ore sleep.
- The different types of word pairs—and the two types of learning they required—fared differently depending on sleep. Memory for related word pairs was not affected by how soon sleep followed learning. Memory for the un-related word pairs—the kind that required making new associations—was stronger for students who slept shortly after learning than for those who spent the day awake.
- The deterioration of memory during the wake period was less when students had slept shortly after learning
These results indicate that sleep is most helpful to memory when it happens soon after learning new things. Sleep seems to have a stabilizing effect on newly learned information, rooting it into memories that last and clearing the way for new information to be processed.
This latest research joins a series of recent breakthroughs in the study of sleep and memory.
- In this study, researchers used fruit flies to test the links between sleep and the creation of long-term memories. After breeding fruit flies to sleep on demand, researchers exposed the flies to new information. All of the flies retained their new knowledge for a short period of time, but only the flies that slept after learning appeared to convert their short-term knowledge to long-term memory.
- Another study showed how sounds heard during sleep may help to direct and enhance memory. Participants learned a spatial puzzle that involved moving images to specific places on a computer screen. While doing this, they heard sounds that corresponded to specific images. During sleep, the study subjects were exposed to half of those same sounds. When they performed the puzzle again from memory after sleeping, they were better able to recall the placement of images whose sounds they’d heard during sleep.
- This study showed how naps can boost brain power. Two groups of young adults learned the same task. One group napped after learning; the other didn’t. Six hours after learning the initial task, both groups were asked to learn brand new material. The non-napping group scored lower than they had on their initial learning exercise, while the napping group actually improved their performance compared to their first one.
Sleep doesn’t only enhance memory; it also appears to diminish the emotional impact of painful memories.
We’re learning more all the time about how sleep helps us learn and retain information, how it clears the mind and prepares us to learn new things, as well as how it may protect us from the emotional pain of difficult memories.
Whether you’re prepping for a test, starting a new job, coping with difficult circumstances, or just want to feel more agile of mind, the prescription is the same: get some sleep!
Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™
Everything you do, you do better with a good night’s sleep™