Authors Tyler Phillips (Research Psychologist & Research and Content Consultant) and Dr Etienne van der Walt (Neurologist and CEO & founder of Neurozone®)
Microlearning isn’t just more convenient—it may be better for your brain. In our last article, we shared how learning in small, spaced-out chunks instead of one long session can improve memory, boost test performance, and deepen understanding. But why does this happen? Neuroscience has some compelling answers. In this article, we explore how microlearning works with the brain’s natural rhythms to help us learn more effectively and, ultimately, become more resilient.
Mental Fatigue vs. Microlearning
Anyone who’s ever sat through a long lecture or intense training session knows how exhausting learning can be. That exhaustion has a name: mental fatigue. When our brains are asked to concentrate for long stretches, their performance declines. Attention slips, decision-making slows, and cognitive tasks start to feel harder.
This is because the brain runs on a limited supply of “fuel”—mainly glucose and neurotransmitters. For neurons to communicate with each other, complex, energy-demanding chemical processes happen in the gaps between them – the synapses – where these neurotransmitters are released, transformed, and absorbed. When the brain is overstimulated for too long, these processes begin to falter. Neurons stop communicating efficiently, and learning suffers.
Microlearning, however, offers a solution. By limiting sessions to just 10–20 minutes, followed by a break, it gives the brain time to rest and reset. This prevents synaptic overload and helps neurons remain responsive, so you’re more likely to absorb what you’re learning and store it in long-term memory.
The Forgetting Curve vs. Microlearning
Microlearning also works because of how it tackles forgetting. The “forgetting curve,” a well-known concept in cognitive psychology, shows that we forget newly learned information rapidly, often losing more than half of it within just 20 minutes. A month later, if we haven’t revised, we may only retain a quarter of what we originally learned.
But repetition and review help reverse this trend. Every time we revisit a piece of information, the neurons that processed it fire again, strengthening their connections. Over time, this repeated activation makes the memory stronger and more durable.
Microlearning makes this kind of reinforcement easier. Because lessons are short and focused, they’re quicker and less mentally taxing to review. The structure of microlearning naturally lends itself to frequent repetition, without needing to wade through hours of content. This helps learners revisit key ideas more often, which strengthens memory and slows forgetting.
Why This Matters for Resilience
These brain-based advantages may also explain why microlearning does more than improve academic performance better than traditional macrolearning methods. Since learning can enhance psychological resilience, it is not surprising that microlearning (about resilience itself, and about optimizing the brain-body system) has been found to be better at enhancing resilience than traditional macrolearning methods. At Neurozone®, we’ve also shown that our Microlearning Journey measurably boosts resilience in professionals.
This may be because microlearning delivers transformative insights in a way the brain can process and retain more easily. When content is delivered in small, manageable pieces, without overwhelming the system, it’s more likely to “stick.” People not only understand it better, they can also use it more consistently in their lives. And when those insights are about how to optimize the brain-body system, the impact on resilience can be significant.
In Summary: Brain-Friendly Learning for a Resilient Mind
Microlearning aligns with how the brain learns best. By avoiding mental fatigue and facilitating the reinforcement of memory over time, it helps us retain information and apply it meaningfully. This can lead not just to better learning outcomes. When the learning is about resilience and optimizing the brain-body system, microlearning can enable people to embody these changes more easily. If you want to learn more effectively and support your mental well-being while doing it, microlearning might just be the smartest approach.