7 Learning Myths That Are Slowing You Down (and What Actually Works)

We all would like to be able to absorb knowledge faster and remember more. But the problem is that many of the common accepted truths of learning (which are widely used) are actually myths - ones that are holding you back.

Luckily, in this article I am going to break down what the neuroscience says about how the brain actually learns, helping you to ditch ineffective learning methods and replace them with scientifically backed strategies that improve retention, recall, and skill acquisition.

Here are seven of the most persistent learning myths - and what really works.

Myth 1: You Have a Fixed Learning Style

The Myth: People learn best when they are taught in their preferred learning style, i.e., visual, auditory, or kinaesthetic.



The Truth: Research has shown that teaching to learning styles has no measurable impact on learning outcomes. Instead, effective learning comes from engaging multiple senses and the implementation of active learning strategies.

What Works: Using multimodal learning whereby you combine visuals, explanations, and hands-on-practice. The greater the number of ways you engage with material, the better your brain encodes it for long term memory.

Myth 2: Rereading and Highlighting Are Effective Study Strategies

The Myth: Going over your notes multiple times and highlighting key points helps retention of information.

The Truth: These passive techniques create the illusion that you are learning by doing something but do little to strengthen your memory.

What Works: Techniques such as active recall whereby you are test yourself on what you have learned rather than just re-reading and not. Being able to identify what you don’t genuinely recall. Spaced repetition at increasing intervals is also a great technique to retain information.

Myth 3: Multitasking Helps You Learn More Efficiently

The Myth: You can effectively absorb knowledge whilst listening to music, checking emails, or watching TV.

The Truth: Your brain never truly ‘multitasks’; instead, it is rapidly switching between tasks, reducing your cognitive efficiency and comprehension.

What Works: Practice deep work - eliminate distractions from around and keep your focus to one task a time.

Myth 4: Greater Study Time Equals Better Learning

The Myth: The more time you spend studying the more information you will retain.

The Truth: Long study sessions lead to cognitive overload when the study methods being used are inefficient, maybe somewhat counterintuitively leading to reduction in long-term knowledge retention.

What Works: Break down your study sessions into shorter spells and make sure you take regular breaks (at least every 50 minutes). Whilst this can feel inefficient at the time, you are ensuring you are not overloading your cognitive capacity, optimising the conditions for your brain to take the new knowledge into your long-term memory.

Myth 5: Intelligence Is Fixed at Birth

The Myth: Some people are naturally more intelligent, while others just struggle to learn.

The Truth: Neuroplasticity shows that everyone’s brain is adaptable and that anybody can learn when the correct learning strategies are used. When you work with how the brain learns, you will be amazed at what you can do.

What Works: Adopt a growth mindset and believe that you can improve your abilities with practice and hard work.

Myth 6: Cramming the Night Before Works

The Myth: Studying all night before a test will help you retain information.

The Truth: Cramming overloads short-term memory but does little for long-term retention. Additionally, cramming at the cost of a good night’s sleep will lead to less retention even in your short-term memory due to the brain being unable to sufficiently encode the information.

What Works: Use spaced repetition - review materials consistently over days or weeks for stronger retention.

Myth 7: Mistakes Should Be Avoided

The Myth: Mistakes show that I am not learning and that they should be avoided.

The Truth: The brain learns really well from mistakes because they create stronger neural connections when corrected leading to greater retention of information.

What Works: Embrace productive failure - mistakes should be thought of as a learning tool to help you refine and improve your understanding of a topic. I can assure you that making lots of mistakes when learning results in very positively long-term learning outcomes.

The Takeaway: Learn Smarter, Not Harder

Many of the prevailing notions about learning have very little or no foundation in neuroscience. The key to effective learning is by using techniques that are aligned with how our brain actually functions. By replacing ineffective methods rooted in myth with science-backed strategies, you’ll learn more efficiently, retain information for longer, and improve your overall cognitive performance.

Want to dive deeper into how neuroscience can help you learn better? Subscribe to ‘The Learning Brain’ for insights every week to help transform the way you approach learning.