Use It Or Lose It: How To Prevent “Summer Brain Drain”

It’s one of the worst summertime afflictions – no, not sunburns – and it affects students of all grade levels. The “summer brain drain” occurs when you’ve been out of school for awhile and your brain, well, basically turns into a bowl of mush (and that’s official medical lingo). The most pervasive and troubling symptom of summer brain is a loss of various academic skills – skills that you’ll need when school starts up again in the fall. According to a survey conducted by the National Summer Learning Association, 66 percent of teachers spend a whopping three to four weeks at the beginning of the school year simply re-teaching old concepts that students had forgotten over the summer.

Think of it this way. If you were a competitive runner, you’d need to train daily to succeed. The academic semester is your rigorous training schedule, and final exams are race day. As you head into summer break, you’re in the best shape of your life. But what is going to happen if you stop training all summer, just to dive back into full-time training in the fall? You’ll probably be a lot slower… and pretty sore, but that’s another story.

Preventing summer brain drain doesn’t mean sacrificing your summer to study or take classes. Even an elite runner gets an off-season… but they still lightly train a few times a week just so they don’t totally lose their edge. This is the same philosophy you should keep throughout the summer.

One foolproof way to prevent summer brain drain? Private academic coaching at The Enrichery! This is the perfect opportunity for students to fill in any gaps they noticed over the school year and set them up for success in the coming year. It also ensures that when the first day of classes rolls around, they aren’t starting from square one. And don’t worry – our academic coaching doesn’t feel like “school.” Coaches are relatable, friendly, and, most importantly, focused on the individual. Scheduling flexibility means you can choose a coaching time that works best for you – leaving plenty of time for summer indulgences.

Outside of academic coaching, there are other ways to stay sharp. Or, at the very least, keep yourself occupied so you aren’t faced with the shameful Netflix pop-up, “Are you still watching?” Check out our summer productivity challenge below, and see how many you can check off before school starts up!

 

summer brain drain