be alert to learn
Sometimes I don’t feel like learning. I planned it after my last learning session and I was motivated at that moment to continue learning. But now, I don’t feel like it. I don’t have the energy.
Sometimes I can build up the energy and motivation and start learning — which is great. Sometimes I just skip it — which is fine. And other times I painfully muddle through — I try to be consistent.
As I learnt now, painfully muddling through, listening passively in a sleepy kind of way does not support learning. If we don’t have the energy and motivation nothing will stick. And this is due to the neurochemistry in our brain which is responsible for plasticity, change and learning.
This doesn’t mean: Never learning anything if you are tired. Even if you had a bad night, you can still find the motivation and build up the energy to learn. You might not feel like learning before learning. But the energy, motivation and alertness might build up after you started. Or engage in certain activities to become more alert before you start learning.
In the end, for neuroplasticity and change to happen we have to be motivated, we need the energy, we have to be alert.
neuroscience of alertness
Being alert — having the motivation, having the right level of energy — is important for learning and neuroplasticity. If we are alert, there is an urgency for change; there is a reason to learn.
The reason why alertness is necessary for learning is the neuromodulator epinephrine.
Learning happens if the neurochemical cocktail of acetylcholine, dopamine, and epinephrine is released and works together.
Acetylcholine is released if we pay attention and focus on what we are learning. Dopamine is released if we make errors and, through error-making, find the right path towards our learning goal.
But epinephrine is released if we are alert. It binds to particular receptors and increases the likelihood that those neurons will be active. Epinephrine basically wakes up our brain and tells the neurons to be ready.
how can you tap into alertness?
The question now becomes: “If epinephrine and alertness are so important for learning, how can we tap into alertness?” There are a few things we can do to wake our brains up and become alert. You have to try them out and see what works for you. There might even be some things not on the list but which work for you and make you alert.
The most obvious one is to get enough sleep. If you are tired, it will become difficult to build up the right level of energy and motivation to get up and start learning.
You can also use coffee to artificially become alert. But be careful not to disrupt your sleep by consuming too much coffee.
You can also create some level of urgency by making yourself accountable, either by telling other people about your goals or by defining goals for yourself if you are responsible enough.
Another way is to define reasons for why you want or have to learn. Write down a couple of love- and fear-based reasons. They have to be sincere and genuine. Otherwise, you are just lying to yourself.
You can also move and get some fresh air to get rid of the brain fog and find the energy to learn.
Taking a walk and breathing is also effective if you are too alert. Sometimes we are just too anxious and need to reduce the level of energy or alertness we have. You can breathe, walk, or meditate to calm down and find the right level of alertness to learn.
Be alert — have the right level of alertness — to improve your learning. I personally try to get enough sleep and define reasons for my learning to build up the energy to learn. What are your steps to tap into alertness?
This article is part of my recent learning module in which I want to learn more about the connection between learning and neuroscience. As a basis for this learning area, I’m using the Huberman Podcast to get a rough overview. Check out the Huberman Podcast if you want to learn more.
