1. Sleep Hygiene

Your child's sleep should be the first place we look to maximise their learning potential. Our memories get processed while we sleep, therefore regular, healthy sleep is essential for the process of learning. Deeper sleep will also improve energy and focus levels, which will improve your child's ability to learn even further.

Top 5 Sleep Hygiene Tips:

• Avoid caffiene 8 hours before bed time.

• Avoid screens/bright artificial lights 90 minutes before sleeping.

• Always try to get 7-9 hours of sleep per night.

• Wake up at the same time as much as possible (5 days per week minimum).

• Get sunlight into your eyes within an hour of waking up.

Sleep Is Your Superpower | Matt Walker | TED

2. Deep Rest After School

Your child can actually begin the memory formation process right after school. Getting into a state of deep rest after school triggers a refiring of the neurons they have activated in school (10-20x the normal speed!) - causing a much stronger connection in the brain to form.

4 Ways to get Deep Rest:

• 20 minute nap - make sure you do not go into deep sleep!

• Non-sleep deep rest - guided sessions are best

• Other mindfulness practices - yoga, meditation etc.

• Deep relaxation - e.g., laying down with your eyes closed

NEUROSCIENTIST: How To ACTUALLY LEARN

3. Attentional Blinks

It should be obvious by now that rest is critical for your child's learning. Neuroscience studies have found that taking short rest breaks (e.g., staring at a wall for ten seconds, known as "attentional blinks") while your child is studying can also trigger the refiring of neurons being activated while studying.

While they take an "attentional blink", their neurons fire 10-20x faster, meaning they repeat the information in their memory circuits 10-20x more often. Attentional blinks increase the number of times your brain remembers 'how it did what it did' - therefore, if your child is completing an exam question, this could cause the circuits in the brain that control answering that question to strengthen by 10-20x more than normal.

NEUROSCIENTIST: LATEST STUDY on how you can LEARN 20X FASTER | Andrew Huberman

4. Pro-Learning Nutrition

After addressing your child's rest, the next area to address is their nutrition. A diet that minimises ultra-processed food, favours natural whole-foods & is sufficient in fruit and vegetables will certainly imrpove their energy and focus levels. We also need certain molecules from our food to fuel learning in our brains.

5 Key Nutrients for Maximising Learning:

• Choline - Needed to make acetylcholine, eggs are the best source!

• Protein - Amino acids are required for several neurotransmitters.

• Omega-3 Fatty Acids - Fish is ideal, flaxseeds/chia seeds are also very good.

• Whole-grains - Low GI carbohydrates will give your child steadier attention levels.

• B Vitamins (particularly B9 & B12) - These vitamins are essential for 'housekeeping' in your child's brain, allowing it to function properly.

How the food you eat affects your brain - Mia Nacamulli

5. Healthy Hydration Habits

Proper hydration is a non-negotiable if you are looking to maximise your child's learning potential. Staying hydrated, both at school and at home, will allow your child to think clearly and focus for longer. Staying hydrated also increases the speed at which and number of times neurons fire in your child's brain.

4 Healthy Hydration Habits:

• Drink 500mL of water as soon as you wake up.

• Aim for 3L per day - add 250ml per hour of focus & 500ml per hour of exercise.

• Carry your water in a large bottle (+1L) - this encourages drinking more often.

• Avoid drinking lots of liquids within 2 hours of bedtime.

What would happen if you didn’t drink water? - Mia Nacamulli