Cognitive Health

What is 'cognitive' health?

Cognitive (thinking) abilities are mental processes that allow humans to perform complex behaviours like communicating and socialising, working and studying, being creative, and imagining and planning ahead for the future.

We use a range of cognitive abilities each day in order to think, feel, behave, and interact with others and the world around us. Our brains do many of these tasks easily and automatically as they are learned and become habits over time. Most people might think that problems with cognitive health only occur for those with brain injury or illness, but it can happen to anyone for a variety of reasons.

5 key areas of Cognitive Health relevant for studying at Uni:

Attention

Our ability to focus our attention on one or more things at a time

Concentration

Our ability to focus our attention without distraction

Info processing speed

How fast we can process new information and make decisions

Memory

How well we store new information both for the short-term and long-term

Problem solving and planning

Prioritising, scheduling, weighing up options, and thinking about the future

Even for a seemingly simple task like buying some more milk from the shops, you would need to remember:

Where the nearest shops are
Engage in driving and parking your car or navigating public transport
Find where the milk is located within the shop
Decide on which brand or type of milk to buy
Work out how much money you need to pay (or remember the PIN for your debit card)
And make your way back home!

Our THRIVE surveys found that many students were struggling with their cognitive health throughout the pandemic:

26% of students said their ability to recall information has worsened, 38% reported their thoughts becoming more muddled, 38% noticed negative changes in their ability to concentrate, 25% had reduced confidence in their ability to learn new skills and overall 40% of students were worried about their thinking and memory

What affects Cognitive Health?

Sleep is a chance for the brain to review and consolidate information it learns throughout each day.
It is very important for memory formation so if you aren’t getting enough sleep, or enough good quality sleep you will find that you are struggling to concentrate the next day.
Research has found that just one night of no sleep can severely impact your ability to form new memories the next day.
More information about healthy sleeping habits can be found here.
The right nutrition provides your brain and your body with the energy and the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients needed to keep you going.
The general advice from research suggests reducing high fat foods and increasing your intake of omega 3, fruits, and vegetables.
Eating a balanced diet and avoiding foods with too much sugar or caffeine that can cause your energy levels to crash can help.
Click here to learn more about eating well.
Aerobic exercise and cardiovascular fitness has been found to improve both brain health and cognition throughout the lifespan.
Exercise also has a positive effect on mood due to the release of endorphins and other beneficial hormones that make us feel energised and motivated after exercising.
To learn more about what exercise and how much exercise you actually need to reap the benefits on mood and health click here.
Stress is a normal reaction to challenging situations to help our mind and body respond and cope. It can actually help us, as our cognitive performance (eg. on an exam) is best when we experience moderate stress – this helps us stay alert, motivated and concentrated on the task at hand.
However, the more stressed we are, the more likely we become unable to concentrate on what we are trying to learn. Although we can’t just decide not to be stressed, we can actively seek help when we recognise that we are struggling.
Take a look at our Academic Stress or Planning the future pages to discover how you can work through your stress if it is caused by coursework or the future.

What you can do to improve your Cognitive Health?

Many students have reported experiencing difficulties with cognitive abilities throughout lockdowns and fluctuating restrictions, remember to be kind to yourself through these tough times when you are struggling.

Allow more time to complete tasks

When there are many things to do, we might put pressure on ourselves to be extra productive, efficient, and get everything done in time.

If you are setting yourself impossible goals you will find that the stress of trying to meet these expectations prevents you from effectively learning.

To lower this stress you need to give yourself enough time to work to a high standard, rather than quickly. Slowing down when things get tough and overestimating the time you need to complete those tasks can help.

Prioritising tasks

When you are stressed it can be hard to figure out what you need to do first. The "Urgent-Important Matrix" can help to determine where to focus your immediate attention.

Place each item on your to-do list in one of the four boxes based on how urgent they are and how important they are. Invest more time on tasks in the top two boxes to remain productive and manage your time wisely.

Refer to our example table down below.

	Urgent	Not Urgent
Important	e.g., major assignment or exam deadline	e.g., deciding on subjects for next semester, reading a book
Not Important	e.g., personal phone call or other interruptions	e.g., junk emails , social media

Schedule regular breaks between blocks of working

Rather than expecting yourself to be able to study continuously for 4 hours without a break or distractions, train your brain to be focused for shorter blocks of time, giving yourself a short break in between.

This can really help when you’re struggling to start a task that is urgent and important.

The Pomodoro technique

The most common example of scheduling breaks between work periods is the Pomodoro technique. Set a timer for 25 minutes of focused work – no distractions, no procrastination.

Once the 25 minutes is up, take a 5-minute break that cannot involve working. Repeat this cycle.

After 4 cycles, take one longer break for 15-30 minutes. Go for a walk or eat a meal. In this way, you can take a proper break instead of short 5 minute ones. Here is a link to a 2 hour Pomodoro that you can follow.

student studying at desk with a warm drink

Minimise distractions and interruptions

Although this might seem obvious, and unavoidable when studying from home, there are some things you can do to limit the amount of distractions taking up your thoughts.

Put your phone in another room or install a productivity app that will block certain apps on your phone (e.g., social media) for a set period of time.

Close Internet browser tabs, programs, files, or apps as you go so they don’t build up.

Move around your schedule to try and make sure you are working when it is as quiet as possible at home.

Keep your study environment (room, desk) tidy and organised and put away things that you know might be distracting.

Tackle the most important or difficult tasks earlier in your study session. As you become more tired throughout the day, you're more likely to get distracted.

Let others in the house know that you are going to study and ask that they don't interrupt you unless it's an emergency.

Avoid listening to music with lyrics if you find this distracts you from your study. Research has found that lyrical music can have a negative impact on attention, particularly while reading.

Monash Thrive