Burning the midnight oil never looked so unappealing — when it came to reading! Why? Because as a reader — one of the most paramount aspects of effective studying — you won’t be exemplary in it if you’re lacking in rest. In a nutshell, effective reading is restful reading.

Sometimes you can’t always read during the daylight hours in a coffee shop with a mocha frappuccino in hand, though. What do you do? Here are a few tips….

Image by jakebouma via Flickr

Slow Down!

Generally, you retain a lot more understanding if you give your brain some time to catch up. Sure, it takes longer, but that’s a small price to pay for the comprehension of your material. Obviously, when it’s late at night, your brain will lag a bit. Slowing down while reading will help.

Rephrase!

That simply means this: trick your brain into comprehending something you are saying to yourself, not what the book is saying to you. You’re more likely to listen to yourself when it’s late at night than you are to read the words on the pages, especially if your eyes blur from the fatigue.

Use Your Voice!

This means read aloud. That’s Reading 101 for little kids! So if it works for little kids, why not do it yourself? Your brain will hear a lot better if you’re using your voice; so don’t get self-conscious. Force yourself to read aloud and not worry about what others might think.

Effective, Yes?

It should be; you made it this far in the article! Hopefully you read this while the sun was still out, though. Happy reading!