When I was in school, I had a serious problem with history class. I could not remember who did what in any century. It was all a blur of ancient names and dates that looked like PIN codes. So my mom came up with a deal: If I raised my grade to a B on my next history test, she’d take me to my favorite pizzeria. Challenge accepted—I love pizza.

I studied harder than ever before. Flashcards, textbooks, late-night cramming—you name it, I did it. By the time the test came around, I walked into class with the swagger of a rockstar who just found out their album had gone platinum. I was ready to crush it.

And then... I bombed. Hard.

Turns out, I didn’t actually retain half of what I’d studied. I knew the stuff I had crammed the night before, but all the concepts I’d learned earlier? GONE. Like a bad meme trend that everyone pretends never happened.

That’s when I realized: studying hard isn’t enough if you’re not reviewing what you’ve already learned. This is exactly where spaced repetition would have saved the day—and probably gotten me that pizza.

So let’s talk about how you can avoid my mistakes, stop the forgetting nightmare, and make sure that what you learn actually sticks for the long term!

What is spaced repetition for studying?

Spaced repetition sounds fancy. But it’s a simple, proven hack to help your brain hold onto information for the long haul. Check out this video for a cool illustration of this process...

Instead of cramming (like I did), you review material at intervals, gradually increasing the time between study sessions as your memory of the topic strengthens.

It’s like watering a plant just enough—not too much, not too little. The key is spacing your reviews just when you’re about to forget something, tricking your brain into thinking it’s so important that it needs to be kept on file forever.

If you can figure out how to learn this way, then you’ll not only acquire new knowledge faster, but you’ll hold onto it for longer. (As it turns out, there are study tools that make spaced repetition easy… more on those in a bit!)

Long-term retention and the forgetting curve

Let’s talk about Ebbinghaus's Forgetting Curve for a second. In 1885, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered that humans are basically hard-wired to forget stuff. Yup, the mind dumps about 50% of what you learn within a day, if you don’t intentionally reinforce it.

But it makes sense, right? Forgetting things keeps your brain clean so that it has space for what’s important. And the only reason your brain knows if something is important is if it’s called upon to remember it again and again. (This is why you probably still remember your childhood telephone number.)

Forgetting might be annoying when it comes to exams but it’s a good thing biologically speaking. You wouldn’t want to remember every single TikTok you scrolled past once for the rest of your life.

via GIPHY

Spaced repetition is the cognitive science tactic that fights back against this curve, reinforcing your memory just when it’s about to take a nosedive.

It’s like giving your brain a little nudge to say, “Hey, don’t forget this!”

But it isn’t only about seeing something again and again. As it turns out, the timing of those repetitions really matters…

How spaced repetition works: timing is everything

Here’s the science: spaced repetition for studying involves gradually increasing the time intervals between the review of a concept depending on how well you know it. (More frequently, if you don’t know it well and less frequently if you do. Makes sense, right?)

The first time you learn something, you review it after a short period. For ideal retention, you would see it again within minutes, then hours, then days, then weeks, based on how well you know it. For optimal learning, the timing of seeing information again needs to be closely tuned to how well you recall it.

The trick is to review information right before you’re likely to forget it. This keeps it fresh and strengthens the neural pathways in your brain, making the information easier to retrieve when you need it most.

The question is, how do you actually implement spaced repetition into your studying? There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, but here’s a popular interval schedule:

1. Review right after learning (within 24 hours).
2. Review again after 2-3 days.
3. Review after 6-7 days.
4. Review after two weeks.
5. Keep reviewing at increasing intervals (30 days, 45 days, etc.)

Something like this...

Let’s face it though… trying to remember when you reviewed which fact is a logistical nightmare, especially when you might know some things much better than others. Do you have to review the entire chapter on cellular respiration five times to make it stick? Or only the concepts you’re struggling with? How often do you have to review the concepts you’re comfortable with but don’t want to forget?

All of this makes studying with spaced repetition tricky unless you have a tool or system with a built-in spaced repetition algorithm that automatically shows you exactly the individual concepts you need to see at exactly the times you need to see them.

And the best study tools available for the job are digital flashcard apps like Anki or Brainscape…

Brainscape: your personal sidekick for spaced repetition for studying

This is the bit where you usually scroll past the people talking about their own product on their website.

Understandable. You see hundreds of ads a day. We scroll past them too. We want facts!

But if you’ve read this far, you’re most likely a person looking to optimize your learning, and you’re looking for evidence-based practice.

So here’s our promise for this section. We solemnly swear only to say true and relevant statements that are supported by science. Our sources are at the end. And we’ll keep it to under a minute.

Brainscape is the ultimate tool for spaced repetition.

Why? Because it helps you break down your subject into its atomic concepts—whether by making your own flashcards or searching our library for flashcards made by other educators, experts, and top students. It then shows you each concept again and again based on how well you know each one. In other words, the app personalizes the spaced repetition of information based on your unique strengths and weaknesses.

This is proven to increase learning efficiency and optimize rewards that boost motivation. 

Additionally, by delivering concepts in flashcard format, Brainscape compels you to engage in active learning—deliberately retrieving information from scratch—as opposed to just recognizing it in written text or a list of multiple options. And this is more than twice as efficient as typical passive study strategies.

So, how does spaced repetition work in Brainscape?

The study algorithm automatically spaces out your flashcard reviews based on how well you know the information. And it knows this because everytime you answer a flashcard, the app asks you to rate how confident you were in your answer on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being "not at all, I'll likely forget this in minutes" and 5 being "extremely, I won't forget this ever again".

In one tap, you assess how well you know each card, which improves your memory. (It only presents flashcards within your ideal learning zone.) But this self-reflection also engages metacognition —thinking about your thinking—which establishes even stronger memory traces to every concept you review in Brainscape.

Let’s be real: managing spaced repetition on your own is a headache. Brainscape takes care of the logistics so you can focus on learning instead of wrestling with a calendar. This makes you more likely to study.

Spaced repetition for studying: why it’s the best way to learn

Now, why is spaced repetition such a big deal for studying? For starters, it turns passive learning (like rereading your notes) into active learning.

Active learning means your brain is actually working to remember the info, which solidifies it in your memory. It’s the difference between reading a recipe and actually cooking the dish. Cooking the dish takes more effort but that recipe is so much more likely to stick in your brain if you do the work.

Also, by revisiting each concept again and again, you’re teaching your brain that the information isn’t just some fleeting fact—it’s something worth keeping around.

Plus, spaced repetition forces you to study smarter, not harder. You don’t need to spend hours pouring over textbooks every day. Just a focused 15-30-minute study session with Brainscape every day will help you master the facts TWICE as fast as any traditional study method you might be using.

It’s efficient, it’s less stressful, and it actually works to help you learn faster and remember for longer.

Why spaced repetition beats cramming for long-term retention

If you’re thinking, “But cramming has always worked for me!”—let’s keep talking science. (That’s the main language we speak here; although, we also have an impressive library of flashcards for over 50 different languages.)

Cramming gives you short-term gains, sure, but it doesn’t help with long-term retention. It presents your brain with an unmanageable cognitive load, forcing it to tap out. You might ace a small quiz this afternoon, but what about an exam two weeks from now?

The info is probably gone, like yesterday’s Instagram stories.

Spaced repetition, on the other hand, ensures you’ll not only remember what you studied for that quiz but also for finals, and maybe even for life.

It’s the difference between memorizing a phone number for five minutes versus learning your parent’s phone number by heart (back in the day when people actually did that). One sticks; the other fades FAST. With spaced repetition, you’re building long-term retention that will stay with you long after the test.

How to make spaced repetition a habit

So, you’re sold on spaced repetition for studying, but how do you make it stick? 

Not to sound like a broken telephone but: flashcards! 

(Also, read this article on how to build strong study habits.)

The cool thing about Brainscape is that you can take your entire degree program with you wherever you go. Forget lugging about 200 pounds of textbooks. By finding or creating flashcards for your subject, you can open the app anytime, anywhere and put in really productive study sessions using spaced repetition.

via GIPHY

With everything you need right on your phone, tablet, or laptop, you can put all those snatches of downtime you have in any day to excellent use: 10 minutes between classes, 20 minutes on the train, 30 minutes waiting for your significant other to get ready. It all adds up! So even if you feel really pressed for time, you wouldn't have to change a thing to get 30 additional minutes of quality studying done in a day.

The less mental energy you spend managing your study sessions, the more you can put into actual learning. Over time, spaced repetition for studying will become second nature, and you’ll wonder how you ever studied any other way.

A final word on spaced repetition

Spaced repetition is really a life-changing learning tactic for long-term retention and really the secret to all learning and human development.

Whether you’re prepping for exams, learning a new language, or mastering legal terminology, spaced repetition helps your brain actually hold onto what you’ve learned. Instead of cramming and forgetting, use spaced repetition to build a solid foundation of knowledge that’ll last long after the test is over.

And, if you want to make the process even easier, Brainscape’s got your back with its built-in spaced repetition system. Happy studying, and may your brain never forget!

Sources

1. Ebbinghaus, H. (1913). Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.
2. Job, V., Dweck, C. S., & Walton, G. M. (2010). Ego depletion—Is it all in your head? Implicit theories about willpower affect self-regulation. Psychological Science, 21(11), 1686-1693.
3. Karpicke, J. D. (2012). Retrieval-based learning: Active retrieval promotes meaningful learning. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21(3), 157-163.
4. Lally, P., & Gardner, B. (2013). Promoting habit formation. Health Psychology Review, 7(sup1), S137-S158.
5. Orbell, S., & Verplanken, B. (2010). The automatic component of habit in health behavior: Habit as cue-contingent automaticity. Health Psychology, 29(4), 374.
6. Sadler, P., & Good, E. (2006). The impact of self- and peer-grading on student learning. Educational Assessment, 11(1), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326977ea1101_1 
7. Son, L. K., & Metcalfe, J. (2005). Judgments of learning: Evidence for a two-stage process. Memory and Cognition, 33(6), 1116-1129.
8. Zald, David H., Isabelle Boileau, Wael El-Dearedy, Roger Gunn, Francis McGlone, Gabriel S. Dichter, and Alain Dagher. "Dopamine Transmission in the Human Striatum during Monetary Reward Tasks." The Journal of Neuroscience 24, no. 17 (April 28, 2004): 4105.