How Sleep Affects Your Memory

Investigating possible links between sleep and memory began 35 years ago with Carlyle Smith from Trent University, Canada. No one else was paying any attention to the topic back then but events have certainly changed. I would guess that there is at least one magazine a month which has published an article about the importance of sleep and the impact it has on your brain and your memory. Sleep and memory is now a hot research field.

One school of thought on the topic argues

that sleep is necessary for memory because it provides the time for the brain to replay memories recorded temporarily so they can become permanently embedded. In one study, for example, participants were taught to navigate a virtual maze on a computer screen. Half of them napped for 90 minutes while the other half were required to stay awake. In the afternoon all participants were re-tested on the maze task. Those who reported dreaming about the maze had a significant improved performance over the others. They did better than people who had slept, but did not dream and better than those who stayed awake rehearsing the task in their minds.

What is interesting is that scientists do not know why dreams boost learning. Dreaming is a very complex process and most does not occur until after 90 minutes of sleep. The general consensus among scientists, however, is that sleep itself locks in short term memories. On the other hand, many people could show memory improvement in much less time than it takes to dream. For instance, studies have shown that as little as 12 minutes can help remember things better. Study a list of words, then nap for 12 minutes. Chances are you will do much better remembering those words than if you did not have the 12-minute nap.

The problem is that today many scientists believe that most Americans are chronically tired and sleep-deprived. For example, people who find they sleep more on a weekend to catch up are not helping themselves. The researchers suggest getting a regular amount of sleep, seven to eight hours each night for your physical health and your mental and intellectual health as well.

Have you ever found a correlation between how much you sleep and how well you think the next day? Let us know. Type your story in the comment box and we will take a survey about this from our readers.

To your success at a well balanced life.

Ruthan Brodsky