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Do you find it hard to learn math and history? A recent study carried out by scientists from University of London, may be of help to you. They found that teenagers could get higher marks in math if they studied in the morning and better grades in history if they were taught in the afternoon.
The researchers did a study at a secondary school in Bulgaria over nine years. The results showed that when teenagers had math classes earlier in the day, they scored on average (平均) 7 percent higher in tests than when taught in the afternoon. Lower-ability students did worst when they were studying math in the afternoon.
In history, students taught in the afternoon scored on average 6 percent higher than when they were taught in the morning. However, it doesn't work for other subjects such as languages or geography.
Velichka Dimitrova, leader of the study, said the findings show that we do better at different times of the day.
"In the morning, our brains are better and fresher, so we are better at doing something that repeats a lot like problem solving, where we require more speed and attention," Dimitrova told The Telegraph.
"In the afternoon, it seems that this process (过程) slows down. On the other hand, history is better suitable for the afternoon, when we are more creative and open to discussion," she said.
Subjects such as foreign languages require both memory and repetition (重复), and they also need people to be creative. This is perhaps why the time of day has no influence on learning.
Time-of-day effects such as those are believed to be connected to the body clock. This is the system in our bodies that controls when we need to sleep. Some schools in the US and UK have tried out later school starting times for teenagers, whose body clocks change as they grow into adults.
Dimitrova believes schools should take this chance to improve students' performance just by changing their timetables.
