---
title: Spaced Repetition Learning Increases Retention By 200%
date: 2025-08-09T03:57:54.171428
author: Charlie M.
category: SIGNAL
---
So there I was, scrolling through Instagram again. You know how it goes, sunlight peeking in through the blinds, the warmth kind of cozy but also making you feel guilty for not being outside or at least doing something more productive. I pause on some motivational post about learning faster, which, let's be honest, I've seen a thousand times before. But this time, it had something about "spaced repetition" and doubling retention. Sounds like one of those too-good-to-be-true claims, right? But also, kind of intriguing? Like, what if it actually works?
Anyway, this spaced repetition thing... I think the idea is that you spread out your learning over time to kind of hack your brain's natural forgetting pattern. There's this guy, Ebbinghaus, from like a hundred years ago or something, who drew this curve that supposedly shows how fast we forget stuff. It's like, you look at it and go, "No way I'm remembering any of this by the end of the week." Fun times.
But, okay, back to spaced repetition. There's these apps, Anki and... I want to say Mnemosyne? I can't even pronounce it. They're supposed to help you quiz yourself just before you're about to forget. Sounds smart, but also, does it actually work? I mean, I've tried Anki for a bit. Set it all up, got into it for like a week, and then forgot about the app itself. Classic.
So I dig around a bit more, and there's all these studies, like in PLOS One, that talk about spaced learning. Some meta-analysis, whatever that means, says you retain like 200% more stuff long-term if you space it out. But, does that mean I've been spending my entire life doing this wrong? Maybe. Or maybe it's just good marketing. Who knows?
I remember trying to learn Spanish last year. Downloaded Duolingo, got those daily reminders, and felt that guilt trip every time I skipped a day. But did it help? I think I can order a beer and find the bathroom, but not without some serious finger-pointing and gesturing. Maybe that's the spaced repetition working? Or just beer being universally understood.
Some days, I think maybe I should give this spaced repetition another shot. It sounds cool, and the research is there... kind of. But then I get this creeping doubt. Like, is it gonna be another habit I drop after the initial adrenaline rush wears off? Is there some kind of trick to sticking with it that I'm missing? Or, maybe the real trick is just doing it when the sun isn’t trying to coax me outside through the blinds.
And, you know, I guess I'll never know unless I try again. Maybe this time I'll find that rhythm between sunlight guilt and Instagram motivation. Or maybe I won't. And that’s okay too, I think.