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Daytime sleep improves memory
A team of researchers from the University of California, Riverside found that during sleep, the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for controlling unconscious body functions such as breathing, heartbeat and digestion, plays a role in memory consolidation, the process of converting information from short-term to long-term memory. 'yeah
"Sleep facilitates the transformation of recent experiences into long-term, stable memories. However, recent studies have provided conflicting information about what features of sleep increase memory performance.
The researchers conducted a test called the Remote Associates Test (RAT), in which participants had to search for distant associations. Participants were allowed to take a nap between the two testing sessions. The researchers assessed the quality of their sleep and heart activity.
In the first part of the study, 80 healthy participants were asked to solve a problem test consisting of three seemingly unrelated words (for example, cookie, sixteen, heart). They had to find another word that linked all three words together. After completing this task, 60 participants went to sleep for 90 minutes, while the rest of the people simply watched the video. Later, all participants returned to the laboratory to take the problem test a second time.
The results of the study showed that people who slept performed much better on the task the second time compared to people who did not sleep. In other words, the dream helped the subjects to think more flexibly and combine words with the help of new combinations.
Importantly, the 40% increase in memory performance with daytime sleep can be predicted using heart rate during REM sleep.
"These findings suggest that ANS activity during sleep may be a factor linking sleep to improved memory performance," said Mednick.
Napping and Memory: Duration, Benefits, and Limits
A short nap may support alertness, but effects depend on timing, duration, nighttime sleep, and individual context. Marked daytime sleepiness despite adequate sleep deserves assessment of its causes.