Best Time of Day to Study Anki Flashcards: Should You Learn New Cards Before Bed?
Short answer: we suggest doing your new Anki cards in the evening, as close to bedtime as is comfortable, and doing your reviews whenever they fit. This is our reasoning, built on one small study that found sleep after learning helped vocabulary recall. If evenings do not work for you, study when you can, because a session you actually do beats a perfect one you skip.
Does it matter when you learn new words?
It might, and it is a question almost nobody asks about flashcards. Most learners think only about how much to study, not when.
Some sleep researchers tested this with something very familiar: vocabulary. Their result points at a simple, cheap change to your routine.
What does the research say about sleep and vocabulary?
Gais, Lucas and Born (2006) had high school students learn English-German word pairs. They compared two schedules: one with a night of sleep after learning, and one where the students stayed awake through the day before being tested.
The students who slept after learning remembered more. The study is titled “Sleep after learning aids memory recall” and was published in Learning & Memory 13(3):259-262 (https://doi.org/10.1101/lm.132106).
The researchers’ interpretation was that sleep soon after learning helps the brain consolidate new information, and that the effect showed up regardless of time of day.
How strong is this evidence?
Not very strong on its own, and we want to be plain about that. This was one small study, with teenagers, in a lab.
It is a good reason to try something, not a law of nature. We are not citing any other studies here, because we do not want to stack claims the evidence does not support.
So what is the best time of day to study Anki?
There is no proven best clock time. What the study supports is the idea that sleep after learning helps, so the practical question becomes when your new cards sit relative to your sleep.
Our answer: put your new cards in the evening, not in the middle of your day. That way, a night of sleep follows soon after you meet the words.
Should you study new Anki cards before bed?
Yes, if it is comfortable, we suggest trying it. New cards are the part of Anki where you first meet a word, and that is the part the sleep study is closest to.
Try to do them as close to bedtime as you can without making yourself tired or stressed. A calm ten minutes beats a rushed thirty.
What if you can only study in the morning?
Then study in the morning. A session you actually do beats a perfect one you skip, and the evidence here is too small to justify giving up a routine that works.
If you can, you could still add a very short evening look at your hardest new cards. Treat that as an optional extra, not a requirement. The main thing is that you show up every day.
What about reviews?
Do your reviews whenever they fit. Reviews are the easy part, and they are more forgiving of timing.
If you would rather clear reviews in the morning and add new cards at night, that split is a perfectly reasonable routine. Anki does not care when you study, only that you do.
What routine do we suggest?
Here is the simple version:
- Do your reviews at whatever time is easiest, such as a commute or a coffee break.
- Do your new cards in the evening, as close to bedtime as is comfortable.
- If evenings are hopeless for you, do not force it. Study when you can.
This is Speakada’s own reasoning. The study supports the idea that sleep after learning helps. Turning that into a routine is our interpretation.
Is there a practical benefit beyond the study?
Yes, and it is a simple one. New cards feel hardest right after you first meet them.
If you meet them last thing at night and sleep on it, your first review the next day is a fresh look at something you have already spent a night with. That is our reasoning, not something the study measured, and it is easy to test for yourself.
What if I am studying at odd hours or on a shift schedule?
The idea translates to “learn new cards, then sleep soon after.” If your sleep is at an unusual time, apply the same order to your own day: do the new cards shortly before you go to sleep, whenever that is.
The exact clock hour is less important than the order.
Does the number of new cards affect this?
Yes. A big batch of new cards in the evening can be tiring, which defeats the purpose of a calm bedtime routine. We suggest keeping the number modest. Our post on how many new Anki cards per day is right walks through the arithmetic.
Does this apply to every language?
Yes. The routine works the same whether you are learning Spanish, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Polish or English. Words are words.
If you are picking a first deck to try this routine with, the Italian Vocabulary Bundle and our vocabulary flashcards hub are good places to start.
How do I make the routine stick?
Attach it to something you already do, such as brushing your teeth or making tea. The best routine is the one you repeat, and habit is the thing most learners struggle with, not the timing.
For the longer argument on this, see our post on why daily Anki momentum matters.
Can I combine this with speaking words aloud?
You can, and we like the combination. Saying your hardest new cards out loud in the evening session gives them an extra edge. We cover that in should you say flashcards out loud.
The bottom line
The evidence is small but the idea is cheap to test: do your new cards in the evening, close to bedtime, and let sleep follow. Do your reviews whenever they fit, and do not force an evening routine that does not work for you.
Try it for a week and notice whether the next morning’s reviews feel any different.
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