just from sleep debt or poor sleep. Low blood sugar following overnight fasting is often a contributing factor. Just prior to bed, have a small snack such as: a few sticks of celery with almond butter, a mandarin orange and 5-8 almonds, or plain low-fat (not fat-free) yoghurt and an apple. Ever wonder how you can sleep 8-10 hours and feel tired? This is part of the explanation. Make a pre-bed snack part of your nutritional program.

1-2 tablespoons of flaxseed oil (120-240 calories) can be used in combination with the above to further increase cell repair during sleep and thus decrease fatigue. It tastes like a mixture of cat urine and asparagus, so I recommend pinching your nose while consuming it — thanks Seth Roberts, PhD. for this tip — or using capsules.

2. Use ice baths to provoke sleep.

Japanese have longer lifespans that do most other ethnicities. One theory has been that regular ofuro or hot baths at bedtime increase melatonin release, which extends lifespan. Paradoxically, according to the Stanford professors who taught Bio 50, cold is actually a more effective signaller for sleep onset, but it could have no relation to melatonin production.

I decided to test the effect of combining 10-minute ice baths, timed with a countdown kitchen timer, one hour prior to bed (closer to bed and the adrenergic response of noradrenalin, etc. won’t allow you to sleep) with low-dose melatonin (1.5 – 3 mg) on regulating both sleep regularity and speed to sleep. The icebath is simple: 2-3 bags of ice from a convenience store ($3-6 USD) put into a half-full bath until the ice is about 80% melted. Beginners should start with immersing the lower body only and progress to spending the second five minutes with the upper torso submerged (fold your legs Indian-style at the end of the tub if you don’t have room). I’ll talk about the fat-loss and sperm-count benefits of this in future post.

The result: it’s like getting hit with an elephant tranquilizer. Don’t expect it to be pleasant at first.

3 Breathing Techniques

Long Deep Breathing- for Peace and Calm

This breath can be done throughout your day. It is especially useful if you find yourself feeling stressed or anxious. It is simple yet very effective; This breath can help the lungs expand to around 8 times their normal size! Practice several times a day and notice how your mind and body respond!

How to do it:

• Begin by increasing your awareness of how your breath is naturally flowing. Notice where the breath moves in your body and listen to the sound of your inhalation and exhalation.
• After a few breaths, begin to deepen and expand the breath and make sure you are breathing through your nose. As you inhale, draw the breath into the belly- allow the belly to expand with the breath. Continuing this inhalation, expand through the rib cage and upper chest.
• It may be helpful to place one hand on your belly to feel the expansion as your inhale. Take as much time as you need to get a full, deep breath.
• Then, as you begin your exhalation, relax the chest, the rib cage, and, finally, the belly. At the end of your exhalation, the belly should draw in slightly- as if helping the breath move out. The breath should become a bit louder than it was before you began the long, deep breathing.
• Continue this breath, making it slower, deeper, and more complete.

Breath of Fire – for Energy, Focus, and Vitality

Breath of Fire is a rapid, rhythmic, and continuous breath that sounds like powerful sniffing. The breath is forcefully exhaled by rapidly contracting the diaphragm and pulling the navel point toward the spine. The inhale occurs naturally as the diaphragm relaxes and air flows effortlessly back in without a sharp intake or effort. The inhale and exhale are equal length and usually occur 2 to 3 times per second. This breath is great as “pick-me-up” if you are feeling lethargic or unfocused. It can be done throughout your day- for 30 seconds to 3 minutes- if you need to increase your energy.

How to do it:

• Take a deep breath in, through your nose, and feel your stomach relaxing outward. Exhale, through your nose, as you pull the stomach back in.
• Inhale again. As you exhale out this time, pull the solar plexus (the area above the navel) back toward the spine with a pumping motion. The exhaled air should leave the nose in a forceful sniff.
• Immediately relax the solar plexus and let the air come back in with a sniff.
• There should be no pause between the inhalation and exhalation. Continue the pumping motion with the sniffing breath.
• In the beginning, it may be easier to simply concentrate on the exhale as you pull in on the solar pelxus and let the inhale come naturally as you relax the solar plexus.
• At no time should the breath of fire be practiced beyond your current level of comfort. If at any point you begin to feel strain, breathlessness, or pain, stop the attempt at breath of fire and relax the breath.
• If often takes practice and time to become familiar with this breath and, when familiar, there is a sense of joyful rythm and boundless energy.

Left Nostril Breathing – to Soothe a Busy Mind and Rest

  This method of breathing is a useful tool when the mind is dizzy with thoughts, there is a sense of nervous tension, or when you are having trouble getting to sleep at night. It is a soothing, calming, cooling breath.

How to do it:

• Start with a long, deep breath (as described above.)
• Place the thumb of your right hand against the right nostril, pressing it closed.
• Allow the breath to move in and out of the left nostril only.
• Keep the breath smooth, slow, and deep.
• If you are feeling congested, usually the left nostril will open with practice.
• The benefit of this technique is best achieved if the breath is kept through the left nostril.
• If practicing this breath when trying to go to sleep, lay on your right side. (This will help direct the breath through the left nostril.)
• Practice for 3-11 minutes, or as long as you feel is needed.