A good night’s sleep helps improve memory, learning
Study showed that even intense training could not make up for lost sleep
London: Scientists recently discovered a mechanism by which a good night’s sleep improves learning and memory.
The researchers used advanced microscopy to witness new connections between brain cells — synapses — forming during sleep. Their study, published in the journal Science, showed that even intense training could not make up for lost sleep.
It is well known that sleep plays an important role in memory and learning. But what actually happens insi-de the brain has been a source of considerable debate.
Researchers trained mice in a new skill — walking on top of a rotating rod.
They then looked inside the living brain with a microscope to see what happened when the animals were either sleeping or sleep deprived. Their study showed that sleeping mice formed more new connections between neurons — they were learning more. And by disrupting specific phases of sleep, the researchers showed deep or slow-wave sleep was necessary for memory formation.
During this stage, the brain was “replaying” the activity from earlier.
Further tests showed how significant sleep was.
Mice doing an hour’s training followed by sleep performed better when compared with mice training intensively for three hours but then sleep deprived.
New York University Prof. WenBiao Gan said, “So it is probably better for kids to study and have good sleep rather than keep studying.”