The Spacing Effect: Distributed Practice Wins

Research on the 'spacing effect' (Ebbinghaus 1885, replicated many times since) shows that distributing study sessions over days produces far stronger long-term retention than massed practice (cramming). Each retrieval attempt strengthens the memory trace, especially when done at the moment the memory is about to be forgotten.

📚 Ebbinghaus (1885) — confirmed in Cepeda et al. (2006), Psychological Bulletin