Today's stumble seemed to come at the perfect time - before finals week, where sleep is almost as rare as an empty desk in the library. This article discussed research proving that napping is beneficial and essential in memory formation and the learning process.
The experiment consisted of 2 groups who were tested performing a task relating to the hippocampus, the scores were relatively the same. Then one group took a 90 minute nap while the other group stayed awake. The tests were performed again and "those who napped did markedly better and actually improved in their capacity to learn.
In order to better understand the way these naps work, they made a comparison we can all compare to- emails...“It’s as though the e-mail inbox in your hippocampus is full and, until you sleep and clear out those fact e-mails, you’re not going to receive any more mail. It’s just going to bounce until you sleep and move it into another folder,” Walker said.
Researchers believe the stage associated with this information is stage 2, which occurs before REM and consumes 50% of the time we spend sleeping. They hope this research and others like it will eventually lead to cures associated with memory loss, such as Alzheimers.
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/3ixYg0/www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2010/02/22_naps_boost_learning_capacity.shtml
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