How does one become ''sharp''?
Whenever I try to study I either feel sleepy, lethargic and ''absent''. Actually, most times I just feel absent, as If I wasn't really here and I was trapped in a permanent cycle of passiveness.
You might say it is because I am not really interested on the things that I study, but I deeply am, its just as if my brain wasn't giving me as much as I wish it would.
Whats wrong sci? I just don't want to be a brainlet anymore.
Studying is hard. Just gotta keep at it.
You can do some things to keep yourself from losing focus, like getting proper sleep, eating right, exercising. Also, it doesn't hurt to take breaks.
Apart from that, just be sure you want to be doing what you're doing, keep focused on your goal, and work at it. Sorry I don't have any other advice.
Adderal?
Coffee?
Find something you're interested in
No need to be sorry, its great advice.
>adderal
no
>coffee
already drink it
>find something you're interested in
read the post.
If it helps, I'm foggy-headed all the time. But I've dragged myself through my major this far with good marks, so, I think I'm doing it right? I can only hope what I've fooled myself into thinking is useful for other folks.
Can I ask what you're studying? I'm actually trying to get through cancer bio stuff at the moment.
What I study is a big mess, I tried to make a ''program'' like months ago that I would try to follow of the things I deeply felt I wanted to learn and master.
I study some electronics / electricity, calculus, programming and a language.
Its the first time ever I've tried to do this type of stuff since all my life I've been the ADHD guy that plays videogames all day so its very hard since although I don't feel any pleasure from videogames or stuff like that, actually, I don't feel any pleasure for anything no more, but since I have time and nothing else in my life I figured that maybe studying would get me somewhere.
The fact that I fail to do it frustrates me and makes me feel anxious all the time, since its basically all I have and do nothing else.
I wish I could tell you. Same happens to me. I'm going to guess the culprit is my shitty diet and my fluctuating sleeping habits.
Pomodoro has been helpful for the occasions when I have to force myself to study something I find extremely uninteresting. It's total pseudoscience, though.
Cocaine in moderate doses
Do you have some sort of schedule that you follow? One source of this sort of anxiety and distraction can be that you don't have your goals clear in your mind.
Also, your ability to focus should get better with consistency. Sit down and study every single day. Don't get discouraged by your failures.
fuck, are you me?
Geez, are you me? I have bad habits like this that I still can't kick, even though I know they hold me back and I don't really even enjoy them. I think I actually suffer from addiction of some kind. Not sure if that applies to you though.
Regardless of how I'm fucking up I managed to find something I really wanted to do, and between moments where I'm a shitlord I try hard at school and I seem to be getting somewhere. But I definitely get anxious about it. If I weren't doing well in my classes, I would probably lose my mind because I've run out of other things to care about.
I think regardless of how you might feel shitty about the whole ordeal, that you actually feel frustration shows you care, and I think that's good. I figure if you can identify what you care about, and if you can make babysteps in getting yourself closer to your goal, you're probably on a good track and who knows, you might actually be happy if you try to do something with it. At least, that's what I've been selling myself.
I was the same way, but then I started a research project with one of my professors. Now that I'm learning about things that I'm actually using/applying, as well as having deliverables that I have to meet in order to demonstrate I'm actually learning, its a lot easier so just sit down and read for a few hours. It's like, I can read something and consider if it may explain why I'm seeing a particular result from an experiment, or something along those lines. I just feel a lot more invested in my learning as opposed to just going to classes
Oh, and don't stress too much about not feeling smart. As long as you have the motivation to keep showing up and figuring out whats going on, you'll be ok
Eat a healthier diet with Omega 3s and exercise frequently.
I have the same problem, OP.
I find that it gets easier once the habit of problem-solving is more established.
Other things, the afterglow of meditation really helps to center my attention and its way easier to "get going" and getting "in the learning zone", amphetamine is a great tool in the moment but will render you a brainlet for days once the high diminishes.
coffee fucking sucks compared to green tea.
Its powerfull and good for mindless grinding, not problemsolving (in my brain that is).
I find that it leaves me way too jittery and delirious but im naturally a high-strung person.
Not him but might aswell be. I definetly notice this helping. Setting clear but managable, almost easy goals does make it way easier to train a habit.
The biggest problem ive had with establishing new habits is actually going in too strong in the begining and expecting my emotional optimism to last beyond the "honeymoon-phase".
I believe cognitive science supports this perspective.
you need to reorganise your life so that you get to sleep more. /thread
inb4 "i'm not tired though"
that's what i mean, you dipstick. reorganize your life so you get tired. you aren't working hard enough.
Same thing for me, I feel like I'm living in a haze but it wears off when I start working or talk about work with other people, because I love my subject. You have to get invested in whatever you are studying and try to enjoy the process of working through problems. After a while, it will just feel like the best use of your time.
If you really can't focus, try to find someone to work with (or at least discuss what you've understood or failed to understand)
Step one
Get off Veeky Forums
the only things that matter are goals. i get the feeling the people in this thread who feel this way have no applications or outlets for their "study", so what's the point? so you can feel brag about your maths skills on a rhodesian thimblerigger enthusiasts forum? how can you expect to accomplish anything without a reason?
and don't make a simple goal that keeps you motivated for half a minute; motivation is shallow. you need goals that make you determined.
Stop eating panda express, and eat salads at all meals. Also, take naps, and get some caffeine.
>How does one become ''sharp''?
The same way you become tall.
you have to be born that way.
>>How does one become ''sharp''?
>The same way you become tall.
>you have to be born that way.
inb4, "All traits that make me better than you are genetic and unchangable, but I can just read books to become smarter!"
Height isn't purely genetic, though. If you lack nutrition you can end up pretty short.
Stuff involving the brain is also more complicated than quantitative traits like height. Fuck, this should be obvious
Philosophy
How much do you exercise?
Cut back on caffeine if you drink more than one cup a day.
>amphetamine is a great tool in the moment but will render you a brainlet for days once the high diminishes
OP, don't bum drugs off of people and take them for a high.
If you think you may have ADHD, get tested and talk to your doctor about medication. Plenty of studies show the positive effects of stimulants like adderall. Some studies suggest that long-term use of these stimulants improve brain function overall, even when you don't have the drug in your system. There are also non-stimulant options.
Stop masturbating so much.
Limit yourself to once every 3 days.
Avoid social media, including Veeky Forums.
Start jogging.
Get a good sleep schedule
We'll there's been a lot of answers, I went to bed last night and couldn't respond / thank you guys for your answers which I suppose must also help those who are in a similar situation as me.
I will try to eat more greens, cut back on the 4chans / masturbation and try to do some exercise, hopefully that will get me out of this lethargic loop.
Eh, I really don't know much about drugs. And I don't think I have ADHD, well, I guess I am just really autistic and get distracted easily due to years of years of constantly pleasing myself and always seeking the easy path.
See? Thats the problem and I am so glad of being able to word it out. Around 10+ years of videogames, masturbation, lack of goals and proper work has left me this way, which makes things overly complicated as I am trying to go from never actually putting my mind to work for long periods of time to actually do it everyday.
You just gotta do it more. What you do is eventually what you become, so just keep trying to be sharp and you will be sharp. Also define sharp.
>studying
There's your problem.
>ITT little princess thinks hes special
everyone is like this dumbass I have an exam in 4 days and im here watching chinese cartoons
>pick one
Same happens to me, I am really interested in what I study, yet the moment I pick up the book, my brain starts wandering. I find myself lost in some passing thought for 10 minutes. Even worse, sometimes I grab the book and just forget about it and end up doing something else for an hour before I remember. Other times I have to re-read something 10 times before it actually registers, or a super-simple thing just won't get into my head.
Then sometimes, I have good clarity, things are obvious, and everything goes well. Even better, sometimes I have a few seconds of utter clarity and it feels like I'm working at 50x speed. It feels awful because I can't understand why my brain just won't work properly 99.9% of the time.
It's definitely down to willpower, at least in part. One thing I found after lazying off two years of uni is that your subconscious learns a lot. Mine understood that not studying meant no exam stress (already knew I'd fail anyway) and it was just easier that way. My diet is fine, so is my sleep (in fact I'd almost say it's utopian), exercise could be better but not terrible.
I guess in the end it's really down to wanting it. Pick up that book and force yourself, with exercise your brain will wake the fuck up over time, it's not really surprising that you feel lethargic if you don't exercise your brain (and body). Almost everyone has this problem to some extent.
you're the guy who thinks he can learn anatomy, physics and higher level mathematics in 3 months because you have limited internet during the winter months
How is your sleep cycle?
are you bozos hydrated? your brain is slower and your thoughts are cloudier when you're not hydrated.
drink more water
I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and depression.
it causes me to have strange emotions and tangles many negative things in my head, never capable of a focused thought.
I am getting medication and it helps me.
What is really good is, that I have a therapist who is constructive.
For me it was ADHD, meds are like night and day for me. Of course my life was a complete fucking trainwreck, I've got legit massive ADHD
Get enough sleep.
Don't study in bed or other places you associate with either sleep or leisure because your brain will get in the wrong "mode" - either sleepy or focused on playing.
Don't study with distractions nearby - remove Everything related to entertainment and social media from your perception while studying.
Eat healthy food. Drink enough water.
nofap is such a hilarious meme
>implying the brain isn't a completely quantitative and deterministic system
>muh subjectivity
Fucking philosophers, go back to
Are you two me?
No, everybody here is me.
No.
lol whats wrong with you, completely unrelated and missing the point. Calm down user.
Around 4 - 6 hours a sleep a night from monday to friday. On Tuesdays I actually sleep more, around 8 hours.
@8443531
Heres your (you), user.
I find it so hard to focus.
>all you need is discipline brah
While that works for something mechanical like working out where I just have to move the weights without thinking it doesn't work with studying for me.
Because how can I focus if I am using part of my focus to try to deal with the discomfort?
Try a supplement called Sharp Thought by Country Life. The difference should be night and day.
After trying that I would recommend a book called The Ultramind Solution by Dr. Mark Hyman.
wavesource.bandcamp.com
If studying causes you so much pain, why do you even bother? Go do something you actually like to do.
>have mental problem
>ask Veeky Forums instead of going to a mental health professional
???
>have mental problem
when was that implied?
I was diagnosed with having a mike strapped to my voice box since birth.
LOL of course I wasn't. That would destroy the entire purpose of the experiment wouldn't it?
If they do stuff like that, they deserve that people give up and voluntarily go to shit.
So why don't you get a gun and shoot everything around you? That's what all of our other test subjects have done so far.
You should have seen the radiologist's facial reaction. I may have some kind of slight assburgers / autism, but even I could realize he did NOT believe what he was seeing on that monitor.
Kek good one user.
You sound like an asshole.
OP said they had depression and some mood altering shit I believe.
Negroid if you had some form of mild autism it would be apparent in your development e.g - you'd suffer from stimming, hyper sensitivity, nerve ticks or have phenotypic traits depending on the disorder and severity of the condition on the spectrum only snowflakes think they have autism when they are past the age of prepubescence due to being self-centered fucks.
This shit really pisses me off considering the only autistic people I know of are 95-100% aspie mechanical engineering and phys majors and bambling braindead unable to speak severe sufferers.
>This shit really pisses me off considering the only autistic people I know of are 95-100% aspie mechanical engineering and phys majors and bambling braindead unable to speak severe sufferers.
How the fuck are people with severe autism getting into college?
I dont know I am autistic and I am in college.
It just werks mang.
Welcome to being an adult, your life will be miserable, and your future is gone.
Useless post.
Didn't mention they got into college and you proved my point nigger by conflating the high functioning aspies with brain dead ones.
Autism has become the new ADD lately the diagnosis for it must be shit unless you suffer from stimming and hypersensitivity at the very least I highly doubt you have autism. Not to make it sound like a goddamn competition but i'm sick of socially awkward fucks calling themselves autistic almost using it as a crutch for their inability to properly socialize and feel bad for tfw no grilfriend.
lol I didn't mean autistic in the real autistic way, desu I dont even know what you two are talking about desu desu.
Fapping too much isn't a meme though
It's sounding pretty no true Scotsman I get you but you can see were my frustration comes from right weab assburger?
*where
Still don-t know what this is about mate.
Drink coffee, take vitamins, and get sleep.
Continue to learn to grow. and learn to learn.
hi please stop posting my wife thanks
>your wife
Kys faggot
Her toes are mine.
Okay. I've got a question for all you neuroscientists and psychiatrists out there
What are the possible causes of the following:
>wake up one day, realize I have no emotions
>I used to be a super happy person, very kind and outgoing, sappy scenes made me cry
>now nothing. I tried to imagine my family dying in a car accident, and I felt nothing
>I was deeply in love with a wonderful girl before this; I woke up one day and suddenly felt nothing towards her
>I used to be deeply motivated and have a ton of goals and dreams. Now, If I failed college today, it wouldn't bother me
>Can't feel any emotions any more. Not happy, not sad, not angry. Nothing.
>If a tree fell on my car today, it wouldn't bother me like it would have before this started
>used to be super horny all the time; now have zero libido. I can still orgasm, but I don't have any sex drive, nor do I feel much of any sexual attraction towards anyone.
It has been going on for about a week and a half now. I am very concerned. Before you say "see a doctor", I already have an appointment scheduled. I just want to know possible explanations for it. Everyone in my family, and even my coworkers have noticed that something is different about me. I am just not myself anymore.
What do you know of that could cause this?
Who is this semen demon?
My waifu, you dont get to have him.
I think I'm going to make a thread out of this.
if this is a recent thing it could be attributable to anything from a change in diet or sleep to increased stress or lack of desire or even seasonal depression
if it's been like this your whole life you probably have add and should go see a doctor
Exercise. I always study best after a workout, go in the gym for 1 hour (I do powerlifting), it really "wakes you up", then I come back home make some tea and can study much better. Don't have to go to the gym, you can just go run or whatever you like. I remember my biology teacher giving this advice, so there's probably some science behind it
Also get enough sleep
Oh and stick to it. It's hard to actually get going studying, but once you do it for like 15 min without distraction then you're pretty much "into the zone" and can go on for hours.
drink around two liters of water. your iq drops by 10%, when you are thirsty and you feel tired.
go outside every day. your brain learns better when you are walking and sunlight wakes you up and your body produces vitamin d.
do not eat or drink products with additional sugar in it. you feel sleepy, when you eat to much sugar (more than 25g per day).
eat balanced... porridge, fruits, vegetables, meat. do not to overeat when you want to learn or work.
find out what motivates you. i like to check todo-list.
>your iq drops b...
Stopped reading there.
You dont really believe that IQ bullshit do you?
he didn't mean it literally
Fuck off lil nigga, take it or leave it.
its not such a far fetched idea you know, i dont think you would disagree that you're not at your sharpest while you're thirsty and tired
stop faping during a week, and you fell "sharp"
Just like you, bet you're felling sharp right now.
It frightens me how much I relate to this entire post.
Not him but same.
It at least gives me some comfort knowing there are other people going through what I'm going through
So whats holding us from like uniting and trying to support each other in our endeavors?
kill yourself
Is your life a big fucking mess in general? Do you struggle real bad to do everyday tasks like brushing your teeth, paying bills and taking out the trash? What you describe is pretty much what I felt, including no longer getting anything out of videogames.
Turns out I have massive ADHD and meds make things so much better. I feel more handicapped without meds than I imagine I would without my left leg..
>Is your life a big fucking mess in general?
Yes.
>Do you struggle real bad to do everyday tasks...
Not really, only if it interrupts me from what I am doing or focused on doing I get all angry and autistic about doing it or simply not do it at all.
>ADHD
I dont know man. I don't think I have either ADHD or any form of depression. I think I am just a normal guy with a severe bitch case.
Congratulations, you are becoming a disgruntled academic. Now, complete your transformation and get tenure at a shitty university in the middle of nowhere.
>It has been going on for about a week and a half now
Sounds like you need to calm the fuck down. A week and a half is not a long time, in the grand scheme of things. Wait it out.
Mirror image of me, I'd reccomend studying the brain a bit and learning of memory retention skills, helps a lot, and write EVERYTHING DOWN, take notes about everything, review the notes, take notes of fucking notes, and keep it organized, helps alot.
Everyday I see threads like these with people that, like some user said on some other thread, have good intentions and ''higher'' goals but either fail due to all the things described on this thread, among other personal problems.
Whichever is the case why they are failing to do what they want to do, I was wondering if it would be viable to form a study group.
On the creation of this group, aimed to the likes of us, perhaps we could support each other in our paths? even if the disciplines are different, having people to rely onto wouldn't hurt, right?
kys stupid faggot lmao
No, you kys yourself faggot.
This thread has loads of replies but what I've found (and I'm doing about 50 hours a week so absentmindedness when studying is something I actively avoid)
1) enough sleep, 7 hours is enough for me, 6 minimum, if I have less sleep than this I will be very unproductive
2) Change enviroment every few hours, change the album you're listening to (try and stick to instrumental if you find yourself listening to the lyrics but its not an issue for me) and move seats in the library
3) Pomodoro, work for 25 minutes, then do something else, ideally walk around a bit or something but otherwise just stretch out and take a few minutes
4) Eat, seriously, if you are finding you are not paying attention eat something, not chocolate, something like an apple or banana, or even better, chocolate AND an apple
I also make every second break (so once an hour) 10 minutes, this is usually when I go get an apple or something, you can also use this time to smoke if you smoke, whatever, just get up and decompress once an hour for 10 minutes
What-is this about then weab? Enlighten me.
Man this chicks face is hella weird.
>weab
I don't really like anime user, what are you on about?
Whether I'm studying or composing a song, I feel the same way. Good sleep with exercise and coffee help me a ton with productivity and mood.
>chick
>implying female
so naive
same here
Very rarely, when the stars align just right I feel well rested and my mind is clear. Concentrating and studying feels effortless. There are no physical sensations distracting me from studying. There is no urgent desire to stop studying. No thought comes up that does not have to do with the study topic. This only lasts for an hour at most but I imagine this is how normal people feel.
If only I could somehow feel like that every day.