8 reading efficiency techniques to try today

Reading is one of the simplest ways to exercise your mind. However, many adults reach a plateau where reading feels slower or more laborious than it should be. This has less to do with “speed” and more to do with how efficiently the brain processes information.

Reading efficiency is your brain’s ability to absorb, organize, and recall information with minimal friction. It’s the intersection of attention, working memory, processing speed, and comprehension. When these systems work in harmony, reading feels effortless. When they don’t, even simple material can feel dense.

The good news is that these underlying skills are trainable. With the right cognitive strategies, you can make reading feel smoother and more rewarding, even if reading “fast” isn’t your goal.

What reading efficiency actually measures

Reading efficiency reflects several cognitive processes working at once:

• Attention, your brain’s spotlight that prioritizes what matters and filters out noise

• Working memory, your brain’s mental notepad for holding and manipulating information

• Processing speed, how quickly you connect meaning between phrases and ideas

• Language comprehension, your ability to extract and organize concepts

• Cognitive endurance, how long you can sustain effort without fatigue

When any one of these systems becomes overworked, comprehension drops or reading slows down. The strategies below strengthen these skills so reading becomes smoother, clearer, and more intuitive.

1. Reduce cognitive load before you read

Your brain has a limited mental bandwidth. When too many inputs compete for attention, comprehension suffers. Cognitive load theory explains why even easy passages feel overwhelming when your brain is juggling too much at once.

Here’s how to lower cognitive load so your brain can focus on the text:

Preview the material

Scan headings, subheads, and summaries. This creates a mental map, letting your brain “file” new information in advance.

Set a reading intention

A simple purpose—“I’m reading to understand the argument” or “I’m reading to identify key examples”—activates selective attention.

Remove input noise

Silence notifications, close tabs, and reduce visual clutter. Every distraction forces your brain to reorient itself, costing you processing energy.

Why this works

Lower cognitive load frees working memory. This allows your brain to connect ideas rather than waste energy managing interruptions.

2. Strengthen focus with attention-guiding techniques

Attention is essential for reading, but it can be challenging to sustain. Modern environments fragment concentration, and reading requires continuous focus across sentences and paragraphs.

These techniques help your brain maintain a steady focus:

Use a pacing tool

Move a finger, pen, or digital highlighter beneath lines of text. This stabilizes eye movements and reduces regressions.

Block portions of the page

Cover text above or below your current line. This narrows your visual field and reduces the urge to skim aimlessly.

Try micro-interval reading

Read for 60–90 seconds, pause for two seconds, then continue. Micro-pauses refresh attention systems without breaking momentum.

Why this works

Attention is rhythm-based. These cues reduce mind wandering by giving your visual system predictable targets.

3. Improve comprehension with phrase-level reading

Your brain naturally processes language in groups to reduce eye fixations and give your working memory richer concepts to hold.

This process is often called chunking, and the benefits go beyond speed:

• Phrases carry more meaning than single words

• Your brain forms mental models faster

• Comprehension increases because ideas arrive in context

How to practice chunking

• Identify clusters like “economic growth slowed” or “the main argument suggests”

• Let articles and prepositions fade unless they shift meaning

• Focus on verbs and nouns as they carry the core message

Reading in units reduces the number of cognitive “micro-decisions” your brain must make, giving you more bandwidth to understand the text.

4. Train the cognitive systems behind efficient reading

Reading efficiency depends on underlying cognitive abilities. If you strengthen those, you strengthen your reading.

The most important systems are:

Working memory

Your mental notepad. It helps you hold details from previous sentences so each idea connects. Cognitive training can improve working memory by measurable percentages, which directly impacts reading comprehension.

Processing speed

How quickly your brain interprets information. Faster processing reduces fatigue and makes reading feel smoother.

Executive function

Your brain’s decision-making center. It helps you stay organized and resist distractions.

How Elevate helps

Elevate’s training is designed to strengthen these systems with short, adaptive exercises. Its reading-focused games sharpen comprehension, working memory, and attention, skills that translate directly to more efficient reading.

This is mental fitness at work: small, daily training that supports how your brain performs in real life.

5. Build reading stamina with cognitive endurance techniques

Sometimes reading isn’t difficult because of complexity but because of endurance. Cognitive fatigue limits your ability to maintain comprehension over extended periods.

Try these methods to build stamina:

Paced endurance training

Read in 10-minute blocks, rest for one minute, repeat. This conditions attention networks the same way interval workouts condition muscles.

Active reset breaks

Instead of switching to another screen, do something restorative: stand, stretch, breathe for 30 seconds. This resets attention far better than scrolling.

Balanced cognitive habits

If you’re mentally overloaded, reading quality drops fast. Sleep, hydration, and stress regulation all play a role. To combat this, try meditation, which helps lower cortisol and supports clearer thinking.

6. Use active recall to reinforce memory and reduce rereading

Active recall is one of the most effective retention tools:

• Summarize a paragraph in your own words

• Write one or two key points

• Ask yourself, “What did I just read?”

This strengthens your hippocampus, making future reading easier because you’re training the systems that store and retrieve information.

7. Adjust reading strategies based on the type of text

Not all reading requires the same level of cognitive effort.

For dense or technical material

• Slow your pace

• Pause more often to consolidate

• Use note-taking to support working memory

For narrative or general nonfiction

• Read in longer stretches

• Use broad summarizing instead of detailed notes

• Let your eyes move more fluidly across phrases

For research, analysis, or study

• Skim first, then read deeply

• Use active recall regularly

• Create small summaries at the end of each section

8. Strengthen your mind-body connection to support reading clarity

Mental fitness is holistic. Reading efficiency depends on more than cognitive skills.

These factors matter:

Sleep

Sleep consolidates memory and restores the systems responsible for focus. Poor sleep makes reading feel heavier and slower.

Movement

Light exercise improves blood flow to brain regions involved in comprehension and sustained attention.

Stress

Stress releases cortisol, which interferes with memory and focus. Meditation can help lower it in a matter of weeks. Balance provides guided practices that support emotional regulation and cognitive stability.

Reading well is a physiological process as much as a cognitive one.

FAQ: Reading efficiency and how to improve it

What is reading efficiency?

Reading efficiency is how smoothly your brain processes information while you read. It combines attention, comprehension, and working memory. When these systems work well together, reading feels easier and takes less effort.

Is reading efficiency the same as reading speed?

Not exactly. Reading speed focuses on how quickly you move through text. Reading efficiency focuses on how effectively your brain absorbs and understands it. You can improve efficiency without aiming for speed, and many people naturally read faster once efficiency improves.

Why does reading sometimes feel mentally exhausting?

Mental fatigue often comes from cognitive load. When your brain is juggling notifications, stress, or too many competing tasks, it has less bandwidth for comprehension. Lowering cognitive load makes reading feel smoother and more engaging.

Can reading efficiency improve with practice?

Yes. Skills like attention, working memory, and processing speed are trainable. When these skills strengthen, reading becomes easier. Digital tools like Elevate support this type of cognitive training through short, adaptive daily exercises.

Does meditation help with reading?

Mindfulness practices can improve attention and reduce mind wandering, both of which support comprehension. Even a short session can help your brain settle before reading. Balance offers guided meditations designed to strengthen focus and reduce stress, which can make reading feel more efficient.

How can I remember more of what I read?

Active recall and light note-taking help the brain store information more effectively. Summarize a section in your own words, or write down one key takeaway. These small actions strengthen your hippocampus, the part of your brain responsible for forming long-term memories.

Does reading in word groups really help?

Yes. Your brain processes ideas in phrases, not isolated words. Reading in small, meaningful units (often called chunking) aligns with how your brain naturally extracts meaning. It supports better comprehension and reduces the mental effort required to interpret each line.

What’s the best first step to improving reading efficiency?

Start with a simple habit: preview the text before reading it. A 10-second scan helps your brain create a mental map of the material. This lowers cognitive load and improves comprehension from the first paragraph.

The bottom line

When you reduce cognitive load, support attention, strengthen working memory, and build endurance, reading becomes lighter and more enjoyable.