How to Study when You're High

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: March 10, 2023 References

Studying high is a bad idea, but it happens. There are a number of challenges you might encounter when studying high. You’ll probably wind up being very tired and groggy or you might be jumpy or wired. Either way, your mind will probably feel muddled. You’ll probably also find it hard to concentrate. Ultimately, all of these challenges limit our ability to process information and to internalize new ideas. Fortunately, with a little effort, there are a number of things you can do to help you study when you are high.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Refreshing Yourself

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Take a short nap or relax. Go and sleep for a little bit. If you're wired and can't sleep, try to relax. Either way, make sure your alarm is set for 20-60 minutes so you don't lose track of time. Taking a short nap or spending time relaxing will refresh you. If you're high on marijuana, it will help you shake off some of the grogginess associated with your high. If you're amped up and wired from something else, trying to relax will help you focus. Your mind will become crisper and you’ll be able to think clearer.
- Find a place that is cool and dark.
- Use some white noise, if it helps you.
- If you can't sleep, try to eliminate distractions while you rest and focus your thoughts. By calming your mind, you'll put yourself in a better place to study later.
- Set your alarm clock or phone alarm so you don’t wind up sleeping all day and night.^{[1]
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2
Do some light exercise. Another great way to sober up so you can study is to do some light exercise. Exercising will help get your juices pumping, and combined with eating well and hydrating, should give you a burst of energy and make you more alert. Consider:
- Exercising might make your high more intense (in the short term, about 15 minutes).
- Exercising will help you focus your mind better.
- If you're amped up on something, exercise will give you a positive outlet for your extra energy.
- Going for a short jog, perhaps about 10 minutes long.
- Doing some jumping jacks or pushups.^{[2]
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3
Take a shower. Taking a shower is a great way to help you get into the right mind frame for studying if you’re high. This is because showers freshen us, wake us up, and recharge us. In a way, taking a shower is a way of starting your day anew. Consider:
- Taking a cold shower if you need to “shock” yourself into waking up.
- If you're wired, taking a shower will relax you and help you focus.
- Don’t spend too long in the shower. The key is not to relax, but to freshen yourself up a bit.
- Try to spend just 3-5 minutes in the shower, then get to work.^{[3]
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Making Yourself More Alert through Food and Drink

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Use caffeine appropriately. Depending on what you're high on, you'll want to use caffeine appropriately. This is important, because if you don't use it appropriately, you could undermine your attempts to put yourself in a better position to study.
- The best thing you can do to get rid of that nasty grogginess brought upon by marijuana is to get energy. To do this, drink some coffee or a 5-hour energy.
- If you're amped up or wired from another drug, avoid caffeine at all costs. It'll simply reinforce the high that you're trying to fight.
- Be aware that caffeine doesn’t necessary cancel out a marijuana high, and it may actually make you feel higher than before. As a result, only use caffeine if you know how it affects your body and yourself when you are high.^{[4]
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2
Have a snack. Many drug users know that food can often help bring you down. This is because when you eat something, your body will start to metabolize that food, which will help your body breakdown and metabolize any chemicals that might be making you high. However, when taking this approach consider:
- Don’t eat too much. You don’t want to get overly full and then feel sleepy from that.
- Don’t eat too many carbs or sugar. Carbs and sugar might pep you up right away, but after a short while you’ll wind up crashing and you’ll be groggy and muddled again.
- Avoid eating only meat. Eating only meat, depending on the meat, might make you groggy again.
- Eat a well-balanced snack that includes vegetables, fruits, some carbs, and protein.^{[5]
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- If you're high on an upper, it might hurt your appetite. Try to overcome this by eating something. Chances are, it'll help.
3
Hydrate yourself. Drinking lots of water and other non-alcoholic liquids will help you sober up a bit so you can do some work. Hydrating yourself works for a number of reasons:
- Like with eating food, drinking liquids will help get your juices flowing and your metabolism pumping. This will help your body move THC and/or other chemicals out of your system and help you to become more alert.
- Hydrating yourself helps in detox in the long run.
- Consider drinking liquids that are rich in vitamins like vitamin C, D, or B-12. These vitamins will help wake you up and make your more alert.^{[6]
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Relying on Good Study Tactics

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Find a good place to study. You need someplace good to study effectively. This is because environment is extremely important when it comes to concentrating. If you are on a couch or in your bed, the likelihood of you not studying increases tenfold. You might fall asleep or get distracted by something. Consider:
- The library.
- A desk at your home or in your bedroom.
- A coffee shop or other public place that is peaceful and quiet.^{[7]
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2
Try to focus. One of the biggest challenges when it comes to studying when high is focusing on the task at hand. You could have many challenges. It might be hard for you to read a paragraph through and process information. It might be difficult for you to do complex math problems. In order to overcome this problem focusing:
- Continually remind yourself of the task at hand.
- When reading, use a pencil to keep track of where you are and to underline and make notes. You might find that doing a close read while high is actually not so bad – if you commit yourself to focusing.
- When writing, continually remind yourself of your thesis or the point of your paper. You might find that you can write much more (volume wise) while under the influence. However, the quality might be lower than normal. This is okay. Write a lot of volume and then go back later (when sober) and clean it up.^{[8]
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3
Set goals and time limits. Make sure you set concrete goals for what you’re trying to study. In addition, set a time limit on each section of what you’re studying. This way, at least you’ll be able to move through large amounts of subject matter rather than getting bogged down on a certain topic because you lose focus.
- Start by mapping out what you need to cover in a certain amount of time and then divide your time up between the material.
- If you are studying chapters 4-7 give yourself an hour to study each one, but no longer.
- If you don't complete the chapters as thoroughly as you wanted to, then give yourself an hour for two chapters, and if you still feel that way after, give yourself an hour for the four.
4
Avoid distractions. One of the most common problems with studying high is that you’re easily distracted by a wide variety of things. In order to overcome distractions, you need to shelter yourself away from common distractions. Don’t make yourself vulnerable to things that can take your attention off of studying. Consider:
- Avoiding the internet, if you don’t need it.
- Turn your cell phone off.
- Study in a place that does not have TV
- If you have to listen to music, make sure it is something that is conducive to studying, like classical music, jazz, or something instrumental.

Community Q&A

Question

Why listen to instrumentals when studying high?

Community Answer

Listening to music while studying when you are high will help you to calm down. It will also help you to focus and concentrate on your studies so that you can be productive and get the most out of your study session.